Past Histories

The historical epic was once a genre that towered over all Hollywood blockbusters. From the early silent productions of Ben-Hur and Birth of a Nation, to the widescreen glory of Kingdom of Heaven, these spectacular visions of the past have fired the imaginations of generations of filmgoers. Sadly, North American interest in history as a big-screen subject has diminished in recent years making these costly epics prohibitively expensive. On television however, niche programming has taken up the gauntlet, with shows such as Rome, and The Tudors. European interest in history is still strong today and many of these television projects are co-produced with overseas partners. This was also common practice during the most successful period for epics after the unprecedented success of Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Many of the resulting films made in Britain and on the continent were Hollywood films in name only, as they reflected little of the typically narrow American interest in the history of the world. The following films on DVD are my choices for the best examples of the historical epic during its most fertile period.

Khartoum (1966) The most obvious attempt by British filmmakers to replicate the success of Lawrence, is a noble history lesson whose casting illustrates all the good and bad that can come from the need to satisfy Hollywood's commercial interests and still be historically accurate. Charlton Heston, who many initially thought miscast, turned out to be brilliant as the arrogant Christian zealot General Gordon. Laurence Olivier, fresh from his triumph as Othello, was instead the poorer choice, giving too broad a performance as the Muslim warrior and revolutionary The Mahdi. There is no evidence that these two historical adversaries ever met but the filmmakers felt they could not deny the audience a face-to-face meeting. Ironically Heston himself benefited more from this confrontation than his character, as most critics believed his convincing British manner outshone Olivier's black-faced theatrical villainy. The script and direction are also inferior attempts at a David Lean-type epic , however all of the actors startlingly resemble their real-life counterparts, the dilemmas and politics of the era are clearly presented and the action is vigorously staged. Not the classic intended, but entertaining history nonetheless.

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) One of the greatest military blunders in history is the basis for this satirical epic. Made at the height of the Vietnam war by Academy Award-winning director Tony Richardson (Tom Jones), it was an unmitigated commercial failure probably due to its unrelenting contempt for military authority as portrayed with comic incompetence by Trevor Howard and John Gielgud. The futility of war, the violence and confusion on the battlefield, and the cultural ignorance of an invading power are all superbly dramatized by a filmmaker at the height of his powers. Special mention must also be made of Canadian Richard Williams' memorable animations which link episodes in the film using Victorian-era political cartoons. For many years unavailable in its essential wide-screen format, one can now appreciate the virtues of this lost classic.

The Last Valley (1970) The only English-language feature ever to depict the Thirty Years War, this forgotten curiosity stars Michael Caine in one of his greatest roles as a 17th century German warrior leading a band of cuthroats into the peaceful valley of holy man Omar Sharif. Sporting a convincing Teutonic accent and demeanor, Caine movingly conveys his slow disillusionment with the barbarity that he has embraced during this time of European upheaval. Written and directed by James Clavell, author of Shogun, this British production opened to little fanfare but has slowly acquired keen fans of its unique atmosphere, pitch-perfect performances and memorable score by Caine's former roommate John Barry.

Cromwell (1970) It might seem pure folly to cast Irishman Richard Harris as Oliver Cromwell, one of Ireland's most hated enemies, but Harris' peculiar blend of bluster and hushed anger fits the character of the morose puritan leader quite well. It is however Alec Guiness as Charles I , who walks away with the film. He is Van Dyck's portrait come to life with all of his sad ignorance and contrived dandyism intact. Featuring peerless cinematography and production design, exciting battle scenes and a who's who of British acting talent including Charles Gray, Robert Morley, and a young Timothy Dalton, filmmaker Ken Hughes ably succeeded in bringing this most turbulent era of British history to vivid life.

Waterloo(1971) This Italian-Russian co-production's failure at the box-office was most responsible for the demise of the historical epic. Costing millions of dollars, and utilizing the entire Russian army as extras, this mammouth undertaking by director Sergei Bondarchuk (War and Peace), became synonymous with spendthrift filmmaking. It was even said to have cost director Stanley Kubrick his Napoleon dream project when Warner Bros. pulled the plug after the disaster of Waterloo. Despite its poor reception, the miscasting of corpulent Rod Steiger as the diminutive Emperor and a English-language running-time shorn of almost two hours, the film's virtues make it a landmark still to be surpassed. Featuring an adroitly cast Christopher Plummer as the lordly Wellington, sumptuously designed to the last waist-coat button, and an eye-popping battle sequence that will never be duplicated for its accuracy or scale using actual human participants, this is truly an epic for the ages, sending the viewer back in time to be present at the very turning point of history. Unfortunately a definitive DVD has yet to be released in North America, however certain wide-screen imports, although featuring the shorter cut, do manage to replicate the expansiveness of the production.