SYNOPSICS
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) is a English movie. Anthony Mann has directed this movie. Sophia Loren,Stephen Boyd,Alec Guinness,James Mason are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1964. The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) is considered one of the best Drama,History,War movie in India and around the world.
Intent on securing peace and prosperity throughout the mighty Roman Empire, the wise diplomat, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, calls together the local governors from all over the Empire, after conquering the Germanic tribes. With this in mind, Marcus has decided to turn over his crown and the much-coveted imperial throne to General Livius, instead of choosing his corrupt son and logical successor, Commodus. As a result, high treason and blind ambition lead to the death of Aurelius by poisoning, paving the way for a new era of oppression, endless machinations, and rapid decline. Now, as darkness prevails on the outskirts of the Empire where the Roman legions struggle to subdue the invading hordes, delusional Commodus declares himself a god, and no one is safe; not even Aurelius' daughter, Lucilla. Can anyone stop the fall of the Roman Empire?
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The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) Reviews
The Way They Used to Make Them
First of all, just for the record, Marcus Aurelius DID want his son Commodus to be his successor. He elevated his only surviving son to co-regent shortly before his death. Marcus was not murdered; he died of natural causes. Secondly, Commodus did not die in a single-handed combat with an army general. He was drugged and strangled at his diner table. "The Fall of the Roman Empire" boasted historian Will Durant as the historical consultant. The historically inaccurate script caused him deep embarrassment. In his history of Rome, "Caesar and Christ," (1944), Durant had already printed the real story. Outside of that, this 70mm color epic is, as one reviewer put it, "eye Candy." As usual for these types of productions, the behind-the-camera professionals did a splendid job. The movie is breathtaking. Just sit back and enjoy the cinematography, especially of the luscious Sophia Loren. The script isn't half-bad; Christopher Plummer works very hard on the character of Commodus, even though he is too old in the beginning: Commodus was only 19 when he became Emperor. The producer built an exact replica of the Roman Forum in Spain and it is spectacular; it was afterwards used by historians for research purposes. I will single out one actor: Finlay Currie. From "Ivanhoe", to "Quo Vadis"; "Ben-Hur" to this film, he always landed a wonderful, commanding and lovely presence to the epic-type of film. Here he is on-screen for far too short a time; luckily, James Mason is around to take up the slack.
High Drama
It's particularly interesting to compare this movie with Gladiator (2000), as both take the same historical event as a starting point. While the fight scenes are more exciting in Gladiator, and while Gladiator is probably the superior film overall, this film does have three distinct advantages. First of all, the armies and crowds are better here - it's real people and not computer generated icons. Some of the marching scenes were a bit lengthy for my tastes, but the soldiers, the horses, the armor, the swords and spears, all of it, were very authentic and impressive. Second, as the armies look more realistic, so do the sets. We do not see the coliseum in this film, but we do see the palaces, pools, forts and throne rooms. Very exciting. Third, and perhaps most importantly, this film has superior acting. Christopher Plummer is probably the best thing here - his Commodus is at once more dastardly and more likeable than that of Gladiator; again, this means more realistic. James Mason is also in top form, here; for once, he does not play a slippery philanderer. There is something flawed about this film that I can't quite put my finger on. It does not reach the heights of other 50s and 60s epics such as The Ten Commandments or Ben-Hur. Still, it is a dramatic and at times moving film. It does convey the gravity (some might say tragedy) of the Empire's fall and the pax romana that never was.
"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."
