WEEK FIVE
1935
TERMS
Romantic style: An artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions.
Classicism: Aesthetic attitudes and principles manifested in the art, architecture, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome and characterized by emphasis on form, simplicity, proportion, and restraint.
Edward George Bulwer Lytton: (1803-1873) Wrote Rienzi – the Last Roman Tribune which is the basis for Wagner’s third opera and the earliest one still occasionally performed.
Sword and Sandal: A Roman "gladiator film"
Biblical Epic: An Epic film with a biblical character as a major figure
BEFORE THE FILM
The novel The Last Days of Pompeii” was written by Edward George Bulwer Lytton who had written a number of other works including Rienzi which was used by the German Romantic composer Richard Wagner as the book for his opera of the same name.
Interestingly enough, the book is not the source of this film – nor is it the source of another
So why bother talking about Bulwer Lytton? Well, he is a romantic writer and his story which does involve gladiators and (in case you don’t know) a rather nasty eruption of Mt. Vesuvius – a still active volcano just outside Naples which buried two cities Pompeii under ash and Herculaneum under lava.
Romanticism is a period in which nature moves into ascendancy and forces of nature are often used to indicate externally, emotional states in the protagonists. In Saint-Saens romantic opera Samson and Delilah, Samson’s internal dilemma as to his involvement with Delilah is manifest as a thunderstorm. One suspects, (rightly) that in The Last Days of Pompeii the volcano isn’t just a volcano – so what is it?
Compare this with more modern movies, like Saturday’s film Dante’s Peak. or Volcano
This is a disaster film, a religious film, and a “sword and sandal” film! Because of its temporal disjunct from today, the categories of people may be somewhat different but the general categories are still there
Governmental forces/ "money grubbers": – tax collectors, slave traders
Military: Soldiers all over the place
Scientists: scholars represented by slave who is becoming Christian
Religious: pagans, Christians are major foci in the story
Politicians : prefects, proconsuls
Media: minor – posters outside amphitheater showing progress of hero
Civilians –fickle
Slaves/Gladiators – not really present in other films no real equivalents. They are often oppressed outsiders (Gauls, Christians, Greeks, etc.)
In Dante’s Peak (Saturday) the problem was not structured around a religious theme as is this one, but the name “Dante” who is famous for his depiction of “hell” in the Inferno, is clearly chosen for that allusion. In that film, the problems of science vs. politics is a far stronger theme than it is here where science is virtually absent.
Here there are conflicts about riches and poverty, real family and adopted family, Christianity vs. paganism, slavery vs. freedom, with the last three being complexly interwoven. Slaves are Christians and part of an “adopted family” The freemen are pagans and feel little if any affiliation with others.
The Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Willis H. O’Brien (chief technician) team from King Kong back in place. Some of the Max Steiner music from King Kong is also in evidence.
AFTER THE FILM
Here is a film with “social issues” Where are we in 1935? Depression. Spectacle in which help and aid is positive note and which are associated with Christianity.
The depiction of biblical characters is often difficult. The depiction of Christ is a special problem and Christ has been depicted several times in film. H.B Warner is early famous one in King of Kings, Jeffrey Hunter in the same titled film King of Kings is another, Willem Defoe (Last Temptation of Christ (1988)) The Richard Strauss opera Salome> was banned in Boston for more than 20 years by invoking a law that blocked the depiction of biblical characters on stage. This fiml skillfully manages to avoid this by barely showing a religious person and then ownly briefly (except for Pontius).
Here there are conflicts about riches and poverty, real family and adopted family, Christianity vs. paganism, slavery vs. freedom, with the last three being complexly interwoven. Slaves are Christians and part of an “adopted family” The freemen are pagans and feel little if any affiliation with others. If anything Marcus is slightly more sensitive from the start and picks up Flavius to replace his own son, but also since he is the man who killed his father.
No one will save Flavius – crowd turns against him, and won’t listen. Soldiers seize him and take him away. The new prefect says “If it were my own son, I could do nothing”.
Does Marcus’ adopted son weaken him? Life is more important know – he is more cautious and looses. One does anything to protect one’s son (parallel with God and Jesus, parallel with man in arena and son,) He stoops finally to buying and selling of slaves. His own life is a descent into turning his back on everything he held holy and pursing those things he found detestable. It is a Job-like story in reverse. Turns his back on values and through suffering finds real values in Christianity.
Is the “church” – that is the body an “adopted family”? Is it as real a family as makes of Flavius?
materialism: Are morals sacrificed for money for one's self or to help others - quasi parallel with sacrifice of God's son. Redemption motif.
Blame/Guilt: What is the cause of the eruption? (not plate tectonics)! Symbolically is this "God's wrath"?
Who are the people who are destroyed? (soldiers, "bad" guard many pagan civilians, etc.) Who are saved? Christians (except for Greek slave (sacrifice)). Marcus dies but is "saved".
FILM QUALITIES
General film qualities
Gladiator fights. Depiction of arena
Appearance of Christ at the end in superimposed form to give spiritual quality. Depiction of religious figures always difficult. No real knowledge of what person looked like. Does figure represent something more about the times than history.
Special Effects Problems:
What can we say about Vesuvius? What is its role during the film until the end? What does the volcano represent in this romantic version? Internal stress and strife about to explode etc. Society in a bad way; peoples emotions in conflict
Film uses rear screen projection techniques in which miniatures are photographed in slow motion (to adjust for time/motion problems) and the projected behind performers who appear to be in the same image. Sometimes this is done more than once "layering" images, much the way it is done with computers today, although there is a greater loss of definition with rephotographing.