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Category: History

History Media TV and Film

Saving History – The Rise Of Cinematic TV

spite historical sword epics finding less success theatrically, they have begun to find a new form of medium in serialized TV. For a long time, such productions were impossible because they would be expensive. However, gradually building an audience first can persuade the producers to give more seasons and more financial backing.

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History Media Review TV and Film

The Last Duel [REVIEW]

This might be one of Ridley Scott’s best films to have come out in a long time. No doubt he was assisted a lot by the writing that Affleck Damon and Nicole Holofcener have provided with real complex characters and a strong foundation to support it

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History Media TV and Film

Drowning in Directors Cuts – The Decline of Historical Epics

You’re reading part 3 of our Historical Epic series. Read part 1 here! Period dramas have been the kinds of films directors have pushed themselves to make. Hollywood was also in the same vein looking to try to make the next Gladiator. There has been a string of historical films with some of the same talent such as Mel Gibson’s The Patriot and Russell Crowe’s Master and Commander. However, after the mid-2000s there has been a gradual decline of such films, at least theatrically. Some of them however have found a new lease on life when they reach DVD and

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Editorial Game of Thrones History Media

Fantasy and De-Mystifying Legends

You’re reading part 2 of our Historical Epic series.Read part 1 here! The filming techniques and writing that was prevalent in Braveheart and Gladiator help make Fantasy possible on the big screen. This cinematic formula reached its zenith when the Lord of the Rings trilogy hit theaters in 2001-2003. While Lord of the Rings is far from historical, there are elements from history that seep into it. Obviously, it is a medieval-esque world but with actual wizards and mystical creatures. Aragon is clearly a William Wallace type character as he serves the role of reluctant hero who fell into his

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History Politics

Best of Humanity’s Worst – “Top” Dictators of the Cold War

The Cold War between the U.S.S.R. and the western powers shaped the entire back-half of the 20th century. While the Soviet Union would eventually die a slow and anticlimactic economic/political death in 1991, the echoes of this ideological conflict can still be heard well into the 21st century, as the western powers and the various flavors of communism alike would see dozens of governments deposed and dictators (quite often called “presidents”) installed across the globe. This may seem like your standard listicle of “top” bad people, but our purpose here is not to off-handedly rank whose regime was the cruelest

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Dreamcast History Pitch Meeting TV and Film

Hamilton 2.0: We Tell Their Story

You’re reading part 4 of our 4-part series on adapting Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” for television. Read part 1 here! Finally, with format (part 1), cast (part 2), and production (part 3) figured out, it’s time to figure out how our own Hamilton: the Musical Miniseries will be structured. To sufficiently cover the characters over both the revolutionary and congressional eras of the play, we feel the appropriate duration to aim for will be roughly 7 episodes, varying from 45min-70min in length. The big goal to aim for is that each episode begins and ends with one of the bigger musical

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Dreamcast History Media Pitch Meeting

Hamilton 2.0: Balancing Diversity, Accuracy, and Style

You’re reading part 2 of our 4-part series on adapting Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” for television. Read part 1 here! Continuing our discussion on how to film our version of Hamilton, this article will focus on our approach to casting. As a history buff, I would normally want a film adaptation to visually represent a time period and setting as much as possible. This no doubt leads to a big question that concerns me, do I want our characters to actually look like their historical counterparts or should they reflect the theme of the play? Part of Hamilton‘s genius on stage

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