Epopée et Cinéma

Abstract

This article discusses the crucial difficulty of defining epic in cinema and examines the divergence between the “grammar” of film and that of oral or written epics. A central section analyzes technical and other elements of Frank Cassenti’s film La chanson de Roland (1978) and of Dani Kouyaté’s film Këita: l’héritage du griot (1995, from Burkina Faso), while offering also a few remarks concerning El Cid (Anthony Mann, 1961). Noting that there have been surprisingly few cinematic adaptations of romance epics, the article reflects briefly on some of the reasons for this neglect.