Task 2

Historical Film

A historical film is a fiction film showing past events or set within a historical period. This extensive genre shares territory with the biopic, costume drama, heritage film, and epic film. Beginning in 1915 with The Birth with The Nation, directed by D.W Griffith, the historical film has been one of the most celebrated forms of cinematic expression as well as one of the most controversial. As a genre, it has maintained a high degree of cultural prominence for nearly a century, and it has established itself as a major form in nearly every nation that produces films. But it has also consistently provoked controversy and widespread public debate about the meaning of the past, about the limits of dramatic interpretation, and about the power of film to influence popular understanding and to promote particular national myths.

The historical film has often served as a vehicle of studio prestige and artistic ambition, and many distinguished directors have made major contributions to the genre. Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, John Sayles, Edward Zwick, Bernardo Bertolucci  and Roman Polanski have made important and powerful historical films that have reawakened interest in aspects of the past that were not previously well-represented or understood. For many societies, the historical film now serves as the dominant source of popular knowledge about the historical past, a fact that has made some professional historians anxious. Other historians, however, see these films as valuable for the discussions and debate they generate. Films such as Spielberg’s Schindler’s and Stone’s JFK, for example, have fostered a widespread and substantial public discussion that has contributed to historical appreciation and understanding.

Although several types of film can be grouped under the heading of the historical, Natalie Zemon Davis usefully defines the historical genre as being composed of dramatic feature films in which the primary plot is based on actual historical events, or in which an imagined plot unfolds in such a way that actual historical events are central and intrinsic to the story. This broad, plot-based characterization of the genre captures the specific and unique character of the historical film, which depends for its meaning and significance on an order of events—historical events—that exist outside the imaginative world of the film itself. Within this somewhat narrowed framework, however, there are still large variations in the types of films that can be considered historical films. Because the genre overlaps with other well-established genres, it is useful to consider the historical film in terms of several subtypes. These include the epic, the war film, the biographical film, the period or topical film, and what might be called the metahistorical film—films such as JFK or Courage Under Fire that present the past from multiple, conflicting viewpoints in an attempt to illustrate the complexity of representing the historical past.

Contemporary Films

Contemporary Films is the oldest independent film distribution company in the UK. It was founded by Charles Cooper in 1951. It brought to UK cinemas many acclaimed films from countries around the world, including works by such famous directors as Andrzej Wajda, Milos Forman, Ingmar Bergman and Jean Renoir. It continues to distribute films to cinemas and TV, and videos and DVDs to the general public, as well as supplying footage to programme-makers.Between 1967 and 1989 Contemporary Films also operated three cinemas in England. These were the Paris Pullman cinema in South Kensington from 1967 to 1983, The Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley, from 1975 to 1985 and The Phoenix Picturehouse in Oxford, from 1977 to 1989.

When Richard Kelly graduated from USC in 1997, he was on a mission. Like so many wide-eyed film school grads, he had a passion project driving him. He’d made two short films, to some acclaim, while in college, but in that way that 20-somethings don’t know any better, he envisioned his next move to be a big budget, major motion picture. His idea was Donnie Darko.

Donnie Darko, released in 2001 starring Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jenna Mallone, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell and Patrick Swayze, was a smash, earning accolades from moviegoers and critics alike, and making a slew of “best” lists during the 2000s. Now, twenty years since the germ of the idea came to Kelly, he’s spent the better part of the past year revisiting the film, preparing it for theatrical release, as well as 4K home video versions of both the original theatrical version and the remarkably different Director’s Cut.