Critical filmmakers love to bury particular movie subgenres, often blaming specific “grave diggers”. Now the term “killer of the genre” is widely used, which is conventionally used to designate a film, the effect of which becomes a tragedy for the entire film direction. Some critics recklessly rank peplum as a genre. What this is - everyone knows: a costume-historical large-scale spectacle, oriented mostly to antique plots. For example, “Cleopatra”, which to contemporaries seems an anachronism from the 60s, which can only cause nostalgia in the elderly.
The revival of the genre
Moreover, films of the Peplum genre are absolutely contraindicated for the home video screen. The grandiose extras on it seem a little impressive, and the applied cinerama is significantly narrowed on the monitor. To all - the unhurried narrative characteristic of large-scale productions seems frankly boring to most fans of modern action. Therefore, until recently, the audience began to forget what it is - peplum. But in 2000, Ridley Scott removes the Gladiator. The cult director managed to create a fascinating and exciting spectacle that was liked by the modern public. So it turned out that the paintings of the “sword and sandals” have a decent box office potential. The old-fashioned style of historical supercolosses, dominating two generations ago, found its audience. The picture was appreciated by the wise inhabitants who attended the screenings of the best peplum films of the 20th century: “The Ten Commandments” by Cecil Blount De Mill, “Ben Hur” by William Wyler, “Spartacus” by Stanley Kubrick, and the same “Cleopatra” by Joseph Leo Mankevich. And the younger generation of viewers appreciated the share of irony in the display of the past, because the creators were not very concerned about historical authenticity.
Strengthening position
The fashion for battle and antiquity in 2004 was strengthened due to the release on the wide screen of the works of Oliver Stone “Alexander” and Wolfgang Petersen “Troy”. True, it is worth noting that the genre emphasis in these projects was placed more on myths than on real historical events. Further, the magician Zack Snyder invaded the territory of the reserved Hollywood genre. He did not particularly talk about what peplum is, he left this right to critics evaluating his brainchild of 300 Spartans. The director simply achieved his goal - he created an impressive mythologized manifesto of absolute fidelity to duty and transcendent courage.
The film personifies the battle of Good and Evil, and it is in this context that the storyteller Dilius presents the viewer the war of the Greeks and Persians. Snyder’s project turned out to be bright, it is still remembered and quoted with pleasure, although often with irony. And the sequel with the subtitle “The Rise of the Empire” that came out, despite the fact that it paid off at the box office, was soon forgotten.
Modern masterpieces
In the future, the list of peplum films of the 21st century was replenished with the films "Centurion" and "War of the Gods: Immortals." The first was directed by Neil Marshall, who shared his vision of the version of the death of the Ninth Legion. The project turned out to be much more modest than the “Gladiator”, but secured the glory of the most severe British director to the creator. You should not look for historical authenticity, a complex plot or character development in the cinema. But the dirty, cruel and energetic action Marshall provided.
The film "War of the Gods: Immortals" Tarsem Singh has repeatedly been compared with "300 Spartans", it must be said not in favor of "War of the Gods ...". At the same time, the bloody peplum with the titans, Olympic gods and Mickey Rourke is positioned as a model representative of the genre, with pompous speeches and appropriate surroundings.
Format transformation
And yet, less and less peplums come out every year. What is it - only a narrow circle of fans knows. It seems that the subgenre fulfilled its mission by quenching the audience’s thirst for grandiose spectacles from biblical and ancient times, giving way to science fiction, grim thrillers, frightening horror movies with impressive computer special effects, karcalom tricks and “clip” dynamics of the narrative. Now the peplums, having changed the format, are conquering television space, in which an endless series of episodes allows you to save individual features of the genre, previously so popular.