Movies

“The Last Duel” and the Subversion of Epic Heroism

Ridley Scott’s newest film is, in many ways, a…

Screening History: “W.” (2008)

Oliver Stone’s deeply flawed biopic serves as a warning of idealizing…

Reading History: “The Girl in White Gloves: A Novel of Grace Kelly”

Kerri Maher’s historical novel is…

The Foreclosure of Utopian Futures in “Cleopatra” (1963)

One of classic Hollywood’s most notoriously…

“Spartacus” (1960) and the Despair of the Future

10 Under-appreciated Epic Films

Sometimes, even “bad” movies have hidden depths that are worthy of…

Death-in-Desire in David and Bathsheba (1951)

The postwar epic expresses a profound ambivalence about…

Messianic Ambivalence in Nicholas Ray’s “King of Kings” (1961)

Atomic Anxiety and the Futility of Heroism in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments

Experiencing the Horrors of History in Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Sign of the Cross”