The Ancient World in the Cinema: Revised and Expanded Edition
This updated survey is both rigorous enough to satisfy scholars and boisterous enough to slake the blood-thirst of viewers partial to Gladiator and TV's Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Wider in scope and less academic than Marie Wyke's Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, Cinema, and History (Routledge, 1997), this work categorizes the films in such chapters as "Greek and Roman History," "Greek and Roman Mythology," "The Old Testament," "The New Testament and Tales of the Christ," and "Babylon, Egypt, Persia, and the Ancient Orient." Solomon's (Accessing Antiquity: The Computerization of Classical Studies) "mosaic" approach even allows for a chapter on "Ancient Comedy and Satirized Ancients," which includes Monty Python's Life of Brian, among other films that might not ordinarily spring to mind. The overall result is solid, lacing together behind-the-scenes trivia, film industry context, and crisp commentary. Enhanced by production stills and promotional photos, the book is unrivaled as an inclusive overview. Recommended for all libraries supporting film. Neal Baker, Earlham Coll., Richmond, INCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.