Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, Cinema, and History (The New Ancient World)

Rating:
Summary: Not for the layperson but an excellent study
Review: If you are the average person looking for a book about Romans in the movies, this book is most likely going to give you a headache because it is focusing on tracing large trends in how Italian and American movies have used Rome for variety social and political agendas. At times there is real oppositions, an Italian movie arguing for a fascist state while during the same period an American movies makes a pro-democracy film -- both movies are based on the same book, the same historical events, or the same legend. All of that changes as society and politics changes in both the USA and Italy. Maria Wyke tackles a huge amount of material and traces these changes over more than a century. I'm certain it wasn't easy to research and write and it isn't a quick read, not even for a scholar of the ancient world or film.

Rating:
Summary: Roman Cinema
Review: This book, by Maria Wyke, examines the plethora of films with Roman themes made since the early history of cinema. Her thesis is that these films contain numerous connections with real events around the time they were made. She looks at two types of films: Italian cinema and American cinema. The book is divided into four sections: films about Spartacus, Cleopatra, Nero and Pompeii.

For Italian films, most use the historical figures and places as either a means to represent and promote Italian unification and nationalism, or fascism under Il Duce, that merry prankster who considered a military victory over Ethiopia a major event. Many of the films borrowed events from paintings and novels to create a connection to higher art and thus present themselves in the same league as opera and the like. American films embrace consumerism (what a surprising revelation) as well as victory over Communism and Christian values. The Taylor-Burton version of Cleopatra, Wyke observes, shows a mirroring between the real Cleopatra and Elizabeth Taylor's personal life. By the time of the late 1960's, the film image of Rome changed. The example Wyke gives is Fellini's Satyricon, which focuses more on the mystique of the ancient world.

Is this a good book? It's not too bad, but film is so subjective that I wonder about some of her interpretations. I also wonder how many people in the audience would pick up on some of the more obscure references Wyke thinks the movies contain. That films reflect certain views is beyond dispute. Just watch any of the films today that try and show the greatness of multiculturalism or any of the other touchy-feely liberal values we're all supposed to think are so great. Only read this book if you are really interested in old films and political/social messages in media.