This innovative analysis of period film presents a new way to examine the ways in which contemporary cinema recreates the historical past. Exploring the relationship between visual motifs and cultural representation, Figuring the Past is a selection of detailed case studies that explore three key figures—the house, the tableau, and the letter. Belen Vidal proposes a new aesthetic framework for the study of period film, looking at a number of important auteurs in the genre, including James Ivory, Martin Scorsese, and Jane Campion. This handsomely illustrated book seeks to position this popular but often understudied genre in its proper place within the academic discipline of cinema studies.