Medieval film

by Anke Bernau (Editor), Bettina Bildhauer (Editor)

Medieval film explores theoretical questions about the ideological, artistic, emotional and financial investments inhering in cinematic renditions of the medieval period. What does it mean to create and watch a ‘medieval film’? What is a medieval film and why are they successful?

This is the first work that attempts to answer these questions, drawing, for instance, on film theory, postcolonial theory, cultural studies and the growing body of work on medievalism. Contributors investigate British, German, Italian, Australian, French, Swedish and American film, exploring topics such translation, temporality, film noir, framing and period film – and find the medieval lurking in unexpected corners. In addition it provides in-depth studies of individual films from different countries including The Birth of a Nation to Nosferatu, and Robin Prince of Thieves.

Medieval film will be of interest to medievalists working in disciplines including literature, history, art history, to scholars working on film and in cultural studies. It will also be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and to an informed enthusiast in film or/and medieval culture.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The film and history buff in me both got a lot out of Medieval Film. This collection of essays presents many interesting takes on what constitutes medieval film, how the illusion of authenticity is achieved (or not achieved) in film, and how we ought to "read" certain films as medieval. According to the volume's editors, Anke Bernau and Bettina Bildhauer, the medium of film is uniquely suited to portraying the multiple temporalities which they associate with the Middle Ages. The "medieval", they seem to be saying, implies something more and other than simple linearity. And film, by its very structure, is both historic and capable of non-linearity. This is an interesting take, however most of the authors in Medieval Film, including the editors, treat the Middle Ages-the-historical-time-period, as unproblematically interchangeable with some general idea of "medieval", which may or may not be connected via accuracy or historiography to the actual time period. This was my only real gripe with the book: the contributing authors' failure to grapple with the difference between the history so many medieval films purport to be offering authentically, and the ahistorical allegorical vision of the Middle Ages that usually is what truly is on display in film.

For a long and detailed, but I hope worthwhile consideration of this point (and a few others), see my essay "Medievalism, Modernity and White Identity" on my blog here.