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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Limited Edition - Fall of the Roman Empire (3 DVD set):
Let me first preface my review by stating that the Fall of the Roman Empire is a wonderful movie. The cinematography and art direction are gorgeous. Sophia Loren is radiant. Stephen Boyd properly heroic, in spite of the bad blond hair dye. Alec Guinness, James Mason and Christopher Plummer are extraordinary. No, my one star is not for the movie. It's for the limited edition 3 DVD set. The extras included can not justify its $39.95 price tag. The "extra" DVD (included only in this set) is nothing more... more info
Numbing Spectacle:
Anthony Mann apparently never saw a procession he didn't like. This bloated epic draws out everything almost beyond endurance (how many footsoldiers slogging by does one need to see to get the idea that they're on the march?). Battle scenes are incoherent, so we have no idea what's supposed to be happening. The actors were apparently told that the high import of the project required "serious" performances, which translates as awkward, wooden and dead. Christopher Plummer does his best to inject some life... more info
History Rolls On:
A good video to understand the history of the Roman Empire. This video was instrumental in helping my child understand the history of what happened during this era.
FANTASTIC AND ENJOYABLE TO SEE OVER AND OVER AGAIN I:
I ALWAYS WANTED TO OWN THIS FILM AND WAS PLEASED TO PURCHES IT AS SOON AS IT CAME AVAILEB
