Why Aren't There Any Movies About the Persian-Roman Wars?

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Sepehr
by Sepehr
26-Mar-2010
 

Ruling from 247 BC to 228 AD in ancient Persia, the Parthians defeated Alexander of Macedonia's successors, the Seleucids, conquered most of the Middle East and southwest Asia and built Parthia into the Eastern superpower.

The use of the bow as a weapon made the Parthians an effective military force. The Parthians were greatly feared by the Romans. They were, in fact, the only combatants in ancient times able to destroy an entire Roman legion at the height of its power (they wiped out the army of Crassus, the Roman general who had earlier crushed the Spartacus slave rebellion).

While Rome was able to recover from its disaster at Cannae(their defeat by Hannibal of Carthage), it never did retrieve the results of Carrhae, the defeat by the Parthians, that sealed the East as an impenetrable barrier to Roman ambition, and also signaled the demise of the Republic.

The Parthian shot was a military tactic made famous by the Parthians. The Parthian archers, mounted on light horse, would feign retreat; then, while at a full gallop, turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy. The maneuver required superb equestrian skills, since the rider's hands were occupied by his bow. As the stirrup had not been invented at the time of the Parthians, the rider relied solely on pressure from his legs to guide his horse. Some believe the term "parting shot" originated from the 'Parthian Shot".

Under the Sassanid Dynasty, King Shapur I of Persia, defeated and captured the Roman Emperor, Valerian, the only time in history a Roman Emperor was captured by the enemy.

This is a video with music I composed, titled "Parthian Wedding Dance" which explores the Persian-Roman encounters during the Parthian and Sassanid Persian Dynasties that ruled in present day Iran. 

 
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Sepehr

Dear Azadeh, thank you.  I

by Sepehr on

Dear Azadeh, thank you.  I made the video in High Definition so if you double click on it, you can view full screen, the fonts are very readable in that format, hope this helps.  I used the muvee line of products.


Azadeh Azad

Interesting

by Azadeh Azad on

Dear Sepehr,

Thank you for sharing this interesting video. I wish you had used a bigger font as it was sometimes difficult to read the text.

May I ask you what software you used? Thank you.

Azadeh

 


SamSamIIII

The question is not why they have not,

by SamSamIIII on

 

But, why there hasn't been a movie made in Iran itself in grand scale by one of our own world reknowned(excuse me while I puke) directors who make movies to please the ommatie status quo & foreign festivals. This is nothing new & even during Pahlavi's the leftist/ommatist minded traitor ilk of waneh be Che,s actualy made movies to derail the national psyche away from the original identity & heritage into some meaningless, bs, shallow copycats of leftist Italian directors with an ommatie spin. 

The other day I was asking the same question from myself that a nation on the surface so proud of her Cyrus has not even made a decent movie about him inside Iran yet. It goes to the heart of what a buncha pretenders...... & now under this regime the priority is on the movies about Ashura characters like Horr, Salman & others whom state tv makes monthly blockbuster series about. So before blaming hollywood lets take a look at the mirror first.

Cheers & thanks for the blog & video!!!

 

Path of Kiaan Resurrection of True Iran Hoisting Drafshe Kaviaan //iranianidentity.blogspot.com //www.youtube.com/user/samsamsia


Immortal Guard

Question

by Immortal Guard on

Does anyone know about this upcoming movie?

//eastofbyzantium.com/


MRX1

Who is going to make them?

by MRX1 on

We live in an era where a simple movie with unknown stars costs an average of 20 million to make! Like some one said in here there has to be an audiance to support it.

These kind of movies should be produced and financed by Iranian government and even private sector, but since our land is currently under occupation of omati tribes who don't care one bit about our identity and history, who is going to do it? restoration of our lanaguage,cullture, history has to become one of the first act of post IRR regime.


Sepehr

Good points anonymous 111,

by Sepehr on

Good points anonymous 111, but also the difference between Gladiator and Alexander was that Russell Crowe did a great job in the role of Maximus, but Colin Farrell did a terrible job portraying Alexander of Macedonia.


anonymous111.2

It's all about marketability

by anonymous111.2 on

this particular genre, historical, or historical fiction, has traditionally had a very narrow viewing audience.  Traditionally, fans of the history genre are middle aged men, who are not known to spend money on going to the movies.  Simply put, studios look for films that can generate money at the box office, and those are usually films that attract: 1) the teenage audience, and 2) the "family" audience (and to a lesser extent, the "female audience").  That is why you see so many horror movies (teenagers) and animated / family type movies (the "family" audience).

