Cinema and Classical Texts (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521518604)

Apollo was the ancient god of light and the divine patron of the arts. He is therefore a fitting metaphor for cinematography, which is the modern art of writing with moving light. This book interprets films as visual texts and provides the first systematic theoretical and practical demonstration of the affinities between Greco-Roman literature and the cinema. It examines major themes from classical myth and history such as film portrayals of gods, exemplified by Apollo and the Muses; Oedipus, antiquity's most influential mythic-tragic hero; the question of heroism and patriotism in war; and the representation of women like Helen of Troy and Cleopatra as products of male desire and fantasy. Covering a wide range of European and American directors, genres and classical authors, this study provides an innovative perspective on the two disciplines of classics and cinema and demonstrates our most influential medium's unlimited range when it adapts ancient texts.

Author: Martin M. Winkler
ISBN-10: 0521518601
ISBN-13: 9780521518604
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 02/12/2009
Pages: 362
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.59lbs
Size: 9.01h x 6.19w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 04/10/2009 pg. 16