Movies become the perfect blank canvas of history that existed before the invention of the camera. Even though directors and researchers can only depend on archives, paintings, and literature to depict ancient civilizations thatthrived in history, cinema as a medium operates as a time machine stopping at various turns of history where several dynasties fought for their kingdoms.
These stories mostly go behind the wars fought and the philosophical influence of religion in ancient civilizations. However, one should always keep in mind thathistorical films are only a work of several interpretationsand films are subject history to over-dramatization of the already dramatic history. Here are 10 films that bring us closer to world civilizations that really existed with inspired stories of wars, kingdoms, and religion.
10Gladiator
Gladiatoris set in the 180 AD Roman Empire andstars Russell Croweas a Hispano Roman General Maximus Decimus Merdius who is stripped off his rank by Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who comes to power. Maximus is then taken as a slave and is pushed to fight for his life as a gladiator as he avenges the death of his family.
The film was directed by Ridley Scott and was written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson, which was inspired by the bookThose About to Diewritten by Daniel P. Manni. Franzoni was inspired to write a story about the Roman Empire on his trip to Europe, where he saw several arenas. On his trip to Baghdad, he read Manni’s book, which helped him conceptualizeGladiator.Ridley Scott was inspired by the painting ofPollice Versoby Jean-Léon Gérôme, which helped the director visualize Ancient Rome. The film was a commercial and cult classic and is known to be one of the best epic historical dramas ever made.
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Troyis the most popular representation of Ancient Greece and follows the infamous Trojan War. The film was directed by Wolfgang Peterson and is loosely based on Homer’sIlliadand Quintus Smyrnaeus’sPosthomerica. There is no objective interpretation of the events that took place and the mythology of Mycenae is survived by Homerian literature, including King Agamemnon reuniting the Greek Kingdoms.
Every frame of the film spells epic and grand in bold,with Brad Pitt playing Achilles, who invades the ancient city of Troy with his tribe. The film shows the hedonistic lifestyle enjoyed by the men in the era, popularized in literature. On the other hand, Troy is defended by Hector’s Trojan Army, who is shown as responsible, civil, and rational. The film is predominantly known for the action sequences between the two and throughout the film as it interprets the popular Trojan War. However, several historians point out the historical inaccuracies in the film.
300is a stylized interpretation of the battle of Thermopylae in the Gerco-Persian Wars, which took place in 480 BC in Thermopuylae in Greece. The place was known for a coastal passage that existed in the era of classical antiquity between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD, interlocking the civilizations of ancient Rome and Greece. The film focuses on the Greco-Persian Wars which were fought in 480 BC between King Leonidas,played by Gerard Butler, and the Persian King Xerxes.
Leonidas famously led a troop of 300 against the Persian troop of 300,000 which inspired the title of the film. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, and was adapted from the 1988 comic series of the same name, which also became the stylistic inspiration of the film. It was entirely shot inside a studio, except for a shot of a galloping horse, and was a shot-for-shot adaptation of the comic book with the superimposition of chroma key to replicate the color composition of the comic book.
7Apocalypto
InApocalypto,Mel Gibson as a director takes a deeper interest in the Mayan civilization, which consisted of an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous people in Mesoamerica. The film is set in 1502 and follows the journey of Jaguar Paw, played by Rudy Youngblood, who is a peaceful hunter who is captured by an invading group along with his tribe. After his village is pillaged, Jaguar is chosen for human sacrifice, which he has to escape to reunite with his family.
The cast of the film comprised Native Americans and Indigenous Mexican actors to authentically represent the Mayan dynasty. Gibson along with the writer Farhad Safinia were interested in making a film on ancient cultures before the arrival of the Europeans in America after the success of Gibson’sBraveheart.The set was mostly designed, avoiding CGI as much as possible, and the language spoken by the indigenous actors was Mayan.The film was critically acclaimedand received positive responses from Mexico as several of the issues portrayed in the film including environmental degradation, consumption, and corruption still remain relevant today.
