Hurrah, I have finally found a reason to kick-off the Archaeosoup Blog!
If you follow Archaeosoup on YouTube, you may have seen the ‘Questions of Doom’ in which I attempted to answer the question ‘Which films are most historically accurate?’
To see that Video click here.
Well, ofcourse, such a question leads to an entirely subjective response and I decided to trawl through Archaeosoup Tower’s collection of 450ish DVDs and as I did, it occurred to me that it is possible for a ‘Historical’ film to succeed (or fail) on many different levels.
So, in the video I promised that I would make available the lists of films I had made under various criteria of success/ failure and these are they:
Films/ Makers I respect:
Ridley Scott: Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005)… Less so, Robin Hood (2010).
Peter Weir: Master and Commander (2003), The Way Back (2010)
Both Scott and Weir have a talent for marrying historical research (give or take a dead king in Kingdom of Heaven) with a good story. I appreciate the way they approach the past as a ‘lived in’ past, rather than a distant and alien land.
Last Samurai (2003) This and other films offer a glimpse at a time and place which one might, otherwise, never examine.
It is also worth while mentioning films which actually feature footage from the period in question. The one which springs to mind is The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). This film featured footage shot by marines on the island during combat! I guess you cannot really get more authentic than that!
Films which make you ‘feel’ like people might have in the past:
300 (2006)
A puffed up super-human, proud vision of Greek identity which may even have impressed Herodotus!
Knight’s Tale (2001)
An insight into the way people may have felt about sporting events and dances in the Medieval period. Excitement translated through music. Also… A remarkable vision of Chaucer ;p
Beowulf (2007)
Proud, epic and bombastic in a similar way to ‘300’, good despite the stone-built castle!
Beowulf & Grendel (2005)
A fascinating Scandinavian take on the epic poem. Different focus to the more ‘Hollywood’ version of 2007.
Pathfinder (2007)
What led the monks of Britain to cry out in fear of ‘the fury of the Northmen’? This over-the-top film gives you an insight into how it may have felt to be attacked by Norse Raiders.
Exposure to Grim History:
Black Death (2010)
Not only does it star Sean Bean, but it also has an unrelenting sense of dirge and drudge. We are exposed to the horrors of plague, religious discrimination, sexism, torture, perceptions of witch-craft and it just doesn’t stop! I may only watch this film a couple of times because it is so very grim, but it’s great for it.
Centurion (2010)
This film is based upon the myth of the Roman Legion which left York for ‘North of the Wall’ never to be seen again. Though it has been shown to be a myth, this story is no less gripping as it explores guerrilla war, frontier life, political intrigue, betrayal and issues of occupation in a far flung reach of the Empire.
Terrible ‘History’ in films:
AVP (Alien Vs Predator) (2004)
A mediocre film in which it is claimed that ‘an original culture’ is responsible for pyramids and ziggurats around the world… Not to mention the bizarre Rubik’s Cube nature of the starring monument!
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2010)
Made by the producers of Pirates of the Caribbean, this film is fun at times. However, as for Historical accuracy, it is terrible.
Troy (2004)
This film is better as the ‘Director’s Cut’ and could have been superb! The Director is a huge fan of Homer’s epic and aimed to do it justice. Unfortunately, it falls short (quite literally in terms of the depicted length of the war) but it also has a ham-fisted ‘dramatic’ sounds track and… Iron weapons being used in an age of Bronze. Watchable but flawed.
Alexander (2004)
Much like Troy, this film could have been wonderful. They had the help of an Oxford academic (in return for being allowed to ride in a Cavalry charge) but this film about Alexander ‘The Great’ was anything but! A stodgy story and questionable design choices were compounded by the decision to make Alexander and his ‘crew’ sound like dodgy Irish Tar-Mac salesmen! Even Mrs Soup (proudly Northern Irish and a Classicist) was horrified by the choice. Yes the actors were, for the most part, Irish but seriously… Just look at Michael Fassbender to see an Irish actor who knows when NOT to ham-it-up!
My Cheesey Favourites:
Most of these films are not historically accurate but I love them all the same. Either for the way they invoke the past/ folk stories and literature, how the make me feel or just because they’re good clean fun!
