History, Legend or Fantasy: Film Portrayals of the First Emperor of China
Abstract
When the terracotta army was found in 1974 within the burial complex of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China, previously familiar mostly to sinologists, entered popular imagination. Helman presents the life of Qin Shi Huang, the man responsible for the creation of this incredible necropolis. The author also describes myths and legends associated with the emperor (the construction of the Great Wall of China, assassination attempts, his descent etc). It is the assassination attempts that proved to be most inspiring to film directors and people responsible for the creation of TV series about Qin Shi Huang. Romance was also an essential element of the story. Helman describes the most important films, which feature the First Emperor. She points out that with the exception of Zhang Yimou’s Hero, where Qin Shi Huang is shown as a great ruler, in other films he is usually portrayed as a cruel and ruthless tyrant, devoid of human emotions, a megalomaniac desiring to be God. The storylines of these films are a mix of facts, legends and pure fantasy created by the scriptwriters.
Keywords:
Qin Shi Huang, Zhang Yimou, terracotta army, Chinese cinemaReferences
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Authors
Alicja Helmankwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Jagiellonian University Poland
Filmoznawca, wykłada w Instytucie Sztuk Audiowizualnych na UJ. Prowadzi badania w zakresie teorii filmu, komparatystyki. W dorobku naukowym ma ponad 20 książek autorskich, m.in: O dziele filmowym (1970 i 1981), Film faktów i film fkcji (1977), Przedmiot i metody filmoznawstwa (1985), Słownik pojęć filmowych (1991-1998), Historia semiotyki filmu, t. 1-2 (1992-1993), Twórcza zdrada. Filmowe adaptacje literatury (1998), Urok zmierzchu. Filmy Luchina Viscontiego (2002), Ten smutek hiszpański. Konteksty twórczości filmowej Carlosa Saury (2005).
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