Jérôme Korkikian

The history of the peplum genre, known as sword-and-sandal cinema, set in Antiquity, from the silent film era to the present day.

The greatness, fall and renaissance of Hammer, the flagship company of British popular cinema, mainly from 1955 to 1968. Tortured women and sadistic monsters populated oppressive scenarios in provocative productions that shocked censorship and disgusted critics but fascinated the public. Movies in which horror was shown in offensive colors: dreadful stories, told without prejudices, that offered fear, blood, sex and stunning performances.

How, from the 1920s to the present day, the dream factory, through its private excesses and cinematic audacity, has provoked censorship and outwitted it. Featuring testimonials from filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich and film historian Peter Biskind, and excerpts from Hawks' "Scarface," Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" and "Psycho," Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange," and Scorsese's "Taxi Driver."