The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Ben Barzman (written by) &
Basilio Franchina (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 March 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

The Most Magnificent Re-Creation . . . Of An Ancient Empire . . . Launches A New Epoch In Motion Pictures . . .

Plot:

Action-packed look at the beginnings of the fall of the Roman Empire. Here is the glory, the greed and grandeur that was Rome...

Plot Keywords:

Emperor | Roman Empire | Xenophobia | Decadence Of The Roman Empire | Patricide

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Sophia Loren	...	Lucilla
Stephen Boyd	...	Livius
Alec Guinness	...	Marcus Aurelius
James Mason	...	Timonides
Christopher Plummer	...	Commodus
Anthony Quayle	...	Verulus
John Ireland	...	Ballomar
Omar Sharif	...	Sohamus
Mel Ferrer	...	Cleander
Eric Porter	...	Julianus
Finlay Currie	...	Senator
Andrew Keir	...	Polybius
Douglas Wilmer	...	Niger
George Murcell	...	Victorinus
Norman Wooland	...	Virgilianus

Runtime:

188 min | Sweden:172 min (1970 re-release) | Sweden:176 min | Argentina:184 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Samuel Bronston Productions

Trivia:

First cinema film of Eric Porter.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the funeral pyre of Marcus Aurelius, which Commodus and Livius are holding the torch, their hands move further away from the flame between shots.

Quotes:

Livius: A few days longer, Caesar, we'll bring you his head.
Marcus Aurelius: No Livius, please don't bring me his head. I wouldn't know what to do with it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gladiators: Bloodsport of the Colisseum (2000) (V)

Amazingly bad in spots, but surprisingly interesting

I found this movie interesting for two reasons: 1) I love historical epics 2) It was so surprisingly awful in spots for such a great cast and obviously large budget.

There was some good acting here, but it seems everyone had some really bad moments in front of the camera. This is probably the first movie I've seen were Alec Guinness (as Marcus Aurelius) is just awful. His portrayal of a dying Caesar is lifeless (pun intended) and flat. His character was totally lacking the charisma one might expect from a great caesar. The scene of him greeting the representatives of the Roman provinces seems to last any eternity, seeming to even strain Alec Guinness' attention span.

James Mason on the most part was good, but even his acting was rather comical in the scene in which he is being tortured/tested by the Barbarians in a cave.

Christopher Plummer and Stephen Boyd, as Commodus and Livius, are both unintentionally comical (I think) in their early scenes together, especially in the scenes were they are reunited after an apparently long separation. The scenes were meant to show their long standing friendship since childhood, but instead it looks like two 30 year olds acting as 14 year olds. Stephen Boyd is fairly pan-faced throughout the movie, however, Christopher Plummer's performance at least gets more interesting as the movie progresses.

The dialog between Sophia Loren, as Lucilla, and Stephen Boyd was stilted and lacking the real emotion of lovers. At least Plummer was capable of extracting some passion out of Boyd in their scenes together.

As far as production/direction/editing, they obviously had plenty of film at their disposal, as there frequently were long drawn out scenes of inconsequential marching, parades, etc (or perhaps I'm just use to the MTV-age quick cutting). The musical score was almost comical, as highly dramatic scenes would be underscored by fairly light-hearted music. And why do all the Barbarians look like they have yellow mops on their heads? And why do they look like cavemen? Overall, however, somehow this movie held my attention, both for the story it had to tell and for how awe-inspiringly bad it is for such a grand spectacle.