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Rome
in the Movies
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Spartacus
(1960)
DVD VHS Dir. Stanley Kubrick, With Lawrence Olivier, Tony Curtis,
and Kirk Douglas
Has one of the best gladiatorial fight scenes ever filmed (it took
14 days to shoot).
Cleopatra (1963)
243 mins VHS Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. With Elizabeth Taylor, Cleopatra,
Richard Burton, Rex Harrison. Not as bad as it is reputed to be, but
not as camp as the 1934 Cecil B. DeMille version [102 mins] with Claudette
Colbert.
Cleopatra (1999)
[TV Miniseries] Dir. Franc Roddam, With Leonor Varela, Timothy Dalton,
Billy Zane and Rupert Graves
Caesar and Cleopatra (1946)
VHS Dir. Gabriel Pascal, With Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh Writer
-- George Bernard Shaw Julius Caesar (1953) Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
after Shakespeare
Caligula (1980)
115 mins (R rated version) /156 mins (unrated version) VHS Dir. Tinto
Brass and Bob Guccione, With Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter
O'Toole, John Gielgud Despite the cast, this has some pornographic
sequences.
I, Claudius (1976)
BBC TV-Series, 10 episodes of 50 mins. VHS Dir. Herbert Wise. With
Derek Jacobi, Siān Phillips, Brian Blessed, John Hurt One of the best
TV series ever made. Based on Robert Graves' novels I, Claudius and
Claudius the God, which in turn were based on Suetonius. The acting
is superb.
Age of Treason (1993)
93 mins. Dir. Kevin Connor, With Matthias Hues Murder mystery set
in 69 CE. The Arena (1973) VHS Dir. Steve Carver, With Pam Grier.
Women slaves fight in the Arena. A Blaxploitation movie.
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
188 mins VHS Dir. Anthony Mann. With Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec
Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer. Essentially the story
of the transition from Marcus Aurelius to Commodus. Gladiator represents
a remake.
Gladiator (2000)
154 mins Dir. Ridley Scott, With Russell Crowe. A movie which may
represent the rebirth of the sandals and sand epic. It was widely
praised in the press, and panned by ancient historians (with the Harvard
faculty member who was listed as "historical" consultant sending out
a mass apologia to colleagues). Ridley Scott made full use of modern
technology to create a "real" ancient Rome, but the result looks more
like the French Second Empire. The Arena sequences are OK, but do
not match those with Charlton Heston in Ben Hur.
Attila (2001)
(TV mini) US, Historical, Color Director. Rick Lowry
Sign of the Pagan (1955)
92 mins. Dir. Douglas Sirk, With Jeff Chandler and Jack Palance.
The Story of Attila the Hun.... Titus (2000)
162 mins. Dir. Julie Taymor
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
VHS Dir. Richard Lester, With Zero Mostel and Phil Silvers. Based
on Plautus' play Miles Gloriosus.
Satyricon (1969)
VHS Dir. Federico Fellini |
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