About

Celebrating the world of heroic deeds, epic journeys and sacred stories, 'Myths and Legends' considers depictions of these two cinematic genres and the insights they provide into the mysteries and wonders of our existence.

A companion program to 2014's 'Fairytales and Fables', 'Myths and Legends' continues to explore the powerful relationships between classic folklore and modern cinematic storytelling, incorporating renditions and reinterpretations of classic tales, as well as contemporary accounts that translate mythic metaphors into unexpected genres, such as film noir, science fiction, adventure, drama, romance, comedy and the western.

The program explores the powerful relationships between classic folklore and modern cinematic storytelling, incorporating renditions and reinterpretations of classic tales, as well as contemporary accounts that translate mythic metaphors into unexpected genres, such as film noir, science fiction, adventure, drama, romance, comedy and the western.

'Myths and Legends' features the epic battles of classical mythology and Arthurian legend, as well as mythological stories and sacred tales from around the world, tales of the questing hero, and even those heroic journeys found in everyday life.

LECTURE

Play it Again, Sam: Film and Modern Mythology

Sat 7 Feb 1.00pm / Cinema A

From Casablanca 1942 to Pulp Fiction 1994, explore how different cinematic genres offer refreshing twists on classic mythic narratives with 'Myths and Legends' curator Amanda Slack-Smith, Australian Cinémathèque.

QAGOMA thanks the American Genre Archive, Austin; Danish Film Institute, Copenhagen; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; George Eastman House, Rochester, New York; National Film Centre, Tokyo; and National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra for providing film prints for this program. Program curated by Amanda Slack-Smith, Australian Cinémathèque.

List of Works

Silent Cinema

Mythological tales in early silent cinema feature stories of heroism, sacrifice and reward with historical figures, both real and fictitious.

• The Mark of Zorro 1920 | Director: Fred Niblo
• Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (The Golem, How He Came into the World) 1920 | Directors: Paul Wegener, Carl Boese
• Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage (Faust – A German Folk-Tale) 1926 | Director: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
• La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc) 1928 | Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer

Sacred Stories and Classic Tales

This selection of mystical adventures celebrates the sacred in cinema and features gods, spirits, monsters and heroes, drawing on the metaphors, symbols and patterns found in classic mythology and tales. From the rituals surrounding rites of passage — birth, puberty, maturation and death — these potent metaphors provide a lens through which we can interpret our experiences and understand the how and why of our existence.

• Jason and the Argonauts 1963 | Director: Don Chaffey
• Clash of the Titans 1981 | Director: Desmond Davis
• Ambavi Suramis tsikhitsa (The Legend of Suram Fortress) 1984 | Directors: Sergei Parajanov, Dodo Abashidze
• Yeleen (Brightness) 1987 | Director: Souleymane Cissé
• Mononoke-hime (Princess Mononoke) 1997 | Director: Hayao Miyazaki
• Atanarjuat (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) 2001 | Director: Zacharias Kunuk
• Whale Rider 2002 | Director: Niki Caro
• Ten Canoes 2006 | Director: Rolf De Heer, Peter Djigirr
• The Legend of Shangri-La 2006 | Director: Chen Ming
• Putting down the prey 2008 | Director: Nathalie Djurberg
• Indigo 2014 | Director: Amanda Strong

The Tale Retold

From a reimagining of Homer's The Odyssey as a 1930s Depression-era adventure in the American Deep South (O Brother, Where Art Thou? 2000) to a futuristic take on the Jewish folktale The Golem (The Terminator 1984), this selection of films offers classic mythological stories with a contemporary twist.

• Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) 1959 | Director: Marcel Camus
• The Wicker Man 1973 | Director: Robin Hardy
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 | Directors: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
• The Terminator 1984 | Director: James Cameron
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 | Director: Steven Spielberg
• Pretty Woman 1990 | Director: Gary Marshall
• The Fisher King 1991 | Director: Terry Gilliam
• Army of Darkness 1992 | Director: Sam Raimi
• Faust (Jan Svankmajer's Faust) 1994 | Director: Jan Svankmajer
• O Brother Where Art Thou? 2000 | Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• Sita Sings the Blues 2008 | Director: Nina Paley

Epic Tales

Ambitious in both scope and pageantry, these films embrace the traditions of the historical epic. Often set during times of oppression or war, and featuring a cast of thousands, these films depict a series of gruelling tests the hero must undergo to save a people, city or country from destruction and, in doing so, change the course of history.

• The Ten Commandments 1956 | Director: Cecil B DeMille
• Ben-Hur 1959 | Director: William Wyler
• Spartacus 1960 | Director: Stanley Kubrick
• Cleopatra 1963 | Director: Joseph L Mankiewicz
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 | Director: Peter Jackson
• Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 | Director: Peter Jackson
• Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 2003 | Director: Peter Jackson

The Adventuring Hero

A champion of the oppressed, these gallant protagonists capture the imagination with their unwavering heroic virtue and willingness to face exceptional odds in the name of honour and justice.

• The Scarlet Pimpernel 1934 | Director: Harold Young
• The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 | Directors: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
• Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) 1954 | Director: Akira Kurosawa

The Spiritual Quest

From the poetic quest to find the secrets of love (The Dove's Lost Necklace 1991) to encounters with the supernatural (Kwaidan 1964), this selection of films celebrate the inner journey of the spiritual hero; one of mind, heart, and spirit. The spiritual hero embraces varying roles such as mother, wanderer, pilgrim and tragic figure. Traversing a similar path to their adventuring counterpart –separation, initiation and return – the psychological obstacles faced by the spiritual hero are no less challenging, the prize of knowledge gained any less valuable.

• Kaidan (Kwaidan aka Ghost Stories) 1964 | Director: Masaki Kobayashi
• Kuroneko (Black Cat) 1968 | Director: Kaneto Shindô
• Le Collier Perdu de la Colombe (The Dove's Lost Necklace) 1991 | Director: Nacer Khemir
• Bab'Aziz (Bab'Aziz - The Prince That Contemplated His Soul) 2005 | Director: Nacer Khemir
• The Secret of Kells 2009 | Directors: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey

Descent into the Underworld

A selection of films that consider the reoccurring themes in mythology of death, burial and rebirth. Forced to confront their greatest fears, the hero faces overwhelming obstacles before overcoming death and returning forever changed by their experiences. These descent…