The return of the epic film genre, aesthetics and history in the twenty-first century

• Other Authors: Elliot, Andrew B. R.
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press 2014
• Subjects: Epic films > History and criticism
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.
• Physical Description: x, 224 pages : illustrations 25 cm
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index
• ISBN: 9780748684021; 0748684026 (hbk.)

This book explores the return of the 'epic' in 21st-century cinema. With the success of Gladiator, both critics and scholars enthusiastically announced the return of a genre which had lain dormant for 30 years. However, this return raises important new questions which remain unanswered. Why did the epic come back, and why did it fall out of fashion? Are these the same kinds of epics as the 1950s and 60s, or are there aesthetic differences? Can we treat Kingdom of Heaven, 300 and Thor indiscriminately as one genre? Are non-Western histories like Hero and Mongol epics, too? Finally, what precisely do we mean when we talk about the return of the epic film, and why are they back? The Return of the Epic Film offers a fresh way of thinking about a body of films which has dominated our screens for a decade. With contributions from top scholars in the field, the collection adopts a range of interdisciplinary perspectives to explore the epic film in the 21st century.