What makes a film "epic"

[bggalaxy]

What or how makes a film "An Epic Motion Picture" "A Film Of Epic Proportions" "An Epic in the Making" "An Epic Story" What films are epic and what makes them "Epic". I get the feeling this word was/is used to freely, you can almost say to "Epic Proportions". Does epic have to be of historical topics? Any thoughts would be cool.

[movieslover1000]

I don't know what makes a film an "Epic", but I do agree with you that it used a lot today, and in the past. i've seen it used with films that how they would be epics it boggles the mind.

 

I don't think epics have to be historical, though many seem to be, at least in the old days when historical films were more prevalent.

[venerados]

I think an epic has multiple stories within it, each with a beginning, middle, and end, tied together by a main plotline.

 

Epic and episodic are almost synonyms, so if a movie can be divided up into episodes it's an epic.

 

That could be explained better, but I got a good grip on the subject.

[moviejoe79]

venerados - You explained it perfectly, and that is actually a very good take on the subject.

 

Personally, whenever I hear that a film is an "epic" I think of two things - that it has a historical time frame, and that it is very LONG!

[moviebuffjg]

I agree with both of you regarding "epics," but I would throw this in too. A movie with an epic scope frequently takes place at a distinguished point in history but follows a very personal story that is affected by its historic background (e.g., Gone With the Wind, Titanic).