In the year 180 A.D., the emperor Marcus Aurelius, who led his Roman legions against the Germanic tribes along the Danube frontier, has been at war for 17 years and lived under very difficult conditions Now he invited every governor, every consul and every prince in the whole empire for one particular purpose All responded to his call coming from the deserts of Egypt, from the mountains of Armenia, from the forest of Gaul and the prairies of Spain Marcus Aurelius greets them as friends, and tells them that in the whole world, only two small frontiers are still hostile to Rome One, here in the north which separates the Roman Empire from those who are called barbarians, the other, in the east of Persia Only on these two borders Rome is finding walls, palisades, forts and hatred But these are not the frontiers he wants He wants and needs human frontiers, the vision of a family of nations For the great emperor time is short, and there is a decision which he can no longer delay He has sacrificed the love of his son as Commodus will never be his heir His wish is that Livius, the commander of the northern army, should succeed him, and he intends to present him to the leaders of the empire openly as his successor... He has hope that the position and responsibilities would make his son grow up as Commodus is interested only in games and gladiators... Guiness' ailing Marcus Aurelius had hope that his daughter would not have a marriage without love And he knows better than anyone what a marriage without love can mean But his fears for the empire are reasonable The east is where the danger lies He must make an alliance that will show the whole world what value Rome place on her eastern frontier An alliance with Armenia Boyd's weary Galius Livius saw suddenly his world has become strange He's not sure where he is He knows only the ways of war He would not know how to make allies out of the barbarians But if he has to choose between being Caesar's heir or Lucilla's love, he chooses her love Loren's lovely Lucilla makes it hard for her father to take leave of this life She knows that her father loves her, but how could her life mean anything without love? It is out of love that she dared so much Plummer's slimy Commodus pushes the eastern provinces to rebellion in smashing and destroying everything his father did He makes it clear to his sister that he refused to give her anymore chances to prop against him Mason's genteel Timonides has been a slave, but he's not accustomed to pain He is a philosopher and he is weak Ferrer's treacherous Cleander knows that Caesar will accept fruit from him He also knows that his blade carries a deadly poison Quayle's gladiator Verulus snores, in the moment of truth, a deep family secret Sharif's king Sohamus hopes for a lovely part of Rome With a cast of thousands, massive battle sequences, exciting chariot races, brutal hand to hand combat, gorgeous scenery, impressive set design, Anthony Mann's motion picture is a long ride of epic proportions not designed only to entertain but to expose how gold and corruption can undermine the biggest empire the world has ever known
all-time classic
This and 'Spartacus' are the best of the Roman Epics, and it's no coincidence that 'Gladiator' is essentially a remake of TFOTRE; Scott was inspired by the best. This is a beautifully made, intelligent film with great performances, especially from Mason. And quite fitting that it was the last of the 'Epics'...I grew up watching these films on TV with my late father who always explained the history behind them, and they remind me of him when I watch them. I've just picked it up on Blu-Ray for very little. Although the transfer isn't as great as 'Ben Hur' or 'Cleopatra', which it fully deserves, it still looks good.
We were right Livius. There is no limit with what can be done with a human spirit, for good or evil.
The Fall of the Roman Empire is directed by Anthony Mann and co-written by Ben Barzman, Basilio Franchina and Philip Yordan. It stars Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Mel Ferrer, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle, John Ireland & Finlay Currie. Music is scored by Dimitri Tiomkin and cinematography is by Robert Krasker. Filmed out of Samuel Bronston's productions in Spain, it was shot in the 70mm Ultra Panavision format. Plot is a fictionalisation of events involving the Roman Empire AD 180 to 192, and focuses on the last days of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius to the death of his son and successor Commodus. It was a financial disaster for Samuel Bronston, something that might lend one to think the film to being rather poor. That isn't the case at all, time has been kind to Mann's epic, showing it to be one of the better, more intelligent, sword and sandal epics to have surfaced in cinema history. Massive in scope and production values, it harks back to a time when epic actually meant just that. A huge cast list is supplemented by thousands of extras, all cloaked by real scenery and expertly crafted sets, with not a CGI sequence in sight. Scripting is literate, where three separate writers combine to tell a tale of political intrigue, violence, romance, glory and greed, the ultimate spun narrative of a system collapsing from within. While the action is superbly marshalled by Mann as it flits in and out of the dialogue driven story. Be it the snow laden campaign against the Germanic Barbarians, or an exciting chariot duel, Mann shows himself to be adroit in the art of scene construction. It's not all perfect, the length at over three hours asks much of the casual observer; the production for sure is grand, but some of the longer character exchanges could easily have been trimmed. After Kirk Douglas and Charlton Heston turned down the role of Livius, Stephen Boyd filed in for lantern jawed stoicism, he looks the part but with such a razor sharp script calling for dramatic worth from one of its main characters, Boyd barely convinces in a film that convinces everywhere else. Loren, a vision of loveliness, is guilty of over pouting, but both her and Boyd's failings are masked over by the performances of the others around them, and to be fair their romantic union has the requisite warmth about it. Guinness (classy), Mason (likewise) and a terrific Plummer (grand egomaniacal villainy-himself stepping in when Richard Harris bailed) dominate proceedings, while Tiomkin's Academy Award nominated score is stirring and itself epic in production. An essential film for the historical epic fan, The Fall of the Roman Empire is a lesson in adult sword and sandalry. 8.5/10