Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Blog notes : PEPLUM TV has conquered the world!

When I started this blog back in 2010, there were few websites and books on the subject of PEPLUM films. And the few books published prior to my blog, none one of them used the word PEPLUM to describe the genre. Fast forward to today and now the whole thing is a cottage cheese industry and PEPLUM is now the standard word for the said genre.

I feel like I’m drowning in it now. Am I being pushed in the background by this excessive amount of media dedicated to the often maligned genre? No, not at all. My blog is still the no 1 source for all things PEPLUM. But it seems a lot of the new stuff is directly influenced by my blog. I've fought long and hard in shaping the genre into what it is now and though I don’t want to take credit for all of it, it’s obvious now that PEPLUM TV has conquered the world.

Here’s an example : search The Robe in Google and this is what comes up :



Notice under the title that Google categorizes it as a PEPLUM / DRAMA and not Biblical or Epic (like it does in the summary below it). The fact that Google uses PEPLUM to describe a film made in Hollywood is FANTASTIC, certainly the first film made in CinemaScope. Now remember the official Wikipedia PEPLUM page refuses to include Hollywood films under the PEPLUM umbrella, thinking it only applies to cheap films made in Italy or Europe. I've always categorized Hollywood films as part of the PEPLUM genre and now Google does the same as well. BTW, this blog is hosted at Blogger which is owned by Google.

Since 2010, I've tried to make PEPLUM happen and after seeing this, I only had one thing to say : my work is complete! Yeah!

There's also a host of new books which have been released or are about to be published (see below). All of them years after my blog was created. I've been contacted by some writers a couple of times to participate in some projects but I had to decline. One set of books is a compilation of titles and reviews from friends Steven Smith and Nick Wale.


For a long time now I've been mulling with the idea of writing a book on the PEPLUM subject but it seems redundant with so many of them coming out since I began the blog, many of which probably lifted stuff directly from here. Regardless, one day I will write a book (or books) on the very subject that's close to my heart but it will be the definitive last word on the subject. In the meantime, if you want to view all the blog's firsts, check out this permanent page :

PEPLUM Blog's many FIRSTS

6 comments:

Steven Smith said...

yes i'm famous!

Steven Smith said...

seriously John thank you for mentioning our up-coming books.

PEPLUM TV said...

No problem Steven. Glad to be at service!

Alan said...

I would add "Sword-and-sandal" Movie Guide from Oscar Lapeña Marchena published on Luigi Cozzi's Profondo Rosso editions. The book came out in 2012.

PEPLUM TV said...

Thanks Alan

Patience said...

Another Peplum book has just come onto the market: Heroes Never Die!
The Italian Peplum Phenomenon 1950-1967, by Barry Atkinson and published by Midnight Marquee Press in both colour and black and white. (http://www.midmar.com/)