SIX FILMS ON IMPERIAL ROME
Quo Vadis (1951). The Latin title means "Where Are You Going?" and features St. Peter and the emperor Nero's persecution of the Christians in Rome. The one real gem is Peter Ustinov's performance as the madly decadent but somewhat lovable autocrat Nero. His characterization has become the modern image of what the "real" Nero must have been like. There are some good fight scenes, but by its end the film sinks into a morass of pseudo-religious pathos.
Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954). In The Robe(1953) Richard Burton plays the troubled Roman centurion Marcellus who purchases the robe Jesus wore to his crucifixion. Through the magical effects of "the robe," he comes to see the virtues of Christianity. Victor Mature, Burton's slave in that film, plays a gladiator in this sequel condemned to fight in the arena for the evil emperor Caligula. There are some reasonably good combat scenes in the amphitheater, but apart from these, the film wallows in the conventional Christian pieties of the 50s.
Ben Hur (1959). A Jewish prince becomes a Roman citizen and a professional charioteer who bests a cruel Roman officer (Stephen Boyd) in a final showdown at the circus in Judaea. As history it's absolutely farcical, but for aficionados of realistic scenes there are two that stand out: a great naval battle and the chariot race itself. The latter really does impart some of the pomp, ceremony, and excitement that made the chariot races in the empire's circuses one of the greatest spectator draws of the time. They rivaled gladiatorial contests in popularity.
Spartacus (1960). Kirk Douglas plays the slave, trained as a gladiator, who led one of the last slave uprisings against imperial Rome. In many ways, its scenes of gladiatorial training had a marked effect on Ridley Scott's attempts in Gladiator, except that the ones in Spartacus are much better done. Sir Charles Laughton appears as the idealistic, if phlegmatic, Roman senator Gracchus. This completely fictitious character representing "Republican sentiments" reappears in Gladiator, played by Sir Derek Jacoby. Peter Ustinov, the slave dealer and gladiator trainer, is the obvious precursor of Proximo, played by Oliver Reed in Scott's film. Ustinov's version is by far the better.
Cleopatra (1963). There have been many films about the "serpent of the Nile." This one is reasonably reliable, with the screenwriters borrowing heavily from the main ancient sources, principally Plutarch's biographies of Caesar and Mark Antony. The film has some interesting you-are-there footage: the Egyptian queen's entry into Rome, the arrival of her lavish barge to meet Mark Antony at Tarsus, and another great naval battle. The ancient love between Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor) and Mark Antony (Richard Burton) was replayed by the actors on the set.
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). This really awful film, with few redemptive features for the historian, is one of the last of the Hollywood mega epics based on a Roman theme. The story is barely believable, the lines terrible, and the acting is of similar quality. Marcus Aurelius (Sir Alec Guinness) languishes near death while fighting barbarians on the northern frontiers of the empire. His evil son Commodus (Christopher Plummer) plots against the dying emperor but is restrained by his good sister Lucilla (Sophia Loren). Stephen Boyd, the "bad guy" soldier in Ben Hur, this time puts in an appearance as the good Roman soldier. Ring a bell? It's the plot for Gladiator.