CLA 252 - Classics in the Cinema

This course will analyze films set in the ancient Roman world, approximately one each week, starting from Giovanni Pastrone’s silent classic Cabiria (1914) and proceeding chronologically to Alejandro Amenábar’s Agora (2009), including along the way big movies such as Quo Vadis, Spartacus, Cleopatra (1963), and The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, comedies both serious and silly such as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Life of Brian, and History of the World, Part I, the blockbuster Gladiator and challenging films such as Fellini Satyricon and Titus that some might call bloody and disgusting. We will also include some episodes of HBO’s Rome, a small-screen series with high production values. We will pay particular attention not only to the films as films, but also to the cultural and political contexts in which they were made.

All the movies are in English or dubbed into English. Assignments will include a creative video project on a film set in the ancient world that we are not covering in the course.

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Counts toward the major in Classical Languages and Literature, the major in Classical Studies, and the minor in Classical Studies.

Counts toward the major in English
Counts toward the Film & Media Studies interdisciplinary minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
Students at all levels welcome. (Not offered in 2021-2022)