You know, come to think of it, doing this project at all is breaking some new ground. I’ve never read or heard of a historical novel, let alone seen a movie, focussing on the Carthaginian culture, or presenting the conflict with Rome from the Carthaginian POV. The one exception being Flaubert’s 1862 novel Salammbo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salammbô_(novel)), which (from what I’ve read about it – never read the book itself) is more of a fantasy, and probably not historically accurate. Did the Carthaginians really sacrifice infants to Moloch in a crisis? How did they feel about that? What were their daily lives like? Were they any more or less cruel than the Romans, in their treatment of conquered enemies? How was the paradigm through which they saw the world different from the cultural paradigms of the Romans or the Greeks? Challenging stuff!
I read once that Hannibal was a hero to the young Sigmund Freud, because Hannibal was a Semitic hero and his enemies were not. Is this likely to strike a chord with modern Jews?
Of course! Who do you think invented the Barcalounger? An age-old tradition, it was originally designed to perch on the back of an elephant, allowing the rider easy access to cold beer and a cupholder. Later versions would include access to remote controls and the latest edition of TV Guide. Little known, but true.
I agree with LiveOnAPlane. Neither The Rock nor Vin Diesel are dumb. Both of them appear to be much more intelligent than any of their roles would suggest. And I would say that they’re acting potential has so far remained untapped. With the right director, both could absolutely wonderful.
The Rock is excellent, excellent, in the Get Shorty sequel - what’s it called again?
Ahh, Be Cool. That’s it. He’s outstanding in it. His other films, not so much, but he’s definitely a likable guy (at least IMO).
Oh my gosh - first there was Arthur, then Troy, Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven. If recent history is a good call, then there’s a high chance that this would suck. But then I am a firm believer in the magic of the movie industry
Just as long they don’t film the battle sequences like the Oliphaunt one in Return of the King…I have enough of those historical “sword and sandals” films which have battle sequences more or less the same as RoTK.
Then you, apparently, have not seen the 1914 Italian epic Cabiria. Also, there was a movie about Hannibal that starred Howard Keel as Hannibal fighting the Romans. It was a musical, and its real star was Esther Williams. Jupiter’s Darling was one of a string of MGM musicals that pretty much put an end to the musical genre. I reviewed it for one of my sites because the relationship between Hannibal and William’s character was what I call a “Gorean romance” – a story which concerns a maledom/femsub romance but is also suffused with romantic imagery. Very interesting film, actually.
I think this movie will be either really average or really, really bad ( in the same vein as Glitter or Stormship Troopers.) My bet is that it will be a good drinking movie.
I remember reading somewhere that the first attempt at this film fell through but Vin liked it so much that he’s remained a driving force trying to get it made.
One of the writers is a guy who worked on King Arthur and Gladiator, so I think we can expect that kind of tone. Heroic, but a little haunted.
I could see Vin in that kind of role. . .stoic, tough leader.
I won’t criticize as an actor him for having limited range, which he most certainly does. But, sometimes even within that range, he’s atrocious. He sounds like a high school drama student doing a read through. Real bad at times. If he’s directing himself, that could be problematic.
I’m normally a defender of the most roundly criticized actors, including Costner and Keanu and Gere. Vin is much below them though. They’re at least still actors. Vin Diesel is bad, but he might not need to be good for Hannibal.
