The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Ben Barzman (screenplay) &
Basilio Franchina (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 March 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

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:

Roman Empire | Emperor | Cavalry | Infantry | Hand To Hand Combat

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
Michael Gwynn	...	Cornelius
Virgilio Teixeira	...	Marcellus (as Virgilio Texera)
Peter Damon	...	Claudius
Rafael Calvo	...	Lentulus
Lena von Martens	...	Helva (as Lena Von Martens)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roland Carey	...	Barbarian (uncredited)
Margaret Fuller	...	Part of Court (uncredited)
Gabriella Licudi	...	Tauna (uncredited)
Jeffrey O'Kelly	...	Brother of Livius (uncredited)
Robert Rietty	...	Opening Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Guy Rolfe	...	Marius (uncredited)
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Barbarian (uncredited)

Directed by
Anthony Mann

Writing credits
Ben Barzman		(screenplay) &
Basilio Franchina		(screenplay) &
Philip Yordan		(screenplay)

Produced by
Samuel Bronston	....	producer
Jaime Prades	....	associate producer
Michal Waszynski	....	executive associate producer (as Michael Waszynski)

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Robert Krasker		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Lawrence

Casting by
Maude Spector

Production Design by
Veniero Colasanti
John Moore

Set Decoration by
Veniero Colasanti
John Moore

Costume Design by
Veniero Colasanti
John Moore

Makeup Department
Grazia De Rossi	....	hairdresser (as Grazia DeRossi)
Mario Van Riel	....	makeup artist
José Luis Pérez	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
C.O. Erickson	....	executive production manager
Tadeo Villalba	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yakima Canutt	....	second unit director
José López Rodero	....	assistant director: first unit
José María Ochoa	....	assistant director: second unit
Andrew Marton	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Julio Sempere	....	second second assistant director (uncredited in original version)

Art Department
Stanley Detlie	....	master of properties
José María Alarcón	....	assistant set decorator (uncredited)
Luciano Arroyo	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)
Julián Martín	....	painter (uncredited)
Vicente Sempere Sempere	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Italo Tomassi	....	head scenic painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Milton C. Burrow	....	sound effects editor (as Milton Burrow)
David Hildyard	....	sound mixer
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound re-recordist
Otto Snel	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Alex Weldon	....	special effects

Stunts
Jerry Brown	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tap Canutt	....	stunt double: Stephen Boyd (uncredited)
Tap Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Yakima Canutt	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunt double: Christopher Plummer (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Harris	....	camera operator
Cecilio Paniagua	....	second unit cameraman
Bruno Pasqualini	....	supervising electrician
Vincent Rossell	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gloria Musetta	....	wardrobe (as Gloria Mussetta)
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Magdalena Paradell	....	assistant to editor

Music Department
George Korngold	....	music editor
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	conductor
Cecil Bolton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Frank Comstock	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Robert Docker	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
David Tamkin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Herbert Taylor	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Samuel Bronston	....	presenter
Will Durant	....	consultant
Carl Gibson	....	supervising technician
Maciek Piotrowski	....	title backgrounds and murals
Elaine Schreyeck	....	continuity
George Tyne	....	dialogue coach
Enzo Musumeci Greco	....	master of arms (uncredited)
Friedrich von Ledebur	....	horse master (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Samuel Bronston Productions (as A Samuel Bronston Production)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• J. Arthur Rank Film (1964) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1969) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Parvisfilmi (1964) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Rank Organisation, The (1964) (UK) (theatrical) (released by) (as The Rank Organisation)
• Barium Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Best Film & Video Corp. (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• ClassicLine (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• EMS (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• Flashstar Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Future Film (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (1990s) (USA) (video) (LaserDisc)
• Inter Vision (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Koch Media (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2010) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• MC One (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MacVideo (????) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Mistar (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• PCV (2003) (Greece) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• VCI Home Video (video)
• VL-Musiikki (2013) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Video Film Express (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1991) (1998) (2003) (2012) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Cerratelli & Peruzzi  costumes made by (as Cerratelli & Peruzzi, Italy)

Also Known As:

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:

Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1964) | Norway:16 | UK:U (passed with cuts) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:13 | South Korea:12 | Australia:G | UK:PG (video re-rating) (2010) (2011) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 | UK:PG (tv rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1987) (1997) | Finland:K-12 (cut) (1973) | Finland:K-12 (uncut) (1989)

Filming Locations:

Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Samuel Bronston Productions

Trivia:

The film was originally intended to be made after El Cid (1961) and to reunite Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. The set for the Forum Romanum was actually being built when Heston rejected the script but expressed an interest in '55 Days at Peking' instead. Samuel Bronston immediately ordered that the work on the Forum be stopped and the landscaping and foundation work be adapted for the Peking set. After filming, the Peking set was torn down and replaced by the Forum. If you look carefully, both sets share a very similar topography.

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:[standing over body of Timonides] What happened, gentle Greek? Did you try to tell them there were three possibilities? Did you not know there was a fourth? This!
[picks up and throws spear away]
Lucilla:This is the way they answer to reason and now even you must see, this is the only way to answer them.
Livius:He does not seem dead to me, I can still feel his life, hear his words. Tell me what I must do in his name.
[yelling]
Livius:March the army into Rome and drown the city in blood!
Lucilla:[uncovering the Christian cross Timonides wore around his neck] He was my father's friend and a wise man.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Die Welt auf Schwäbisch: Episode III - Der Lohn der Angst (#1.3)" (2010)

A kind of Film Artistry that modern hollywood cant duplicate

This is one of those gorgeous Ultra Panavision 70 Epics that no current director is capable of making. Seen in pristine form, this film is eye candy of the highest form. Unlike the blurry stupid comic book mess made by the hack scott, this film has a very intelligent script, incomparable sets, historically acurate costuming and a more realistic plot. This film is long by the standards set by the MTV flashcut video generation. It also might lack action for some of the testosterone challenged. If you have an open mind and enough education, you might appreciate the nuances of the Dmitri Tiomkin score, the carefully framed visuals, the retrained performances, the delicately played mood, and the sheer spectacle of it. This is huge piece of filmmaking. It is definitely a must see for the Cinema Literate. Of the films about the ancient world this is one of a very few that capture an environment so richly concieved and beautifully rendered. Production values this detailed are totally unthinkable today. It was filmed in a film format that was the state of the art in its time. It would be nice to see it again, mastered in high def, remixed and restored to its original glory.