The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (The Miriam Collection)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer, James Mason, Sophia Loren, Stephen BoydBrand: WELLSPRING/GENIUS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 179 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Genius Products (TVN)
Movie Reviews of The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (The Miriam Collection)
Movie Review: The Fall of the Roman Empire
Summary: 4 Stars
Before Gladiator, there was The Fall of the Roman Empire. Both films covered the same time period of 180-192 AD. Most of the characters are the same. The protagonist in both films is fictional.
The 1964 film is stunning in its Spanish cinematography. The massive sets are impressive. The script is well written with dialogue that would stimulate the thinker. Dimitri Tiomkin would win the Golden Globe for the musical score, but not the Oscar. Anthony Mann's direction is superb for the most part.
Alex Guinness, later of Star Wars fame, brilliantly portrays Marcus Aurelius. His one desire is for "golden centuries of peace" and "a family of equal nations".
Sophia Loren plays the daughter, Lucilla. Her love for her father and Livius are the two opposite sides of reality which brings her internal conflict.
James Mason is outstanding as Timonides, a Greek Christian and friend to both Marcus and Livius. His best scene is between him and Ballomar, the leader of the northern barbarians. It is a true test of his faith.
Commodus is given vibrant life by Christopher Plummer. Unlike the Gladiator character, this Commodus is not only reckless but thrives on combat. He is no coward, but he is a bit mad.
Much criticism has been heaped on Stephen Boyd's Gaius Metellus Livius. He had a difficult task. Both Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas had turned down the role. Unfortunately, he does come across lifeless. There is no chemistry between Livius and Lucilla. He is just too restrained in his acting which has to be partly attributed to Mann's direction.
Unfortunately, the film was a financial failure at a cost of over 18 million. The only Oscar nomination was for the musical score.
When this film premi?red in March 1964, the nation was still suffering the loss of John Kennedy. The top films of 1964 included Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, The Pink Panther, Goldfinger, Father Goose, etc. Definitely, musicals and comedies were the fare that people wanted. Something as serious as the Fall of the Roman Empire was perhaps too realistic of current events in the real world.
To a number of people, the title was misleading. However, in its defense, it is true that after the death of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Empire began a steep decline. Will Durant of THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION series was the historical consultant.
For me this is a great addition to my historical series. The price is reasonable for such a film.
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Summary of The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (The Miriam Collection)
Anthony Mann directs this giant-size, three-hour, sweepingly pictorial entertainment (Daily Variety) that chronicles the peace-loving Caeser, Marcus Aurelius (Guinness) and his corrupt son, Commodus, (Plummer) who covets his throne. Featuring epic battles, breathtaking sets and locations, and a chariot race that easily rivals Ben Hur, Fall of the Roman Empire charts the greedy miscalculations that led to this civilization s collapse at the bloody hands of the Barbarians.The second and last of Anthony Mann's historical epics is a smart, handsome spectacle of the decadence, corruption, and intrigue that tears apart the greatest empire the world has seen. The sprawling story spreads itself thin over a number of characters and stories. At the center are handsome but stiff Stephen Boyd as Livius, the loyal soldier and symbolic son of the aging emperor (Alec Guinness), and Christopher Plummer as Commodus, the corrupt heir to the throne--boyhood friends turned enemies when the latter accedes to the throne and sells out the values of his father for greed and hedonistic pleasures. The three-hour running time is filled out with the tales of Sophia Loren (as the beautiful Lucilla in love with Livius but coveted by greedy Commodus) and a gallery of heroes and villains that includes James Mason, Mel Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, John Ireland, Omar Sharif, and Eric Porter. The film is highlighted with spectacular scenes (a grandiose funeral fit for an emperor, brutal battles in the provinces as the barbarians threaten the empire, and a climactic duel to decide the destiny of Rome), which Mann weaves into the shadowy intrigue of the halls of power. Like his previous epic El Cid, The Fall of the Roman Empire remains one of the best of the 1960s epics: well written (and largely historically accurate) with strong performances and a consistently elegant style, but it lacks a central core and the magnetic hero of its superior predecessor. --Sean Axmaker
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