Greek Tragedy On Screen

Greek Tragedy on Screen considers a wide range of films which engage openly with narrative and performative aspects of Greek tragedy. This volume situates these films within the context of on-going debates in film criticism and reception theory in relation to theoretical or critical readings of tragedy in contemporary culture. Michelakis argues that film adaptations of Greek tragedy need to be placed between the promises of cinema for a radical popular culture, and the divergent cultural practices and realities of commercial films, art-house films, silent cinema, and films for television, home video, and DVD. In an age where the boundaries between art and other forms of cultural production are constantly intersected and reconfigured, the appeal of Greek tragedy for the screen needs to be related to the longing it triggers for origins and authenticity, as well as to the many uncertainties, such as homelessness, violence, and loss of identity, with which it engages. The films discussed include not only critically recognized films by directors such Michael Cacoyannis, Jules Dassin, and Pier Paolo Pasolini, but also more recent films by Woody Allen, Tony Harrison, Werner Herzog, and Lars von Trier. Moreover, it also considers earlier and largely neglected films of cinematic traditions which lie outside Hollywood.

A comprehensive treatment of the Classical World in film and television, A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen closely examines the films and TV shows centered on Greek and Roman cultures and explores the tension between pagan and Christian worlds. Written by a team of experts in their fields, this work considers productions that discuss social settings as reflections of their times and as indicative of the technical advances in production and the economics of film and television. Productions included are a mix of Hollywood and European spanning from the silent film era though modern day television series, and topics discussed include Hollywood politics in film, soundtrack and sound design, high art and low art, European art cinemas, and the ancient world as comedy. Written for students of film and television as well as those interested in studies of ancient Rome and Greece, A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen provides comprehensive, current thinking on how the depiction of Ancient Greece and Rome on screen has developed over the past century. It reviews how films of the ancient world mirrored shifting attitudes towards Christianity, the impact of changing techniques in film production, and fascinating explorations of science fiction and technical fantasy in the ancient world on popular TV shows like Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, and Dr. Who.

A Handbook to the Reception of Greek Drama offers a series of original essays that represent a comprehensive overview of the global reception of ancient Greek tragedies and comedies from antiquity to the present day. Represents the first volume to offer a complete overview of the reception of ancient drama from antiquity to the present Covers the translation, transmission, performance, production, and adaptation of Greek tragedy from the time the plays were first created in ancient Athens through the 21st century Features overviews of the history of the reception of Greek drama in most countries of the world Includes chapters covering the reception of Greek drama in modern opera and film

Examines how the tragic dramatists persistently appropriated Achilles to address the concerns of their time.

If Greek tragedy is sometimes regarded as a form long dead and buried, both theatre producers and film directors seem slow to accept its interment. Originally published in 1986, this book reflects the renewed interest in questions of staging the Greek plays, to give a comprehensive account and critical analysis of all the important versions of Greek tragedy made on film. From the 1927 footage of the re-enactment of Aeschylus’ Prometheus in Chains at the Delphi Festival organised by Angelos Sikelianos to Pasolini’s Notes for an African Oresteia, the study encompasses the version of Oedipus by Tyrone Guthrie, Tzavellas’s Antigone (with Irene Papas), Michael Cacoyannis’s series which included Electra, The Trojan Women, and Iphigeneia, Pasolini’s Oedipus and Medea (with Maria Callas), Miklos Jancso’s Elektreia, Dassim’s Phaedra and others. Many interesting questions are raised by the transference of a highly stylised form such as Greek tragedy to what is often claimed to be the ‘realistic’ medium of film. What becomes clear is that the heroic myths retain with ease the power to move the audiences in very different milieux through often strikingly different means. The book may be read as an adjunct to viewing of the films, but enough synopsis is given to make its arguments accessible to those familiar only with the classical texts, or with neither version.

This is the first volume of essays published on the television series Troy: Fall of a City (BBC One and Netflix, 2018). Covering a wide range of engaging topics, such as gender, race and politics, international scholars in the fields of classics, history and film studies discuss how the story of Troy has been recreated on screen to suit the expectations of modern audiences. The series is commended for the thought-provoking way it handles important issues arising from the Trojan War narrative that continue to impact our society today. With discussions centered on epic narrative, cast and character, as well as tragic resonances, the contributors tackle gender roles by exploring the innovative ways in which mythological female figures such as Helen, Aphrodite and the Amazons are depicted in the series. An examination is also made into the concept of the hero and how the series challenges conventional representations of masculinity. We encounter a significant investigation of race focusing on the controversial casting of Achilles, Patroclus, Zeus and other series characters with Black actors. Several essays deal with the moral and ethical complexities surrounding warfare, power and politics. The significance of costume and production design are also explored throughout the volume.

As a creative medium, ancient Greek tragedy has had an extraordinarily wide influence: many of the surviving plays are still part of the theatrical repertoire, and texts like Agamemnon, Antigone, and Medea have had a profound effect on Western culture. This Companion is not a conventional introductory textbook but an attempt, by seven distinguished scholars, to present the familiar corpus in the context of modern reading, criticism, and performance of Greek tragedy. There are three main emphases: on tragedy as an institution in the civic life of ancient Athens, on a range of different critical interpretations arising from fresh readings of the texts, and on changing patterns of reception, adaptation, and performance from antiquity to the present. Each chapter can be read independently, but each is linked with the others, and most examples are drawn from the same selection of plays.

A comprehensive treatment of the Classical World in film and television, A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen closely examines the films and TV shows centered on Greek and Roman cultures and explores the tension between pagan and Christian worlds. Written by a team of experts in their fields, this work considers productions that discuss social settings as reflections of their times and as indicative of the technical advances in production and the economics of film and television. Productions included are a mix of Hollywood and European spanning from the silent film era though modern day television series, and topics discussed include Hollywood politics in film, soundtrack and sound design, high art and low art, European art cinemas, and the ancient world as comedy. Written for students of film and television as well as those interested in studies of ancient Rome and Greece, A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen provides comprehensive, current thinking on how the depiction of Ancient Greece and Rome on screen has developed over the past century. It reviews how films of the ancient world mirrored shifting attitudes towards Christianity, the impact of changing techniques in film production, and fascinating explorations of science fiction and technical fantasy in the ancient world on popular TV shows like Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, and Dr. Who.