Martin Scorsese’s name speaks for itself. It’s synonymous with the art of movie-making. His films themselves are synonymous with influential cinema. His career has reached the kind of heights that any veteran ofanyindustry would be envious of. And like any truly great and remarkably versatile director, he’s tackled almost every genre under the sun, from thrillers to comedies, period films to sports dramas, and, of course, his signature mob films. Tthe auteur has not only experimented passionately, but has almost always created a masterpiece in the genre he’s dabbled in. And with his most recent film, the critically laudedKillers of the Flower Moon, he finally made a Western, albeit still heavily placed in the crime drama atmosphere. But the one genre he has yet to tackle in any way, shape, or form, is the ancient history epic.
This genre, or what it’s sometimes referred to as the “sword-and-sandals” category, is one of cinema’s oldest, most popular, and most potent genres. From the early days of Hollywood, Ancient Era classics likeThe Ten Commandments,Ben-Hur,Lawrence of Arabia, andCleopatra, were hallmarks of the industry, both at the box office and in critical praise. Great directors lined up aplenty to tackle a story set in humanity’s fascinating past, from biblical times and upwards. After peaking in the 1960s, the genre started declining somewhat, and began to lose its illustrious reputation.
It was then revived almost single-handedly byRidley Scott’s Roman epic,Gladiator, in 2000, and has seen a renewed interest and pop culture presence ever since. Once again, great, modern directors like Oliver Stone, Zack Snyder, Mel Gibson, and Wolfgang Peterson came along to tackle the grand genre. But the one cinematic master who has yet to enter that club is Martin Scorsese. Let’s examine why the time has come for him to finally dive into this world.
Related:10 Great Movies About Ancient Real World Civilizations
He’s Spoken About His Interest in the Genre Before
During an interview at a press round for one of his previous films, the legendary filmmaker was asked about his future dream projects that he wanted to bring to life, and he mentioned that he’d love to adapt Homer’s Iliad poem, or do something in that world. The Iliad has already been adapted plenty of times before, most famously with the Brad Pitt-starringmuscular epic “Troy”.
It’s not clear whether Scorsese would want to adapt the same story of the Trojan battle again or another part of the Iliad, but his giddy, smiling expression as he talked about it and his passionate praise of Homer shows that he has genuine affection for those stories and that it would, indeed, be a passion project and dream for him to make a film set in the Ancient Greek period. Adapting one of the most famous poems of all time, in any capacity, surely seems like something that he would get VERY excited about, and thus, pour his mastery, creativity, and passion into making a masterpiece of an Ancient Era film, no doubt.
Related:How Killers of the Flower Moon Is Martin Scorsese’s Magnum Opus
He Has the Experience and Skill to do it Right
Creating a film set in ancient history is a huge and bold undertaking that requires deft skill, vision, scope, proper world-building, and experience to make it truly great. An Ancient epic made on a low budget and handled by an inexperienced director rarely hits right, the way it should. Unlike the genres of horror, comedy, or drama, which can produce great films on low budgets, making a film where you have to recreate an entire civilization from the past, recreate their world, their culture, their battles, their lands, etc.. is a tall task, and rarely produces a good or accurate film when on a shoestring budget.
But budget aside, it most requires a visionary storyteller who can properly bring the past to life, who has a wealth of experience and resources, and, of course, being one of the most praised cinematic legends who have a muscular reputation himself, can’t hurt. Martin Scorsese has all those things in spades. He has the mastery, the vision, and the potent experience to make a masterpiece set in Ancient times. And when other directors of his caliber have already made films in the genre, it seems fitting that someone of his stature should join the club already.
Now, Scorsese has dabbled in period films before, such asGangs of New YorkandKundun, but nothing that can be considered set in ancient history except perhapsThe Last Temptation of Christ, starring Willem Dafoe. But that film felt more personal, intimate, and spiritual, rather than being a full-blown ancient epic on a vast scale. And it was made in the late ’80s, so obviously, certain technical aspects of the film feel rather dated now, and it was also closer to the beginning of Scorsese’s career rather than being the mid-point, where he didn’t fully build up the experience or reputation that he has today.
So, it would be extremely exciting and very interesting to see him tackle the genre now, when he’s had a celebrated career full of achievements, cinematic marvels, experimenting in different genres, and more authority than ever before to command the type of canvas and budget a truly great film of that time period would require. His most recent film,Killers of the Flower Moon, has shown that he hasn’t lost his magic touch when delving into a past period, and he’s gotten some of the biggest praise of his career with this film. So he’s definitely not losing his ability to produce quality art. In fact, he’s becoming better as the years go by. Nor is he retiring anytime soon.
So, what better time is there than to finally come around to entering a genre he’s been interested in for quite some time, and to tackle an opportunity to play in a different genre once again, rather than go back to familiar territory? When peers of his, such as Ridley Scott, have already conquered the ancient history epic with multiple masterpieces, including his mostrecent period film,Napoleon, it’s becoming overdue for one of cinema’s greatest filmmakers to finally catch up to one of cinema’s greatest genres… and show everyone what he can do with it.
