Cinema loves Greece and Rome. Hollywood epics, animated movies, avant-garde features - all have turned to classical antiquity for inspiration. On the silver screen, we see a world of virtuous Christians, depraved pagans, gladiators, charioteers, Spartan warriors, and muscle-bound demigods - a potent mix of sex, violence and art. So pervasive are these images that this cinematic output dominates the public understanding of the ancient world. Through analysis of ten influential films, this book examines the representation of Greece and Rome in both popular and art-house cinema, arranged by cinematic genre. Key scenes are discussed and each film is located in its historical context.

Watching the screen version of a classic mystery novel can be disappointing. By necessity or artistic license (or possibly just ego) changes are often made by the filmmakers--many of them ineffective or even detrimental. This book focuses on the screen adaptations of 65 famous mysteries and examines how the filmmakers either succeeded or failed in the telling of the story. Interviews with several famous mystery writers are included, with their comments on how filmmakers treated their work.

Evaluates the term 'classic', discussing a wide range of films and texts including Jane Eyre, The Tempest and Alice in Wonderland.

Winner, 2023 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Chinese Film Classics, 1922–1949 is an essential guide to the first golden age of Chinese cinema. Offering detailed introductions to fourteen films, this study highlights the creative achievements of Chinese filmmakers in the decades leading up to 1949, when the Communists won the civil war and began nationalizing cultural industries. Christopher Rea reveals the uniqueness and complexity of Republican China’s cinematic masterworks, from the comedies and melodramas of the silent era to the talkies and musicals of the 1930s and 1940s. Each chapter appraises the artistry of a single film, highlighting its outstanding formal elements, from cinematography to editing to sound design. Examples include the slapstick gags of Laborer’s Love (1922), Ruan Lingyu’s star turn in Goddess (1934), Zhou Xuan’s mesmerizing performance in Street Angels (1937), Eileen Chang’s urbane comedy of manners Long Live the Missus! (1947), the wartime epic Spring River Flows East (1947), and Fei Mu’s acclaimed work of cinematic lyricism, Spring in a Small Town (1948). Rea shares new insights and archival discoveries about famous films, while explaining their significance in relation to politics, society, and global cinema. Lavishly illustrated and featuring extensive guides to further viewings and readings, Chinese Film Classics, 1922–1949 offers an accessible tour of China’s early contributions to the cinematic arts.

Film and television adaptations of classic literature have held a longstanding appeal for audiences, an appeal that this book sets out to examine. With a particular focus on Wuthering Heights , the book examines adaptations made from the 1930s to the twenty-first century, providing an understanding of how they help shape our cultural landscape.

Contemporizing the Classics: Poe, Shakespeare, Doyle is a how-to on the art and craft of transforming a classic into a feature-film screenplay with a modern storyline. The introduction probes an issue that weaves throughout: role of artistic license in balancing fidelity to the original versus dramatic needs of the script. Contemporization of a classic being the most flagrant form of dramatic license, the introduction presents three guidelines for a considered exercise thereof. Each part debuts a feature-film script that resets a classic work(s) in the present. Part One offers a contemporary visualization ofMacbeth, in the process turning an Elizabethan tragedy into a dramatic comedy. Part Two applies the guidelines to several renowned works by Edgar Allan Poe. Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles having frequently screened as a period piece, Part Three gives the hound a twenty-first century twist.

This lively, opinionated, and playful look at the movies is a must-read for film buffs, and for anyone interested in gender, sexuality, and popular culture. One thing's for sure. After reading Flaming Classics you'll know you're definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Code the Classics Volume 1 not only tells the stories of some of the seminal video games of the 1970s and 1980s, but shows you how to create your own games inspired by them, following examples programmed by Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton. In this book, you'll learn how to run and edit the games in this book by installing Python, Pygame Zero, and an IDE. You'll also: Get game design tips and tricks from the masters Learn how to code your own games with Pygame Zero Explore the code listings and find out how they work You'll meet these vintage-inspired games, and learn from their code in between rounds of play: Boing!: all it took was a couple of lines and a dot, and gamers would be queuing up to play. Cavern: Enduringly popular, the platform game genre is still packed with creative possibilities. Infinite Bunner: Play around with the benefits that a top-down perspective can lend to the classic platform genre. Myriapod: Some shooters confine the gameplay to a single screen while limiting the player's movement. Restrictions can build challenge and difficulty, making for truly addictive gaming. Substitute Soccer: Top-down games of pinball-style soccer built a huge cult following and kicked off a sports genre that's still going strong.