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CINEMA AND CLASSICAL TEXTS
Apollowastheancientgodoflightandthedivinepatronofthearts.
He is therefore a fitting metaphor for cinematography, which is the
modernartofwritingwithmovinglight.Thisbookinterpretsfilmsas
visualtextsandprovidesthefirstsystematictheoreticalandpractical
demonstrationoftheaffinitiesbetweenGreco-Romanliteratureand
thecinema.Itexaminesmajorthemesfromclassicalmythandhistory
suchasfilmportrayalsofgods,exemplifiedbyApolloandtheMuses;
Oedipus,antiquity’smostinfluentialmythic-tragichero;thequestion
ofheroismandpatriotisminwar;andtherepresentationofwomen
like Helen of Troy and Cleopatra as products of male desire and
fantasy.CoveringawiderangeofEuropeanandAmericandirectors
andgenresandofclassicalauthors,thisstudyprovidesaninnovative
perspectiveonthetwodisciplinesofclassicsandcinemaanddemon-
stratesourmostinfluentialmedium’sunlimitedrangewhenitadapts
ancienttexts.
martin m. winkler is Professor of Classics at George Mason
University.
CINEMA AND
CLASSICAL TEXTS
Apollo’s New Light
MARTIN M. WINKLER
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521518604
© Martin M. Winkler 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-48084-3 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-51860-4 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Listofillustrations pagevii
Acknowledgments x
Introduction:Thegodoflightandthecinemaeye
Acertaintendencyinclassicalphilology
Filmsasvisualtexts
Authorship:Ancientauctorandcinematicauteur
Thecinemaofpoetry
Philologiaclassicaetcinematographica:FromClassicalphilologyto
filmphilology
Divineepiphanies:ApolloandtheMuses
Godoflight,godofcinema
Apolloandoracles
Apollo’slastfrontier
TheMuse’sinspiration
Terpsichore’sepiphany
Downtoearthagain
ThereturnofApollo
ThecomplexitiesofOedipus
FrommythtoFreud
Epic
Tragedy
Comedy
Patriotismandwar:“Sweetandfittingitistodiefor
one’scountry”
Homer,Horace,andtheheroictradition
ChivalryandclassicalcultureinWorldWarI
SimonidesintheGreatWarandinVietnam
Homer,Thucydides,andHoraceinWorldWarII
Whatpriceglory?
v
vi Contents
HelenofTroy:MarriageandadulteryaccordingtoHollywood
GreekmythAmericanized
WolfgangPetersen’sTroyandRobertWise’sHelenofTroy
JohnKentHarrison’sHelenofTroy
InnocentHelen:PalinodesfromStesichorustoHollywood
Womeninlove
Frominnocencetoexperience:ChloeinPleasantville
Seductionbyluxury:Cleopatraandherroyalbarge
PrincessDeath
Epilogue:“Brightshinesthelight”
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
TheManwiththeMovieCamera.DzigaVertov’s
CinemaEye,thefilm’sfinalimage. page
OedipusRex.TheDelphicOracleintheAfricandesert
inPasolini’scinemaofpoetry.
TheMagus.ThearchaicsmileonthefaceofApollo.
StarTrek:“WhomournsforAdonais?”Apollohurling
lightning.
DowntoEarth.“SwingingtheMuses”andthewrong
Terpsichore.
DowntoEarth.TheheavenlyMusesaghastat
Terpsichore’snewsabouttheAmericanMuses’song.
DowntoEarth.Terpsichoreinherownproductionof
theGreekballet.
DowntoEarth.Terpsichoreandherproducer
discussingGreekmythbackstage.
MødmigpaaCassiopeia.Polyhymniacomedowntoearth.
Troy.Achillesandthestatueoffar-shootingApollo
beforehistempleoutsidethewallsofTroy.
TheColossusofRhodes.Theheadofthetitularstatue,
withApollo’sarchaicsmile.
OedipusRex.Oedipus(inwhiterobe,ctr.)askingofan
archaic-mythicThebes.
OedipusRex.OedipusatthecrossroadsafterkillingLaius.
OedipusRex.Guthrie’smaskedactors:Oedipusandthechorus.
TheBandWagon.Theauthoroftheplayrunningon
Broadwayisconspicuousbyhisabsence.
vii
viii Listofillustrations
HistoryoftheWorld,PartI.OedipusinRome.
AllQuietontheWesternFront.Theclassicalquotations
ontheblackboard:firstversion.
AllQuietontheWesternFront.Theclassicalquotations
ontheblackboard:secondversion.
AllQuietontheWesternFront.Theerasureofeducation
andcivilization.
AllQuietontheWesternFront.Thefinalimage:the
deadlookingattheliving.
GrandIllusion.MonsieurPindare(l.)gettingreadyforwork.
GrandIllusion.RauffensteinandthegreatestGreekpoet.
GoTelltheSpartans.Simonides’epitaphinVietnam.
Patton.PattonandtheruinsofCarthage,filmedat
VolubilisinMorocco.TheArchofCaracallaisinthe
background.
Patton.Thegeneralinthefilm’sopeningscene.
Troy.HelenandParisinSparta.
HelenofTroy().Paris’firstviewofHelen.
HelenofTroy().Thedysfunctionalmarriageof
HelenandMenelaus.
HelenofTroy().TyndareusblamesHelenbefore
theGreekkings.
HelenofTroy().Helenondisplay.
Pleasantville.Thediscoveryoftheeroticnatureofthe
body,herestillinblackandwhite,leadstoknowledge
andself-awareness.
Pleasantville.ThelocusamoenusinPleasantville.
Cleopatra().CleopatraandAntonyonherbarge.
Cleopatra().TheimmensestudiosetofCleopatra’sbarge.
Cleopatra().Queenandseductress:themost
ravishingsingleimageinDeMille’sfilm.
Cleopatra().Cleopatraandherbathtubtoy.
Cleopatra().Therealthing:Cleopatra’ssea-goingbarge.
Orph´ee.ThePrincess,herfacelikeadeathmask.
Description:Apollo was the ancient god of light and the divine patron of the arts. He is therefore a fitting metaphor for cinematography, which is the modern art of writing with moving light. This book interprets films as visual texts and provides the first systematic theoretical and practical demonstration of
