The Medieval Hero on Screen

by Driver, Martha W.

• ISBN13: 9780786419265
• ISBN10: 0786419261
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-07-01
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing

Summary

Few figures have captured Hollywood's and the public's imagination as completely as have medieval heroes. Cast as chivalric knight, warrior princess, "alpha male in tights," or an amalgamation, and as likely to appear in Hong Kong action flicks and spaghetti westerns as films set in the Middle Ages, the medieval hero on film serves many purposes. This collection of essays about the medieval hero on screen, contributed by scholars from a variety of disciplines, draws upon a wide range of movies and medieval texts. The essays are grouped into five sections, each with an introduction by the editors: an exploration of historic authenticity; heroic children and the lessons they convey to young viewers; medieval female heroes; the place of the hero's weapon in pop culture; and teaching the medieval movie in the classroom. Thirty-two film stills illustrate the work, and each essay includes notes, a filmography, and a bibliography. There is a foreword by Jonathan Rosenbaum, and an index is included.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vi
Foreword
Jonathan Rosenbaum	1	(4)
Preface: Hollywood Knights
Martha W. Driver and Sid Ray	5	(14)
Part I. What's Accuracy Got to Do with It? Historicity and Authenticity in Medieval Film
Martha W. Driver	19	(34)
Heroism and Alienation through Language in The Lord of the Rings
David Salo	23	(15)
Authenticating Realism in Medieval Film
William F. Woods	38	(15)
Part II. Kid Crusaders: Heroic Children on Film
Martha W. Driver	53	(38)
Shirley Temple and the Guys and Dolls of the Round Table
Kevin J. Harty	57	(16)
Boys to Men: Medievalism and Masculinity in Star Wars and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Tim Henthorne	73	(18)
Part III. Iron Maidens: Medieval Female Heroes on Film
Martha W. Driver	91	(56)
Girls on Film: Medieval Virginity in the Cinema
Anke Bernau	94	(21)
Chivalric Virtues in Female Form: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's Wudan Warrior Princess as Medieval Hero
Diana E. Slampyak	115	(18)
Not Your Typical Knight: The Emerging On-Screen Defender
Susan Butvin Sainato	133	(14)
Part IV. Time Bandits: Contemporary Appropriations
Sid Ray	147	(64)
The Hagiography of Steel: The Hero's Weapon and Its Place in Pop Culture
Carl James Grindley	151	(16)
The Way of the Wizard: Reflections of Merlin on Film
Michael A. Torregrossa	167	(25)
Hard Day's Knights: First Knight, A Knight's Tale, and Black Knight
Caroline Jewers	192	(19)
Part V. "Stond and Delyver": Teaching the Medieval Movie
Martha W. Driver	211	(40)
Oh, What a Lovely War! Joan of Arc on Screen
Edward Benson	217	(20)
The Hero in the Classroom
John M. Ganim	237	(14)
Notes on Contributors	251	(4)
Index	255