6Braveheart
Braveheartis an epic historical drama directed by Mel Gibson which is set in late 13th century Scotland and chronicles what led to the First War of Scottish Independence. Brooks also plays the main character of Sir William Wallace in the film, who was a Scottish Warrior who led the Scottish army against the English Army at the Battle of the Stirling Bridge.
Most of the film was shot in Scotland and the battle sequences were shot in Ireland with members of the Irish Reserve Army working as cast members in the battle scenes. To save cost, the same cast was used to portray both sides of the battle. The film led to an increase in tourism in Scotland and garnered critical praise forGibson as a director.
Ben Huris a fictional interpretation of Jerusalem AD 26 with Christianity as the backdrop of the story. The film was an adaptation of Lew Wallace’sBen Hur: A Tale of the Christ,which followed Judah Ben-Hur, played by Charles Heston, a Jewish Prince from Jerusalem who was captured by the Romans along with his family. After an encounter with Jesus Christ and witnessing the Crucifixion, Ben-Hur converts toChristianity after surviving his ordeal.
The film is known for its nine-minute chariot race with the musical composed by Miklós Rózsa which is still considered one of the most iconic scenes in cinema. The writer of the book did extensive research on the Middle East to remain authentic to the biblical interpretation of Jerusalem of that era.
4Cleopatra
Cleopatrachronicles the Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s strugglesto save Egypt from the imperial invasions by Romans. The film was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and also portrayed the passionate love triangle filled with lust, power, and sacrifice between Cleopatra,played by Elizabeth Taylor, Julius Caesar, played by Rex Harrison and Mark Antony played by Richard Burton.
The film was adapted from the bookThe Life and Times of Cleopatraby Carlo Maria Franzero and was the brainchild of the film producer Walter Wagner, who aspired to make a biopic on Cleopatra after reading the fantasy novelOne of Cleopatra’s Nights and Other Fantastic Romancesand William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. The character of Cleopatra portrayed in the film was entirely inspired by the fictional representation of the real-life queen as a seductress, popularized by Shakespeare and historians Plutarch, Suetonius, and Appian.
Agorais a fictionalized biopic of a real-life Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician named Hypatia who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. She is the first female mathematician whose work and life have been well archived by historians and have been depicted in plays and literature by several authors.
The film is set in 391 AD in Alexandria where Hypatia,played by Rachel Weisz, investigates the geocentric Ptolemaic system and the heliocentric model. However, religious upheaval conflicts with her work as she tries to save the age of classical antiquity achieved scientifically. The film depicted the clash between religion and science with the rise of Christianity in Europe. The film was criticized for historical and scientific inaccuracies but became the highest-grossing film in Spain in 2009.
2Mulan: Rise of a Warrior
Mulan: Rise of a Warrioris a Chinese action war film starring Zhao Wei as Mulan, who was a legendary folk heroine who took her father’s place in the army in the 4th to 6th century of Chinese history. The character was popularized by the1998 animated filmMulan,butthe film was starkly different from the animated version and the character was differently imagined by director Jingle Ma. The film is set in 450 A.D under the Chinese dynasty of Norther Wei, which is under threat from the Rouran tribes. When a retired soldier is enlisted to serve the army to protect his region, his sharp daughter Hua Mulan slips inside the army as a man. Mulan needs to keep her secret in order to keep fighting in the battle.
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Caligulashares an interesting history of being produced by Bob Guccione, the founder of the pornographic Penthouse magazine. The film was solely conceptualized with the intention to produce an erotic drama with A-list actors. The filmstarred Malcolm McDowellas Caligula, who was the third Roman Empire, ruling from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41. The ruler is recorded to be a noble ruler in the first six months of his rule. However, history indicates that Caligula transitioned to barbarism, cruelty, and sexual perversion and became known as a tyrant.
The film is known for its explicit depiction of sex and has been cited as amongst the worst movies ever made, but is considered a cult classic for itshistorical portrayal of a perverted tyrant.
