Description
Book SynopsisWhither Quo Vadis? offers an engaging account of how the Roman world and its history are represented in film and the way in which the different adaptations reflect the shifting historical situations and ideological concerns of their own times.
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- Explores five surviving film adaptations Guazzoni''s of 1912; D'Annunzio/Jacoby of 1925; Mervyn LeRoy''s of 1951; the Italian TV mini-series of 1985 by Franco Rossi; and Kawalerowicz's 2001 Polish version
- Examines how these different versions interpret, select from, and modify the novel and the ancient sources on which it is based
- Offers an exceptionally clear view of how films have presented ancient Rome and how modern conditions determine its reception
- Looks at rare and archival material which has not previously received close scholarly attention
Trade Review"Recommended [to] all readers." (
CHOICE, March 2010)
“There is much to admire in this book. It has a clear focus and a good set of questions. It knows its way round the five films and around the classical sources, and is prepared to look at broader issues in relation to the close reading of the films.” (
Bryn Mawr Classical Review, March 2009)
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments x
1 Novel and Film 1
2 Adapting the Narrative 16
Sienkiewicz’s Novel: Adapting the Story 16
Focalizers, Judgments, and Petronius 22
Petronius as Focal Character 28
Seeing and Mapping Rome 42
3 Gender and Ethnicity 55
Marcus and Lygia 55
Petronius and Eunice 57
Pomponia 61
Gender Roles in Public and Private Life 63
Ethnicity and Gender Roles in the 1985 Version 70
Adaptations in the 2001 Version 80
4 Political Institutions, Political Subtexts 88
Political Implications of the Silent Versions 91
Fascists and Communists: The 1951 and 2001 Films 94
The Complex Allusions of the 1985 Miniseries 97
Foreign Policy in the Films 116
The Military in the 1951 Version 118
The Arrival of Galba 124
5 The Roman People 139
6 Religion and Religious Authority in Quo Vadis? 173
Paganism 173
Judaism 178
Christianity: Ritual, Theology, and Confl ict in Sienkiewicz’s Novel 185
Transmitting a Tradition: Sermons in Novel and Film 188
The Representation of the Scriptures 190
Radicals: Crispus 194
Mainstream Christianity: Peter and Paul 200
Conclusion 211
7 Conclusions 219
8 Exkursus: Chilo’s Mother 223
A Peculiarity of the German Translations of Quo Vadis? 223
Description of the Films 227
Synopsis of the Novel and the Film Versions of Quo Vadis 230
References 266
Index of Ancient Sources 275
Index of Personal Names 279
Index of Things and Places 285
