Hi there, and welcome to the Friday Film Club! Is it that time again? We’ve sadly come to the last blog of the academic year… but fear not I will still be posting recommendations in each month of the summer holidays! For this month’s blog I though we’d have a look at a subject that often gets a lot of traction in academia but not always on screen: Mythology. Mythology is a folklore of narratives that a society is built on, usually relating to ancient times and concerns a group of people, e.g. the Egyptians or Greeks. These narratives may or may not be true (or partly true), there is no certain way of knowing, however the people of those societies and lands certainly believe them to be true, in a very religious way. Most mythologies are based around ancient times and God’s & Goddesses of particular societies. In this blog I will talk about four films that take inspiration from different mythologies for their stories that were and are underappreciated by critics and audiences alike.
To begin I shall focus on a film featuring Greek mythology, the epic war film, Troy (2004). Directed by the late Wolfgang Petersen (The NeverEnding Story, Air Force One), it spotlights some of the mortal mythical figures of Ancient Greek as opposed to the deities the films are usually about. Featuring an ensemble casting including: Brad Pitt (Ocean’s Eleven 2001, Fight Club), Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down, Munich), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of The Rings), Diane Kruger (National Treasure, Inglorious Basterds), Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, In Bruges) and Brian Cox (X-Men 2, The Bourne Identity); it is based upon the Trojan War, as told in Homer’s (a Greek poet) Iliad. Troy was a real historical city the ruins of which can be found in modern day Turkey. The war was said to be a decade long but for the purposes of the film was condensed into a couple of weeks.
The film starts in Ancient Greece, where King Agamemnon of Mycenae (Cox) finally manages to unite all the Greek kingdoms under on banner (in a albeit tentative alliance) after decades of fighting. Meanwhile, Prince’s Hector (Bana) and Paris (Bloom) have successfully negotiated a peace treaty with King Menelaus of Sparta (Gleeson) but unbeknownst to him, Paris is having an affair with his wife Queen Helen (Kruger). Paris convinces Helen to flee with him back to the city of Troy provoking the fury of Menelaus, who in turn asks his elder brother (Agamemnon) to help him take the city in retaliation. Agamemnon agrees as victory will allow him control of the Aegean Sea, making moves to convince his best fighter Achilles (Pitt; who internally despises the King) to join them, eventually becoming successful. The rest of the story chronicles the war between Trojans and the Greeks. You’ll have to watch it to find out which side one, if indeed you haven’t already heard of the very famous tale.
This historical adaptation was box-office success and garned mixed to positive reviews. A fair amount of the positivity centred on the performances, in particular Pitt’s, as Roger Ebert stated “Pitt is modern, nuanced, introspective: he brings complexity.” For those who like tales of sword-fighting and battles, this a highly entertaining watch, despite not being as accurate to the poem as it could have been. Troy is available to loan now only on DVD from the Library. Watch the exhilarating trailer now by clicking the link below:
From the Ancient Greeks to the Ancient Egyptians, are next mythological adventure is Roland Emmerich’s (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) sci-fi feature, Stargate (1994). The eldest of this month’s entries it tells the story of an ancient device used to navigate the stars to find distant worlds, with an Egyptian mythological twist of course. The main cast comprises of Kurt Russell (The Thing, Furious 7), James Spader (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pretty in Pink), Viveca Lindfors (Creepshow) and Mili Avital (Dead Man, Polish Wedding). Featuring depiction of several parts of Ancient Egyptian culture (e.g. the names of Gods, Egyptian hieroglyphics and structures), the narrative begins in 1928 in Giza, Egypt (rather unsurprisingly); where Catherine Langford’s father discovers some cap stones engraved with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Flashing forward to 1994, and a now adult Catherine (Lindfors) invites Egyptologist Dr, Daniel Jackson (Spader) to study and translate the previously unearthed hieroglyphs, as the stones have now become part of a classified U.S. Air Force project overseen by Colonel Jack O’Neil (Russell). Daniel determines that hieroglyphs refer to a “Stargate”, a pathway to other worlds which uses constellations to map coordinates in space. Unbeknownst to Catherine, her father had also discovered the Stargate at the same time as he found the stones, with artefact kept in storage this whole time. The Stargate turns out to be a giant metallic ring with markings along its outside, which scientists align using the coordinates, opening a wormhole (bridge to another plant). O’Neil and his team (including Dr. Jackson) set out through the wormhole to explore the planet on the other side (O’Neil being all too happy to go, believing he won’t return, after a devastating recent trauma).
