Film Appreciation and Analysis

Epic Genre

DEFINITION
Epic noun: A long film, book or other work portraying heroic deeds
and adventures or covering an extended period of time.
example: A Hollywood biblical epic / A Big Hollywood epic
adjectives: Relating to or characteristics of an epic or epics.
Heroic or grand in scale or character.
example: our national epic poem Beowulf / his epic journey around
the world

Genre noun: A style or category of art, music and literature

example: the spy thriller is a very masculine genre

EPIC FILMS
is a style of film-making with large scale, sweeping scope
and spectacle, often transporting the viewer to other settings.
Epic Films

As Roger Ebert (notable film critic) and others have noted, the usage of
the term has changed overtime and still debatable to this day.
According to an article titled What Makes A Film Epic by Randall
Wallace from the Directors Guild of America,
Epic has nothing to do with the size of the cast, the budget or any other
physical aspects of the production. Epic scale is a measure of the scope
of a character's inner journey.
But people in general today , defines Epic Films as a grand scope of
actions and special effects sequence that are displayed in the film.

CHARACTERISTICS
The term "epic" originally came from the poetic genre. In classical
literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of
heroes upon which the fate of a large number of people depend.

films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic

heroic figure.
Common subjects of epics:
royalty
gladiators
great military leaders
leading personalities from various periods in world history

CHARACTERISTICS
There are some films described as "epic" almost solely on the
basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama
of their settings.
Fantasy or Science-Fiction settings have become common in
recent decades.
The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having farreaching effects, often changing the course of history.
The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution
of the societal conflict.

CHARACTERISTICS
Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two
hours) as an epic,causing a dispute about its definition and
raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all.
As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence
of Arabia:
The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big
budget B picture. What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia is that
the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to
the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of
God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor, but it is an
epic, and Pearl Harbor is not.

CHARACTERISTIC
According to the American Film Institute, it limits the genre to
historical films such as Ben-Hur
Some film scholars have willingly extended the label to sciencefiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey
Nickolas Haydock suggests that
"Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of the "epic" film,
encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur, Gone with the Wind....and more
recently, 300 and the Star Wars films...none of these comes from literary
epics per se, and there is little that links them with one another. Among those
who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and
ignored genres Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally
defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state the epic film
may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an
example.

LOCAL EPIC FILMS (MALAYSIA)

Dated back to 1968, Raja Bersiong was one
of the first historical epic film presented
in colour.
It was adapted based on a story by former
Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman
The film was directed by Jamil Sulong, who
had previously directed Batu Belah Batu
Bertangkup and Si Tanggang.

Raja Bersiong cost an estimated of RM

750,000 , ten times the cost of an average
Malay film back then. However, it was a
flop at the box-office.

LOCAL EPIC FILMS (MALAYSIA)

Puteri Gunung Ledang, Malaysias most

expensive film, is a perfect example of an
epic fantasy period film. It sets in the
Sultanate of Malacca and the Javanese
Kingdom of Majapahit.

The film was directed masterfully by Saw

Teong Hin, who had captured the essence
of the love story between the Javanese
Hindu Princess, Gusti Puteri and Hang

Tuah, the famed Malay Muslim warrior from

Melaka.
It was the first big-budget Malay film that had
cost over USD $4 million (RM16.6 Million)

LOCAL EPIC FILMS

Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa is an epic action
film loosely based on the 16th century
document.
The film tells the story of Merong
Mahawangsa, who escorts Prince Marcus
Carprenius of the Roman Empire to
Langkasuka to marry Princess Meng Li
Hua from the Han Dynasty of China, thus
uniting the two powers of east and west.
The film is directed, co-written & co-produced
by Yusry Abdul Halim (KRU Studios)

It is the second most expensive film ever

made in Malaysia, cost around RM 8 Million
and but it fell short at the box office with
only RM 6.5 Million

INTERNATIONAL EPIC FILMS (US)

Gone With The Wind is a 1939 American epic
historical romance adapted from the 1936
Pulitzer-Winning Novel, written by
Margaret Mitchell.
Set against the backdrop of the American
Civil War and Reconstruction era, the
story is told from the perspective of white
Southerners.
The film had an estimated budget of USD
$3.85 Million and had earned over USD
$390 Million.

INTERNATIONAL EPIC FILMS (US/UK)

Gladiator is a 2000 American-British epic
historical drama, directed by Ridley
Scott, previously directed Alien (1979)
and Blade Runner (1982).
The film tells the story of a fictional
character portrayed by Russel Crowe,
a loyal Roman general Maximus
Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed
when the emperor Marcus Aurelius's
ambitious son, Commodus, murders
his father and seizes the throne.
The film had cost over USD $103 Million
and had earned USD $ 457,640,427 in
the box office.

INTERNATIONAL EPIC FILMS (SPAIN)

Pans Labyrinth 2006 Mexican-Spanish dark
fantasy film, written and directed by
Guillermo del Toro. (Pacific Rim, Hellboy)
The films narrative intertwines the real world
with a mythical world centered around an
overgrown abandoned labyrinth and a
mysterious faun creature, with which the
main character, Ofelia, interacts
Many critics have labeled the film as The
Darker Version of Alice in Wonderland
The films budget had estimated up to USD $19
Million has earned over USD $83,258,226
Million

INTERNATIONAL EPIC FILMS (CHINA)

Red Cliff is a Chinese epic war film from 20082009, based on the Battle of Red Cliffs
(208209 AD) and the events at the end of
the Han Dynasty and immediately prior to
the Three Kingdoms period in ancient
China.
The film is directed by John Woo (Mission
Impossible II) and was released in two
parts totaling over four hours in length.
With an estimated budget of US$80 million,
Red Cliff is the most expensive Asianfinanced film to date.
The budget of the film was over USD
$80,000,000 and had earned over USD
$248,308,17 at the box-office.

REFERENCE
http://www.filmsite.org/epicsfilms.html
http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0309-Sept-2003/What-Makes-aFilm-an-Epic.aspx

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/
http://www.impawards.com/index.html