10 great epics that amaze even the seasoned viewer with their scale

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Among the huge number of films, a special place is occupied by large-scale film epics that tell about any period of history and in which the events of the past years (or even centuries) are told in an interesting way and in sufficient detail. Here you will find battle scenes, love stories and incredible adventures. These films leave no one indifferent.

1. "Andrei Rublev", directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

The case when you want to call a work exclusively a picture, and not a film. And this is truly an epoch-making canvas, a historical cut of Russia at that time, where an incredible number of people, animals, technology, everything are involved in the largest shooting. It takes a great director's strength to grasp it all at once, and Tarkovsky had it, along with the same talent.

Scenes of battles, a balloon flight - filmed from above, a scene with a cast bell - close, and then, buzzing, from afar … This was all natural shooting, no modern chroma key for you! Yes, the budget was then used a colossal one, now no one can afford such a thing. But this does not detract from the fact that Andrei, at the age of 33, has set an unattainable bar for many generations of directors. Moreover, he reinforced the scale of his directing art with majestic music and imperishable masterpieces by the artist Rublev …

2. "Apocalypse Now", directed by Francis Ford Coppola

There could well have been another film directed by the director, namely The Godfather. However, the scene with the attack of helicopters in the sky and surfers in the sea to the sound of Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries" decides everything. For her sake alone, it was already worth filming this picture for 16 long months in the rainforests of the Philippines.

Like the film "Andrei Rublev", director Coppola was allowed to use a small army of soldiers for the crowd scenes, and the real military equipment that the Filipino dictator Marcos fought with at that time, and much more. And there is another echoing shot - the sacrifice of a cow … The forests burnt out by napalm will then be replaced by the main character's immersion in the ninth circle of hell, when the madness of war comes out of the shadows in the person of America's best actor - the magnificent Brando …

3. "Barry Lyndon", directed by Stanley Kubrick

In fact, there was supposed to be a movie about Napoleon here. But Kubrick, despite the full, many years of training, he was simply not allowed to shoot. And then he limited himself to "only" - "Barry Lyndon". This picture also tells about the events of that era, is just as monumental, but it still takes its toll on another. Not so much a historical emphasis on a specific personality, as on an artistic solution, an authentic painting in cinema.

The director is known for all his perfectionism and meticulousness, he recreated the canvases of artists literally in reality. Some scenes were filmed exclusively with natural light, the same candles, in order to naturally convey all the colors and atmosphere of the time when there was still no electricity. And the music, certainly classical, was always picked by Kubrick himself.

4. "Dancing with Wolves" directed by Kevin Costner

This film also features massive scenes of costume battles, a dive and immersion in a past era, but the emphasis is more on studying the life and life of another people than on some historical episode or personality. This is the most accessible and believable introduction to the Native American population that can be seen in a playful way on the screen. Even the Indians themselves at one time accepted the director as their honorary members. That is, like his hero, who becomes Sioux …

Landscapes of all seasons, the real language of this people, genuine hunting and the use of bows and cannons of those years - all this can be contemplated in more than three hours of film viewing. Yes, Kevin Costner didn't really care about timing. The sincerity of the filming and the amazing love for wildlife were much more important. This was appreciated by everyone, having awarded a whole wallet of Oscars at one time.

5. "Once Upon a Time in America" directed by Sergio Leone

Another supplier who skillfully recreated the world of the past, though not as distant as that of its predecessors. This crime saga has been watching its heroes for several decades as they mature. And it is delightful to see such similar boy actors, then played by the great masters of this craft. What is also important in this film is the imperishable music of the composer Ennio Morricone, which was left without awards …

The first Oscar for the outstanding classic of cinema was awarded only a year ago - for the film The Hateful Eight, which was far from the best in his career … Here the director takes on the scale of human drama, ups and downs within one life, as exemplified by the brutal contrast in America of the twenties of the last century. When a king suddenly appears among the slums and beggary, but time is cyclical, and nothing can last forever.

6. "Braveheart" directed by Mel Gibson

The talent of this director is quite comparable to the volume of his scandals in his personal life. Nevertheless, each of his films becomes an event. The penchant for hyperrealism and emotional saturation of each shot distinguishes it favorably from many others. He sincerely does not tolerate hack-work and is ready to reshoot even the most massive battle scenes, if only he notices any inaccuracies - whether it is a watch on the hands of extras or inappropriate shoes. And there are enough of them, and imagine - all the Scots are in kilts!

The majestic, even pretentious mood of the picture and the image of the main character do not in the least affect the plausibility of what is happening, because everything is real, everything could really happen this way in reality, if you literally reproduce many historical plots of those times. This is especially true of widespread betrayal … And the complete lack of morality in power.

7. The Lord of the Rings, directed by Peter Jackson

Perhaps you have already understood that in search of scale, you must certainly dive into the past. Either this is due to the fact that it is better seen "from above", or with the necessary detachment from events in order to be able to give an unbiased assessment. But in this picture, of course, this is not the main thing, or rather, not the main one. This is generally a fictional world! But what kind of plot, what medieval legends come to life in it …

Shakespeare's scope of passions, an excellent selection of actors for their roles and the plot of the confrontation between good and evil, which is relevant at all times, do the almost impossible - they make a completely realistic dystopia out of a fantastic fairy tale. That is, the director managed to resurrect ancient myths and convey them through the screen to the viewer. However, unlike the previous members of the list, here a lot was filmed on the green screen … This is a reality that we have to put up with in our time. Without expensive special effects, nothing would have come of a simple fantasy.

8. "Fitzcarraldo", directed by Werner Herzog

In search of the holy grail of authenticity, director Herzog is ready for unthinkable deeds. He can easily eat a real boot and just as easily make the Indians, the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon forests, drag a multi-ton ship over the mountain. Of course not. That was not easy. It cannot be easy because it is true. The prize for directing at the Cannes Film Festival is not just given. And here there is also a plot to boot.

In short, how did the former colonialists get the mainland population to speak an alien language, Romanesque? That's right, only by violence. And this is exactly what the metaphorical feat of the film, its creators, actors, everyone speaks of. But there were even human casualties … Everything is real! And even a jungle opera.

9. "Schindler's List", directed by Steven Spielberg

"Aesthetic Holocaust" … Sounds terrifying, doesn't it? But it is precisely this paradox that can be observed on the screen. A highly artistic spectacle of the ugly phenomena of the twentieth century. However, the director made an emphasis not only on the breathtaking style. He also used the typical American pathos of exaggerating the value of human life and thus hit the bull's-eye. That is, there was no attempt to cover everyone, the entire magnitude of the tragedy at once, in the failure of something like that, the hero also cries at the end of the film. But at the same time he is aware of the value of the price of every living person. And on this bitterness Spielberg built his design. It is only on the outside that the smoke from a cigarette flows elegantly, while inside, the nicotine is bitter. Here the whole scale is within one person. Her majesty is life asserting on the screen.

10. "Titanic", directed by James Cameron

Just don't throw your slippers. It wasn't the depth of the melodrama or the hairy eyes of DiCaprio that put this film on the list. No. Here is the event. Historical plot of the unsinkable ship "Titanic", and at the same time the class cut. After all, it is no coincidence that mainly those who are poor, who do not have outfits and titles perish. And that the character of Leonardo was originally destined to become a tragic hero. And the audience, oh, how they love sentimental dramas against the backdrop of epic cataclysms!

Films of this director can still be put on such lists for just the same commercial records. Either he really is the best at this, or he is so lucky every time with the market conditions … After the real Titanic there was a war, the First World War. Several years after the fictional one - September 11 in New York. Tragedies attract tragedies, maybe it's in the air.