AHIS3670
The Ancient World on Film
20 Units
Not available in 2014
Previously offered in 2012, 2009, 2008
The course offers Ancient History students, as well as History, English and Film Studies students, the opportunity to study films about ancient subject matter in depth, but also demonstrates the influence of ancient history, mythology and civilisation on contemporary culture and values.
| Objectives | 1 To extend students' knowledge of ancient Greece and Rome in terms of their narrative effects on Western film, contributing towards an in-depth knowledge of specific features of antiquity (e.g. politics, warfare, sport and spectacle, myth and legend, gender dynamics) specifically in relation to filmic representation. 2 To develop the ability to critically and imaginatively interpret specific films, analysing narrative, filmic techniques and audience responses. 3 To encourage the accurate expression of informed critical responses to the subject matter, both orally and, more especially, in written form. |
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| Content | 1. The ancient world on film: definitions, genres, time-frames 2. Early representations: Italian and Hollywood films 3. 'Sword-and Sandal Epics' 1950s-1960s: Pietro Francisci's Hercules; Albert Gout's Rape of the Sabine Women 4. Greek 'Epic': Mario Camerini's Ulysses; Wolfgang Petersen's Troy; Don Chaffey's Jason and the Argonauts 5. Rudy Mate's The Three Hundred Spartans and Zack Snyder's 300 6. Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus 7. 'Christian' Rome: Mervyn LeRoy's Quo Vadis, Henry Koster's The Robe; Delmer Daves's Demetrius and the Gladiators 8. The Avant-garde: Pier Paola Pasolini's Oedipus Rex and Medea 9. Federico Fellini's Satyricon 10. Mihalis Cacoyannis' Electra, The Trojan Women, Iphigenia 11. Contemporary Hollywood Epics 12. Ridley Scott's Gladiator; Samuel Bronston's Fall of the Roman Empire 13. Oliver Stone's Alexander; Robert Rossen's Alexander the Great 14. Conclusion to the Course |
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| Transition | Not Applicable | ||||||
| Industrial Experience | 0 | ||||||
| Assumed Knowledge | 20 units at any level in Ancient History or History or English or Film Studies | ||||||
| Modes of Delivery | Internal Mode | ||||||
| Teaching Methods | Lecture
Laboratory Seminar |
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| Assessment Items |
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| Contact Hours | Lecture: for 2 hour(s) per Week for Full Term Seminar: for 1 hour(s) per Week for 7 weeks Laboratory: for 2 hour(s) per Week for 11 weeks |