Romanticism and Popular Culture

This evolving bibliography collects media that represent Romantic-era works and historical figures in fictional contexts. We welcome feedback and additions from the RC community.

Film

24 Hour Party People

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Date:

2002

In the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, the character Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan) quotes William Wordsworth's The Prelude ("Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, / But to be young was very heaven!”) and William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell ("The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom").

Alien: Covenant

Director:

Ridley Scott

Date:

2017

In Alien: Covenant (2017), the character David (Michael Fassbender) recites the poem "Ozymandias" and incorrectly attributes it to Byron; Walter (also played by Michael Fassbender) corrects him.

Austenland

Director:

Jerusha Hess

Publication Information:

Fickle Fish Films, Moxie Pictures

Date:

2013

"Jane Hayes, a single 30-something who has always harbored a not-so-secret love of all things Austen, blows her life savings on a stay at Austenland, an immersive Jane Austen-themed resort." -Wikipedia

Based on Shannon Hale's 2007 novel of the same name.

Becoming Jane

Director:

Julian Jarrold

Publication Information:

HanWay Films, BBC Films, Miramax, Buena Vista International

Date:

2007

"A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman."

-IMDB

Starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Date:

1971

In the 1971 Disney musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks, the song and dance number "Portobello Road" (written by the Sherman Brothers and largely sung by David Tomlinson) includes a reference to "Shelley" (presumably Percy):

Portobello Road, Portobello Road

Street where the riches of ages are stowed

Anything and everything a chap can unload

Is sold off the barrow in Portobello road

You’ll find what you want in the Portobello road

Rare alabaster? Genuine plaster!

A filigreed samovar owned by the czars

Bequest to the Nation (1973)

Director:

James Cellan Jones

Date:

1973

Tags:

Emma Hamilton

Wikipedia: Bequest to the Nation is a 1973 British historical drama film directed by James Cellan Jones and starring Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Michael Jayston and Margaret Leighton. It is based on the 1970 Terence Rattigan play A Bequest to the Nation.

Blackenstein

Director:

William A. Levey

Publication Information:

Exclusive International

Date:

1972

Blackenstein, also known as Black Frankenstein, is a low budget 1973 blaxploitation horror film loosely based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It was made in an attempt to cash in on the success of Blacula, released the previous year by American International Pictures. However, Blackenstein fared poorly in comparison to its predecessor, with most reviews agreeing that the movie was "a totally inept mixture of the worst horror and blaxploitation films".

--description from Wikipedia

Blade Runner

Director:

Ridley Scott

Publication Information:

Warner Bros.

Date:

1982

A variation on a verse from Blake's America a Prophecy appears in Ridley Scott's science fiction film Blade Runner (1982), spoken by Roy Batty (played by Rutger Hauer). This has been interpreted as a way of linking Batty to Blake's mythic regenerative hero Orc. -Wikipedia

Blazing Saddles

Director:

Mel Brooks

Publication Information:

Warner Bros.

Date:

1974

In the 1974 film Blazing Saddles (dir. Mel Brooks), the song "I'm Tired," performed by Madeline Kahn, includes the lyrics "They start with Byron and Shelley / And jump on your belly / And bust your balloon."

Bride and Prejudice

Director:

Gurinder Chadha

Publication Information:

Pathé Pictures International

Date:

2005

"Bride and Prejudice is a 2004 English/American...Bollywood-style adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen." -Wikipedia

Bride of Frankenstein

Director:

James Whale

Publication Information:

Universal Pictures

Date:

1935

The brief prologue to Bride of Frankenstein includes Gavin Gordon as Byron, begging Mary Shelley to tell the rest of her Frankenstein story. -Wikipedia

Bridget Jones's Diary

Director:

Sharon Maguire

Publication Information:

Miramax, Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Working Title Films

Date:

2001

"Bridget Jones's Diary is a 2001 English romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire. It is based on Helen Fielding's novel of the same name which is a reinterpretation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love", Mark Darcy." -Wikipedia

Bright Star

Director:

Jane Campion

Publication Information:

BBC Films

Date:

2009

"Bright Star is a 2009 British-French-Australian biographical fiction romantic drama film based on the last three years of the life of poet John Keats and his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne....The film's title is a reference to a sonnet by Keats named "Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art", which he wrote while he was with Brawne." -Wikipedia

Bull Durham

Director:

Ron Shelton

Publication Information:

Orion Pictures

Date:

1988

1988's Bull Durham includes a scene showing Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon arguing over a line ("the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom") from Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell." -Wikipedia

By Our Selves

Director:

Andrew Kotting

Date:

2015

People retrace John Clare's journey on foot from Epping Forest up into Northamptonshire. Starring Toby Jones as John Clare.

Byron, balanta gia enan daimonismeno (Byron, Ballad for a possessed)

Director:

Nikos Koundouros

Date:

1992

Byron is the main character of the film Byron, by the Greek filmmaker Nikos Koundouros. -Wikipedia

Chariots of Fire

Director:

Hugh Hudson

Publication Information:

Allied Stars Ltd Goldcrest Films

Date:

1981

Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British historical drama film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice...The film is also notable for its memorable instrumental theme tune by Vangelis, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

Charles and Mary

Director:

Joan Temple

Date:

1938

A film on "The lives of the essayist and poet Charles Lamb and his sister Mary."

Clouds of Glory: William and Dorothy and The Ancient Mariner

Director:

Ken Russell

Publication Information:

Granada Television

Date:

1978

"David Warner as WW, David Hemmings as STC" —A. Richardson

Clueless

Director:

Amy Heckerling

Publication Information:

Paramount Pictures

Date:

1995

"Clueless is a 1995 American coming-of-age comedy film...loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma." -Wikipedia

Starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, and Brittany Murphy.

Control

Director:

Anton Corbijn

Date:

2007

The film stars Sam Riley and Samantha Morton. The Joy Division singer Ian Curtis (played by Riley) recites “'My Heart Leaps Up’ by William Wordsworth”

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