Epic film

From ArticleWorld

An epic film can usually be identified by the huge budget allocated to its production and the impressive nature of the finished product. It is common for an epic film to have an historical event as the main plot theme, and it combines elements of both drama and action films in almost equal measure. Epic films often contain enormous crowd scenes and reproduction sets which cost huge amounts of money to make but which result in impressive and realistic scenes.

Popularity

The epic has been in existence for many years but is believed to have been at its peak since the 1950s and 1960s. At this time the Hollywood studios began to collaborate with a film studio in Rome named Cinecitta, this then gave them access to remote and exotic looking filming destinations, and places such as Spain, and Morocco were largely used. These epics involved a chief character embarking on a mission of some sort and included a large cast of characters and extras. The collaboration ended during the 1960s and the 1963 film Cleopatra is largely believed to have marked the end of the true epic.

From this point on the term began to be applied to a wider range of films, including 1972s The Godfather which includes very few of the defining characteristics. This was because the term was now being applied to any film which recounted events which had happened over a prolonged period of time and which did not necessarily involve a quest of any kind.

Revival

Since the start of this century there have been a number of films released which fit into the characteristics of the original epic film. This includes the historical element, mission and large scale of the production and includes such films as 2000s Gladiator and Troy, released in 2004. In addition to these there have been many others which fit into the wider range of films now allocated this tag but the return to the original meaning could signify a revival of the huge historical adventure film.