There are, of course, exceptions to the rule.  The Gladiator, for one, was a historical film that did extremely well.  But if you really examine the demographic of Gladiator's audience, you will note that it was mostly women, which combined with other demographics propelled the film into the stratosphere.  After all, Gladiator was more of a romantic movie than a historical one.  By contrast, you can look at Alexander-a purely historical film--which tanked at the box office.

300 was very appealing to teenagers, because it really wasn't a historical film as much as it was a "Batman" style comic turned into a movie.  So, comparing 300 to any historically themed movie will be a mistake.  

Another problem is that historically themed movies can cost a lot of money to make, with costumes, digital effects, set designs, research, locations, etc.  You also need well known actors for historical films that can carry the role.  Compare that to The "Twilight" movie, which was a box office smash, and really, I could have filmed that from the back of a truck. (for more info. on productions costs and what the movie grossed, you can go imdb.com)

So, I am not hopeful that we will see another "swords and sandals" movie anytime soon.  The most popular genres, at least the ones for which screenplays are being sold and optioned, are still horror and family.  And unless there is a very unique historical story that can be marketed to a wider audience, there will not be a studio in Hollywood that will spend tens of millions of dollars on producing what could be a flop.


Darius Kadivar

Sepehr jaan regarding the Parthian Shot

by Darius Kadivar on

This Should interest you from the Terry Jones Documentary on the Parthians:

A Monty Python Visits Persia! by Darius Kadivar


Darius Kadivar

Mola Nasredeen No wonder I thought I recognized You ;0)

by Darius Kadivar on

amongst the animals I mean ...

The Persian Empire Strikes Back ! by DK


THE IMMORTAL STUNTSMAN: Darren Shahlavi in 300 by Darius KADIVAR

 


Mola Nasredeen

Because Hollywood is owned and controlled by Zionist Jews who

by Mola Nasredeen on

immigrated from Europe. As simple as that. The last movie that they made about Persians was 300 movie where they portrayed Persians as half human half animal creatures. That movie is played over and over on cable TV, they just showed it again last weekend. //iranian.com/main/blog/mola-nasredeen/300-plus


Sheila K

who's going to make those sorts of movies?

by Sheila K on

We can't just sit back and expect others do the work. We have to be advocates for Persian movies. No pain, no gain!


Darius Kadivar

There are a few in Hollywood already ...

by Darius Kadivar on

 

Persian Golden Boys In Hollywood by DK

He is Awake: Close Up on Cyrus Kar by DK

XERXES: A Screenplay by Ren A. Hakim interviewed by DK

But You Know with the Young Generation of IRANICANS it's all about Boastfully Talking Loud and Not Doing ...

Unlike their Peers :

THE LAST TV TYCOON: Interview with Legendary director REZA BADIYI by DK


Abarmard

Hopefully Iranians will enter Hollywood

by Abarmard on

Then all these will be possible.


Sepehr

Thanks Darius, you know I'm

by Sepehr on

Thanks Darius, you know I'm amazed there isn't anything more than what you mentioned from Hollywood since the Persians even captured a Roman emperor, Valerian, under the reign of Shapur. To me that is a big historical event since I don't know if that ever happened in history where a Roman emperor was actually captured by the enemy. Could make for some great battle scenes!


Darius Kadivar

Persia ? Ancient Persia's virtual absence in Hollywood by DK

by Darius Kadivar on

My Very First Contribution to Iranian.com ...

Persia ? Ancient Persia's virtual absence in Hollywood by Darius KADIVAR

Actually there are a few slight references to the Parthians in  Samuel Bronston's Production The Fall of the Roman Empire where an Armenian Prince ( Omar Sharif) Lures the Romans into a battle with the Perthians on the Eastern Front which leads to their defeat ...

But that movie tried to sum up in two hours the Fall of the Roman Empire which was not a sudden event but a process that took several centuries to be achieved.

Nice Video ... 

DK

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