The Middle Ages have provided inspiration not only for widely popular ‘historical novels’, but also for their counterparts in the visual arts. In this course, we are going to investigate a number of films that are either based directly on medieval models, use plot elements from the Middle Ages, take up medieval themes or medieval(ising) settings, (mis-)use them to comment on contemporary issues or shape them into works of art in their own right. Participants are expected to watch the movies we are going to discuss independently and in their entirety.
Out of the thousands of movies connected to the Middle Ages, we will look at two groups that centre around, on the one hand, the Old English epic Beowulf and, on the other, around the tale of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. In addition, we will discuss two other movies that complement these two thematic blocks in order to open up further approaches to the Middle Ages.
List of movies relevant for the seminar:
Beowulf: Beowulf (Graham Baker 1999), The Thirteenth Warrior (John McTiernan1999), Beowulf & Grendel (Sturla Gunnarson 2005), Beowulf(Robert Zemeckis 2007)
Men in Tights: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz & William Keighley 1938), Walt Disney’s Robin Hood (Wolfgang Reitherman 1973) Robin & Marian (Richard Lester 1976), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Kevin Reynolds 1991), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (Mel Brooks 1993), Robin Hood (Ridley Scott 2010)
Back to the Middle Ages: Reign of Fire (Rob S. Bowman 2002)
The other Middle Ages: A Knight’s Tale (Brian Helgeland 2001) |
