Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, Cinema & History

by Maria Wyke

Brought vividly to life on screen, the myth of ancient Rome resonates thru modern popular culture. Projecting the Past examines how the cinematic traditions of Hollywood & Italy have resurrected ancient Rome to address the concerns of the present. The book engages contemporary debates about the nature of the classical tradition, definitions of history & the place of the past in historical film.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Case Studies
Conclusion
Notes
Filmography
Bibliography

Genres: Nonfiction, History

248 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 1997

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe I reviewed this at some length in The Ancient World journal, but haven't got a digitalized copy of it and am not even certain it was published. In any case, I read a review copy of this book about the portrayal of the classical world in cinema and, being a fan since childhood of such films myself, enjoyed reading it. Indeed, it got me to look up some films I'd missed. Still, as ancient history--the author is an academic Latinist and historian, but took a break to study film and television, so she knows her stuff--it's pretty light and any overarching thesis which showed how cinematic appropriations of these chapters of the past could illuminate the present now escapes me.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this book with a pre-conceived notion that this book would approach its topic from a different approach taken, i.e. how modern films have (mis)appropriated ancient Roman sources to create new cultural narratives that have warped our understanding of Roman society, politics etc. However Wyke doesn't quite stay on that (admittedly narrow) academic remit. In fact, she creates a complex alternative comparative analysis that arguably does more to explore the phenomenon of ancient Rome on film than my original expectation. She has in fact deconstructed the idea of 'ancient Roman cinema' to form a multi-faceted narrative that takes into account Italian nationalism, American perceptions of empire and republicanism, Orientalism, commodification and commercialisation of antiquity, the aesthetics of Victorian novels and theatre, and the depiction of eroticism in the examined films.

By taking a thematic, case study approach Wyke does an excellent job of identifying and elaborating on each of the points she makes about the films. For example, her references to Said's Orientalism as a means to interpret the cinematic representations of Cleopatra are rather illuminating and pertinent. The same goes for the (obvious) socialist and communist aspects of 'Spartacus', and the lesser obvious Zionist message in the Kubrick/Trumbo/Douglas version. It was also intriguing to read of the gangster film correlations in the RKO version of 'The Last Days of Pompeii'.

Perhaps the most important conclusions that may be drawn from Wyke's very rewarding analysis of the cinematic depiction of ancient Rome are that the films are cultural artefacts that owe arguably more to the respective socio-political environments within which they are produced (i.e. Italian or American cinema) and that they are drastically removed from 'ancient history', except where said ancient Roman history can provide a setting, a narrative, characters and a subtext that conforms to contemporary values.