The Medieval Hero on Screen: Representations from Beowulf to Buffy (Paperback)

~ Martha W. Driver (Editor), Sid Ray (Editor), Jonathan Rosenbaum (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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 film, contributed by scholars from a variety of disciplines, draws upon a wide range of films 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.

About the Author

Martha W. Driver is Distinguished Professor of English at Pace University.

Sid Ray is Associate Professor of English at Pace University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (July 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786419261
• ISBN-13: 978-0786419265
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,374,989 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buffy, Han Solo, Aragorn, - what more could you want?, September 23, 2004

By	A. J. Gillespie (Toronto) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I confess that I know one of the editors of this book - which is how I came by it. Personal connections aside, it seemed to me that it deserves the attention of many, and that I should let people know...

As a pedagogical tool (for high school *and* college students) I have found it just excellent- not only when actually teaching texts such as Beowulf, but for a whole series of ways of thinking about films that seem, inevitably, to come up in my survey as well as medieval courses - Buffy for Dracula; Star Wars for any romance (Carl Grindley's chapter on weaponry here is especially fabulous, and hilarious, for this); ET for bindungsroman, etc. The last section of the book is actually devoted to teaching - and there is a great chapter on The Lord of the Rings trilogy on film, for those, like me, who would always rather teach the celluloid to the written version of that text (more exciting! pictures of NZ!)

But I would also recommend the book to those interested in things medieval, or things cinematic generally, and for students - the papers use theory of all sorts (narrative, feminist, queer, etc) in an accessible and interesting way, and they serve as an admirable 'how-to' for students about to write an essay on anything from Monty Python to the history of film.