To their surprise, they arrive safely inside a pyramid on the desert planet of Abydos. A problem soon arises however, when Dr. Jackson despite being able to locate the Stargate of Abydos’ controls, struggles to find the complete coordinates for their return to Earth effectively stranding the team for the time being. Not standing on ceremony, some of them decide to explore the planet a little, coming across a tribe of humans speaking a variant of Ancient Egyptian who see the team as emissaries of their god Ra. As they navigate their way through the culture of this peculiar civilization, while trying to find a way home, they begin to discover there may be much more than meets the eye to this new planet and the ‘Gods’ they so idolise.
Stargate was praised for its effects and entertainment, though it was criticized a little for its story. It won six out of the ten nominations it got for various special effects and costume design awards. While only warmly received at the time of its release, it has since becoming something of a cult classic for audiences worldwide, so much so it generated four extremely popular television spin-offs (three live-action, one animated) starting with Stargate SG-1, ensuring its legacy lives on. In addition to Egyptian mythological influences, SG-1 also delves into and reinterprets other mythologies, such as: Norse, Greek and British. You can watch the original film now, available to loan only on DVD. View a clip of the Stargate’s very first activation by clicking the link below:
Leaving Africa for Europe, our next entry is superhero epic Thor (2011). Directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh (Murder on the Orient Express 2017, Cinderella 2015), it’s based on the marvel comics character of the same name, who in turn was based upon the Norse (mythology of Norway) God of Thunder, Thor Odinson (who also has the day of the week Thursday named after him). It was the fourth film in the now acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008 – present), released between Iron Man 2 and Captain America: The First Avenger and has a vast collection of top actors such as; Chris Hemsworth (Men in Black: International, Ghostbusters 2016), Natalie Portman (Star Wars, Black Swan), Tom Hiddleston (War Horse, Kong: Skull Island), Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, The Mask of Zorro), Kat Dennings (Big Momma’s House 2), Stellan Skarsgard (Mamma Mia!, Dune 2021) and Colm Feore (Chicago, Face/Off).
Starting in 965 AD, Odin (All father of the Norse Gods and King of the realm of Asgard) wages war on & defeats the Frost Giants of Jotunheim (another of the nine realms as they seem them) as they attempt to conquer Earth (Midgard), seizing their source of power (The Casket of Ancient Winters) in the ensuing battle. In the present day (millennia later), Thor (Hemsworth) the eldest son of Odin (Hopkins) is preparing to ascend to the throne of Asgard, however the ceremony is interrupted as the Frost Giants attack while seeking to retrieve the Casket. They are halted by Odin and retreat, followed ferociously by Thor, his brother Loki (Hiddleston) and a small group of Asgardian warriors (Thor’s friends) against Odin’s explicit orders. Arriving on Jotunheim, Thor confronts the Frost Giants leader Laufey (Feore) and emerges into battle (hopelessly outnumbered and outmanned), leading Odin to intervene and save them all. This causes the already fragile truce between the two realms to fracture completely.
Highly disappointed by his firstborn’s recklessness in starting in a war, Odin decides to banish him in order to teach him a few lessons; sending him through the Bifrost (an ancient transport wormhole bridge) to Midgard, stripping him of his powers & imbuing them inside his mystical hammer Mjolnir. Landing in New Mexico, USA, Thor must prove to his father he is worthy to be King and possess “The Power of Thor”. Gaining help from a group of scientists he meets upon his arrival on Earth: Dr. Jane Foster (Portman), Dr. Erik Selvig (Skarsgard) and Darcy Lewis (Dennings), all very interested in his particular mode of interstellar travel; Thor must overcome friction from shadowy government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), and battle his own insecurities to regain his power & prove who he truly is. With both his old friends and new, Thor must fight his way back to Asgard before its true threat emerges.
