Marcus Antonius im Film. Ein Held, der scheitert, oder ein Antiheld? In: M. Lindner/N. Steffensen (Hg.), Classical Heroes in the 21st Century. New Perspectives on Contemporary Cinematic Narratives of Antiquity, Helden - Heroisierungen - Heroismen 20, Baden-Baden 2023, 85-95. (original) (raw)
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2023
The study of ancient heroes in film provides an eminent contribution to our understanding of the present by identifying the upheavals, conflicts, crises and resolution strategies that manifest themselves in heroic figures. This volume approaches heroizations by examining political leadership in heroic narratives and the influence of ancient heroes on the construction of modern (super-)heroes. Studies on the negations of the heroic reveal ambivalence, fluidity and legitimization difficulties of the examined figures. Contributions on narrativization and aesthetics address didactic potentials, genre influences, intermedial references and the possible future of (de)heroization in cinematic antiquity.
International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 2014
When reviewing recent books on the depiction of the ancient world on film, I have previously remarked that the future of this growing sub-field of reception studies lies in the application of the methods of film studies to this material. Elena Theodorakopoulos' book happily not only addresses this need, but also provides the materials for a course in films about the Roman world that usefully supplements the likes of Monica Cyrino's Big Screen Rome (2005) and Martin Winkler's edited volumes on Gladiator (2004), Spartacus (2007), and Fall of the Roman Empire (2009). Ancient Rome at the Cinema begins with an introductory chapter on film spectacle in historical films, then builds through a discussion of Ben Hur (1959) to detailed studies of film narrative in Kubrick's Spartacus (1960), Mann's Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Scott's Gladiator (2000). For those who wish to stretch their students' imaginations, the volume concludes with Fellini's version of the Satyricon (1969) and Julie Taymor's Titus (1999), two films that contrast sharply with the Hollywood epic tradition. Theodorakopoulos expects little knowledge of cinema of her audience greater than familiarity with Cameron's Titanic as a typical historically-set Hollywood blockbuster. From there, she proceeds to demolish the arguments of the oldfashioned 'realist' school of film criticism (represented by Kracauer and Bazin) and show the complex artifice of modern filmmaking. Here the work of David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson looms large. None of this would surprise a Film Studies student, but it is important that Classics students should be aware of the basic techniques of cinematic art. For instance, the use of conventions, such as the 180 degree rule, to create an artificial 'realism' and the increased used of technical
SEDERI Yearbook 32, 2022
This essay discusses Philip Massinger's The Roman Actor (1626) as an example of the profoundly composite nature of early modern dramatic texts. Massinger placed borrowings and echoes from several classical and early modern texts in a new context, arguably counting on audiences' pleasure of recognition. Focusing on sources which have not received enough critical attention, this essay investigates the influence of classical authors like Tacitus and Statius, and the impact of other Massingerian plays to shed light on the way the playwright appropriated and refashioned some sources to suit his tragedy's political agenda.
Recalibrating 'Heroes and Villains' Ancient Greek Literature through the Camera Lens
"Classical Heroes in the 21st Century: New Perspectives on Contemporary Cinematic Narratives of Antiquity", ed. M. Linder and N. Steffensen, in the Helden - Heroisierungen - Heroismen series by the Ergon Verlag, Baden-Baden, 2023
Audiences' expectations of how a hero should behave are shaped by how the hero measures up against characters coded as villainous. This chapter examines the interdependence of these two concepts with reference to two screen case studies with direct and indirect connections to the Trojan War as an archetype for all wars. Juxtaposing William Scofield, the accidental hero of the World War I movie 1917 (DreamWorks Pictures, 2019) with the villainous Ajax in Troy: Fall of a City (BBC/Netflix, 2018) allows us to reflect on how radically the labels of hero and villain have been recalibrated in the second decade of the new millennium. What has not changed, however, is the ongoing role that ancient Greek literature, characters, and themes play in such conversations in our popular culture.
'I am Master of Nothing': Imperium: Augustus and the Story of Augustus on Screen
New Voices in Classical Reception Studies, 2012
The story of Octavian / Augustus’ life follows a rather problematic narrative trajectory. Reduced to its basic elements, it is the tale of a man who overthrew the Roman Republic and installed himself as an absolute monarch, yet enjoyed widespread contemporary acclaim and died peacefully in his bed. Lacking the moral complexity of Julius Caesar’s story, or the prurient thrills offered by proper ‘bad’ emperors, this narrative has rarely been tackled in full by western story-tellers. Instead, in the 20th century, Octavian / Augustus appeared most frequently on screen as a secondary character in the stories of others – particularly as a villainous foil to Antony and Cleopatra – while only a handful of novelists attempted a fuller biographical approach. Nonetheless, a popular appetite for screen portrayals of Roman history in the early 21st century has kept producers and screenwriters returning to his story, and one TV mini-series, Imperium: Augustus (2003), has now offered the first ever screen biopic of this contradictory character. This paper examines the narrative strategies used in this production and their degree of success in making the story of Octavian / Augustus palatable to contemporary western audiences. Making strong claims to historical accuracy, Imperium: Augustus builds on approaches already established in biographical novels, but also deploys characteristically filmic devices such as the flashback to help create a compelling drama. Audience responses suggest that it was only a partial success, but Augustus’ story still offers ample opportunities for exploring modern concerns such as the crafting of political personas or the relationship between security and civil liberties. These could perhaps be better satisfied in the medium of the documentary, and we can fully expect such treatments to appear in connection with the bimillennium of his death on 19th August 2014.
The relevance of Classical studies as seen through cinematic reception of antiquity
The past is not dead. It is not even past.' (Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun Act1:3) As classicists we are often asked what the validity of our area of study is and there may be no better answer in modernity than to point in the direction of cinema and television. In 2004 the epic historical film Troy by Wolfgang Petersen made over 497millionworldwidewhichrankeditinthetop60highestgrossingfilmsoffalltime.In2007theperiodactionfilm300byZackSnydergrossedroughly497 million worldwide which ranked it in the top 60 highest grossing films off all time. In 2007 the period action film 300 by Zack Snyder grossed roughly 497millionworldwidewhichrankeditinthetop60highestgrossingfilmsoffalltime.In2007theperiodactionfilm300byZackSnydergrossedroughly456 million worldwide. Cinema has thus made the classics newly accessible to a wider audience for it 'illuminates antiquity as much as modernity' (Martindale, 2013: 171) and starts the dialogue between the ancients and us, making the study of classics relevant in a whole new way. The study of classical reception thus looks at how the works from the classical Greek and Romans are received today in its myriad of forms. In this short essay I will discuss how reception is helping keep the study of classics relevant, firstly by looking at how reception gives 'relevance' to classical studies as seen through the modern medium of cinema and secondly by discussing what sort of 'critical distance' if any the study of reception raises. Reception studies are not new but they may be the saving grace for classical departments at universities for reception studied show the constant dialogue between antiquity and now as seen through modern mediums which in turn safeguards the study of the ancient Greek and Roman
The Death of the Actor: Marcus Ofilius Hilarius (Plin. NH 7. 184-185)
The name of Marcus Ofilius Hilarius occurs in no other source besides book VII of Pliny's encyclopaedia. With this in mind, the narrative giving an extensive account of the death of the actor needs further explanation. The present paper takes a look at the narrower and broader context of this detail, which lends the story a meaning and a structuring function within the Naturalis Historia. This inquiry enables us to draw certain conclusions not only about book VII, but the whole encyclopedia as well.