Conan the Barbarian (1982) (The 1984 Destroyer and the 2011 version don’t exist ;p)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 – 2003)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Dragonheart (1996)
First Knight (1995)
From Hell (2001)
Highlander (1986) (Sequels don’t count)
Life of Brian (1979)
National Treasure (2004)
Zulu (1964)
Outlander (2008)
Stargate (1994)
Timeline (2003)
So there you have it! These are the films which I plucked from the Archaeosoup Towers DVD collection and the reasons why I like, question or find myself having to tolerate them…
This also marks the end of the first post in the Archaeosoup Blog. I may even start to Blog from here on in… We shall see!
Time for a cup of tea…
Hi!!! First of all, congratulations on this blog. I follow your YouTube channel and love your posts, so I guess I will pop in here frequently. It's great to be given the opportunity to discuss things archaeological and historical.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your list of films, I mostly agree with you. Funnily, some of the things I find more unnerving about the way films set their action in the past are small details such as hair, etc. Have you realised that the hairstyles of the actors are the ones that happen to be fashionable in their own times? No need to say, films made in the 60s and 70s are particularly awful in this respect. Sorry, but I can't believe Cleopatra with a beehive hairdo!
In this respect, one of the films you mention, Centurion, is quite terrible (it has other details I didn't like, but I can't remember them right now).
Also, films seem to have a hard time in deciding what to do about hands, fingernails and teeth. In past decades, all the characters in a film had perfectly clean and manicured hands, as well as great teeth. Directors, though, have of late noticed that this was not very realistic. Consequently, they usually make dirty hands mandatory (for male characters), but they still have a hard time in deciding about teeth. I think the rule seems to be that evil characters must have rotting, yellowing teeth, while the heroes and goodies in general have perfect sets of teeth.....Oh, and directors still have a hard time deciding about hair....A heroine with dirty, greasy hair? Never!!!
Oh, and regarding films, I would add to your list "The Eagle" (2010). Why? Because it shows an attack by Romans in "testudo" formation which is wonderful. Not sure about the way it depicts Britons though, they look more like people living in the Paleolithic than in the Iron Age, but I like the feeling of edge of the Roman world it gives, anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnother good one is "13th warrior"; it makes good use of the description of a Viking funeral written by the Arab traveler Ibn Fadhlan, something against which the archaeologists have been comparing finds for a long time. Also, the sense it gives of clash of cultures is excellent: it shows what the sophisticated Arab traveller thinks of the "barbaric" vikings, and what the vikings think of the "weakling" and soft Arab....and the way they come to learn about each other and eventually respect each other's culture. It's really great.
Haha - Interestingly, I was going to mention 'The Eagle' as another terrible 'North of the Wall' movie. As you say, it along with 'Centurion' aren't great movies (Not to mention 'King Arthur' *Shudder*).
DeleteHowever, I liked the political and gritty nature of 'Centurion'.
Ultimately, as I say in the video, it's all down to opinion :D
Thanks for commenting!
I see some gaping holes, most particularly non-Hollywood film makers such as:
ReplyDeleteAkira Kurosawa - Rashomon, 7 Samurai, Dersu Uzala, Yojimbo, etc.
Werner Herzog - Fitz Carraldo, Aguirre the Wrath of God, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, and something I would recommend highly, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which is more about archaeological discovery.
To mention a few of the more salient examples.
But even within the Hollywood film makers there's Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto which surely deserve a mention either in praise or derision. There's also The Godfather and Godfather II which recreate the fifties/early sixties and of course The Sting but there are so many...
For historical accuracy some of my favourites aren't films but television series such as "Band of Brothers", a truly epic attempt at historical recreation. There's also "Shogun" which I would easily put in the same league of historicity as "The Last Samurai" and stars Richard Chamberlin and Toshiro Mifune so nary a "Cruiser" in sight to discomfit Mrs Soup. Then there's "Lonesome Dove" and its sequal... but I could go on and on.
Best regards
Colourmegone
Sorry, Fitzcarraldo is one word. Haven't had my coffee today!
ReplyDelete