The Reel Middle Ages

American, Western and Eastern European, Middle Eastern and Asian Films About Medieval Europe

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by Kevin J. Harty

Type: Studies
Subject: Genre > Historical films
Keywords: medieval, historical films
Publishing date: 2006
1st publishing: 1999
Publisher: McFarland & Co
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 324 pages
7 x 10 inches (18 x 25.5 cm)

ISBN-10 ISBN-13

0-7864-2657-8
978-0-7864-2657-7

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Book Presentation:
Those tales of old—King Arthur, Robin Hood, The Crusades, Marco Polo, Joan of Arc—have been told and retold, and the tradition of their telling has been gloriously upheld by filmmaking from its very inception. From the earliest of Georges Méliès’s films in 1897, to a 1996 animated Hunchback of Notre Dame, film has offered not just fantasy but exploration of these roles so vital to the modern psyche. St. Joan has undergone the transition from peasant girl to self-assured saint, and Camelot has transcended the soundstage to evoke the Kennedys in the White House.

Here is the first comprehensive survey of more than 900 cinematic depictions of the European Middle Ages—date of production, country of origin, director, production company, cast, and a synopsis and commentary. A bibliography, index, and over 100 stills complete this remarkable work.

About the Author:
Kevin J. Harty, professor and formerly chair of English and coordinator of the Undergraduate General Education Core at La Salle University in Philadelphia, is associate editor of Arthuriana, the official journal of the North American Branch of the International Arthurian Society (of which he is the former president). He has previously written or edited 14 books, including ground-breaking studies of depictions of the Middle Ages on film.

Press Reviews:
"Will benefit a wide audience…important on a number of levels…a key work…excellent…. Recommended"—Booklist
"Includes nearly 600 films dealing with medieval Europe produced from the earliest days of cinema to the present"—Choice
"Exceptionally reader-friendly"—ARBA
"Complete…comprehensive…remarkable…an incredibly valuable resource…a beautiful book, easy to use and a pleasure to read…this survey is essential"—Arthuriana
"Seriously addictive browsing…an extremely wide range of films is included…one of the company’s best, being a valuable A-Z and a subtle history lesson to boot"—Film Review
"A comprehensive listing of medieval films…excellent black and white photos of film scenes…a considerable accomplishment…extraordinarily useful"—Tristania
"More than 900 films"—Classic Images
"A veritable celluloid mine to be sifted again and again"—The Monthly Bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society
"[This book] is just the thing. Each entry lists published reviews and books or articles for further discussion"—C&RL News
"Critiques of more than 900…films"—The Intelligencer Record
"An extensive and valuable list…will help scholars expand their reading lists about medieval film…definitive collection"—Medieval Feminist Newsletter
"A thoroughly enjoyable, enlightening work"—Medieval Academy News
"Comprehensive…. Anyone who teaches the Middle Ages or medievalism will find this an essential book…will be a standard reference tool for a long time."—Alan Lupack, Curator, The Robbins Library, University of Rochester

See the publisher website: McFarland & Co

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