Documentary which goes behind the scenes to tell the stories of the biggest film genre of them all - the epic, from Ben-Hur to The Ten Commandments and from El Cid to Cleopatra.
Timeshift reveals the ten commandments of big cinema as it goes behind the scenes of the biggest film genre of them all - the epic. See the biggest sets ever known! Hear the sound of Ancient Rome! Count the spiralling costs as budgets soared!
From Ben-Hur to The Ten Commandments, from El Cid to Cleopatra, these were films that set a new standard in BIG. In the days before computers they recreated ancient worlds on a vast scale, and they did it for real. Epic cinema hired armies, defied the seasons and changed cinema. Even the screen wasn't big enough for the epic, so Hollywood made it bigger - and some cinemagoers experienced vertigo watching these vast productions.
Today, the epic lives on in the Oscar-laden Gladiator and the spectacular sweep of Avatar. As this documentary reveals, the stories behind the films are as spectacular as the films themselves.
Last on
More episodes
Clips
-
![]()
Cinerama and the Influences for the Widescreen Cinema
Duration: 03:23
-
![]()
The Hollywood Epic Roadshows
Duration: 06:55
-
![]()
Formats of the Epic Screens
Duration: 01:30
-
![]()
The Epic Marketing and Distribution of the Hollywood Epic
Duration: 02:38
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
-
Lawrence of Arabia Theme
-
![]()
Maurice Jarre
Lawrence of Arabia Theme
-
-
El Cid Overture
-
![]()
Mikl贸s R贸zsa
El Cid Overture
-
-
![]()
Mikl贸s R贸zsa
Ben Hur Theme
-
![]()
Dimitri Tiomkin
The Fall of the Roman Empire
-
![]()
Mikl贸s R贸zsa
El Cid Theme
-
![]()
Hans Zimmer
Now We Are Free
- Gladiator Soundtrack.
-
![]()
Maurice Jarre
Lara's Theme
- Doctor Zhivago Soundtrack.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Tom Baker |
| Producer | Clare Wilmshurst |
| Director | Clare Wilmshurst |
| Series Producer | Ben Southwell |
| Executive Producer | Michael Poole |