This god-level movie blockbuster was generally enjoyed by critics and audiences alike. Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times) exclaimed of the feature., “Thor is the most entertaining superhero debut since the original Spider-Man.” Strong performances, plenty of action & heart, coupled with solid special effects and engaging story, make for a good opening chapter for this character. With three sequels plus appearances in other MCU projects to follow, Thor’s original appearance is a severely underrated watch to this day and one of the founding blocks from the early stages of this now beloved franchise. This movie also happens to be quite educational on Norse culture, with its mythology pretty accurate. Thor is available to watch now on both DVD & e-stream through the Library. You feel the devastation in this clip of the moment Thor is banished and arrives on Earth by clicking the link below:
Having opened with a film inspired by Greek mythological influences, I will also finish with one (after all it is the best and most catalogued mythology in the world). The final entry for this month is Chris Columbus’ (Home Alone, The Help) Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief (2010). Already well-known in young adult circles for directing the first two films in the Harry Potter (2001-2002) series, Columbus brings to life here the first instalment in Rick Riordan’s well-loved book series Percy Jackson & The Olympians released in 2005. The sizable cast includes names such as: Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Three Musketeers 2011), Alexandra Daddario (Baywatch, Texas Chainsaw 3D), Brandon T. Jackson (Tropic Thunder), Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye, Mamma Mia!), Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings, National Treasure), Catherine Keener (Incredibles 2, Get Out) and Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting, Brave).
King of the Greek god’s Zeus (Bean) meets his brother Poseidon (McKidd) on top of the Empire State Building and accuses Poseidon’s demi-god (a being who is part human, part deity) son Percy Jackson (Lerman) of having stolen his master lightning bolt, a massive source of his power. Though Poseidon protests and reminds Zeus that Percy will have no idea who he is (thanks to a decree from Zeus himself that no god can have contact with their demi-god offspring after birth), Zeus declares that unless the bolt is returned to Mount Olympus (home of the deities) before midnight on the Summer Solstice in a fortnight’s time, war will be waged between all the gods & goddesses for ultimate power.
Percy who is 16 years-old, struggles with dyslexia and ADHD but has the ability to stay underwater for long periods of time (his father is the God of the Seas after all). On a school trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Percy is attacked by Alecto, a FURY (female deity of vengeance) who had been impersonating one of his teachers and is also seeking the lightning bolt. Help arrives however, in the form of Percy’s best friend Grover (Jackson) and his Latin teacher Mr. Brunner (Brosnan) help scare her away. Afterwards, Mr. Brunner gives Percy a pen (claiming it is a very powerful weapon in disguise) and instructs Grove to take Percy & his mother Sally (Keener) to a place known as Camp Half-Blood. While meeting opposition from Sally’s abusive husband Gabe, the two are attacked by a Minotaur (a creature that is half bull-half man) with Sally seemingly killed in the ensuing fight. Though Percy manages to fend off the beast using his pen (which transforms into a magical sword when clicked), he later collapses from exhaustion, waking up three days later inside the Camp.
Once awake he finally learns who his father is and that Camp Half-Blood is a safe haven for demi-gods to train and grow together, Grover is really his protector & a satyr (half man-half horse) and Mr. Brunner is actually Chiron (Percy’s uncle and the lead trainer at the camp, also a Centaur). Percy struggles to acclimatise to all he has found out and his new surroundings, in part down to being somewhat of a celebrity because he is a child of the eldest gods (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades) which are very rare. He begins to settle down once he meets Annabeth (Daddario) daughter of Athena & Luke the son of Hermes and discovers his powers while training, including: Hydro kinesis (manipulation of water) and advanced healing when in contact with water. Later that night, after seeing a vision of his uncle Hades concerning the lightning bolt, Percy decides to set out on a quest in search of it and the thief, intent on handing both directly to Zeus to clear his name. As Grover & Annabeth decide to join him, the three must journey through all manner of challenges to find the entrance to the Underworld and several items to help their cause, before time runs out and war is waged in the realm of the gods endangering all of mankind.
While it received mixed reviews (most were positive), the performances, visual effects and action sequences were all heavily praised. The faithfulness to the source material was debated, but it retains the heart and essence of the Percy Jackson stories throughout. A sequel was released n 2013 and a TV reboot is on the way next year, so its live action legacy lives on. Enjoyable, light-hearted, and full of fantasy, it’s a more than decent & different family film perfect for a summer watch. It’s available to loan only on DVD and the whole book series can be found in the Library too! Experience the moment Percy discovers his powers by clicking the link below:
Well then, there you have it. If you are interested in learning more about mythology, religion or different cultures, these are the films to watch. Informative, epic and fun, they are certainly not to be missed; and if you find yourself still yearning for more mythical knowledge, fear not we have books on all the mythologies highlighted in this blog available in the Library, you just have to come and ask or search yourself for them.
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