I was wondering if anyone could suggest one/a few movie(s) about ancient rome, or ancient greece for that matter. I'm not looking for a gladiator kind of thing; maybe something a little more lyrical. thanks.
share[deleted]
Caligula is terrible.Possibly one of the worst movies ever made.Unfortunately,Satyricon reminds me in its concepts of Caligula and is equally bad. Neither are accurate or even decent Roman Empire historical works.
share[deleted]
In round numbers, the Roman Empire lasted about 1000 years--from five hundred and something B.C. to four seventy-something A.D., so you are not going to find a definitive film covering that 1000 years. By comparison, the United States has not even reached 1/4 the age attained by the Roman Empire, and just look at the countless number of films inspired by American history. Another thing to be aware of is that many films with Greco/Roman/Biblical themes made over the past 70 years were "Hollywood" films made to satisfy prurient interests of the audience and treated history very loosely. A couple that come to mind are Era Lui Si, Si, which featured a teenage Sophia Loren having her halter top ripped off to expose her breasts in one of her first film roles ever, and Penthouse Magazine's production of Caligula, to which 5-10 minutes of hard core porn were added after production.
That said,the best film of the last couple of years--historically accurate and, as you put it, lyrical--is the film 300. It is, at times, difficult to watch but it documents what may have been the single most important battle in the history of the western world. The failure of King Leonidas and his force of 300 Spartans to fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. would have had an inconceivable affect on our history.
There is another rich source of video history to be found in the archives of the BBC. Periodically the BBC produces wonderful series on specific Roman figures and eras. I, Claudius, starring Derek Jacobi as the Emperor Claudius was one of their best. These are often available at local libraries.
Well, skulljockey, you're a mystery to me. Half of what you say is true but the other half sounds like complete nonsense - sorry.
For example, I agree with you on "I, Claudius". But I wonder if you've seen Caligula at all. It looks to me like there entire movie was pornographic from the beginning. It's hard to find 5-10 minutes that aren't.
And where on earth did you get the idea the "300" was historically correct? It's garbage with a very thin storyline - but apart from that, it is not historical at all. Really obvious for example is Xerxes - some naked monkeyboy with well over a thousand piercings. Well, that's not how Persians looked.
And that's just the top of the ice. There's also some really weird stuff going on in Sparta, which 1. didn't happen at all, and 2. is really the worst subplot possible by far.
Like it if you must, but please don't call it accurate. It's a very loose, fantasy treatment at best.
BTW...
Fellini's film Satyricon should in no way be confused with history. But it should not be dismissed either. It is an interpretation of a work of the same name attributed to Petronius, who was a writer and also advisor to Nero. The Satyricon is a series of bawdy and satyrical vinettes or scenes between two (fictional) homosexual friends and was only meant as light entertainment that in no way was meant to convey historical context or social comentary. The manuscript only exists in fragments and the film Fellini made moves freely from episode to episode in a dreamlike way sometimes using seguways dreamt up by Fellini, othertimes using none. Fellini was said to be commenting, not only on the manuscript, itself, but also on the fragmentary nature of history.
[deleted]
I seem to find myself between two pals and Felliniphiles who are attacking my suggestions to a third party from points of view which contradict each other.
On the one hand I am told of the utter worthlessness of watching 300 for its historical value, even though it depicts true incidents including the following:
Xerxes ambitious designs on the rest of the civilized world,
The Spartan’s reaction to Xerxes’ emissaries of throwing them in a well.
The fact that the force of 300 Spartans went forward as a limited advance guard due to the coincidence in time of the Olympic Festival.
The depiction of the fact (according to Herodotus) that before leaving for Thermopylae that the Spartans consulted the Oracle which foretold in verse the death of Leonidas and his men.
The Spartan attitudes toward and training of children from birth where when a baby was born the father took the child in front of the council where they determined whether it was fit for life. If they examined it and found it weak or with defect, the baby was taken to a nearby cliff of Mt. Taygetos and thrown over the edge (and other extremes).
The support in arms given by other Greek allies to the Spartans.
The geographical value of making a stand (with a much outnumbered force) at Thermopylae.
The fact (again according to Herodotus) that since Leonidas believed they were going to certain death he chose only men with living sons.
Many attributed lines, including my personal favorite: Herodotus writes that when a Spartan soldier (Dienekes), was informed that Persian arrows would be so numerous as "to blot out the sun", Dienekes responded characteristically, "So much the better, we shall fight in the shade."
Details of the Greek tactics and results: Diodorus says "the men stood shoulder to shoulder" and the Greeks were "superior in valor and in the great size of their shields." The formation being described is the standard Greek phalanx, a wall of overlapping shields and layered spear points. The Greeks killed so many Medes that Xerxes is said to have started up off the seat from which he was watching the battle three times. According to Ctesias, the first wave was "cut to pieces" with only two or three Spartans dead.
The fact that Xerxes, having taken the measure of the enemy, threw his best troops into the second assault: the Immortals, an elite corps of 10,000 men.
The success of the Greek strategy until...
...a Greek traitor named Ephialtes informed Xerxes of a path around Thermopylae and offered to guide the Persian army.
Ok...that’s an even dozen (you can find more, but I’m not going to spend my afternoon doing your research). Let’s weigh those facts against the reason given for discarding 300:
...it is not historical at all. Really obvious for example is Xerxes - some naked monkeyboy with well over a thousand piercings. Well, that's not how Persians looked.
“...Fellini’s Satyricon has much more to say about the times in which the film was made than it ever has to say about Ancient Rome...the excesses of the sixties, promiscuity without guilt... the post-pill, pre-Aids mentality...It is Fellini’s through-a-glass-darkly look at the world around him.”share
[deleted]
[deleted]