The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Ben Barzman (written by) &
Basilio Franchina (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 March 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

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:

Emperor | Roman Empire | Decadence Of The Roman Empire | Beautiful Woman | Funeral Pyre

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

Also Known As:

Der Untergang des römischen Reiches (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
La caída del imperio romano (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
A Queda do Império Romano (Brazil) [pt]
A római birodalom bukása (Hungary) [hu]
I ptosis tis Romaikis Aftokratorias (Greece) [el]
La caduta dell'impero romano (Italy) [it]
La chute de l'empire romain (France) [fr]
Romarrikets fall (Sweden) [sv]
Romerrigets fald (Denmark) [da]
Rooman valtakunnan tuho (Finland) [fi]
Upadek cesarstwa rzymskiego (Poland) [pl]

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:

South Korea:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Samuel Bronston Productions

Trivia:

_"Price is Right, The" (1956)_ gave the role of an extra in this film away as a bonus prize. The winner was a man named Robert Reynolds, and he can be seen in the background of one of the arena scenes.

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: A few days longer, Caesar, we'll bring you his head.
Marcus Aurelius: No Livius, please don't bring me his head. I wouldn't know what to do with it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strength and Honor: Creating the World of 'Gladiator' (2005) (V)

I loved it

I saw this movie en 1964 when I was 19 years old and enjoyed every minute of it, I have seen it again and still enjoy it. The cast is outstanding, a movie of the league of Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments. Pity that no more movies like that are made nowadays.

I still remember some of the words by Commodus (after becoming Caesar) "let it be heard in the four quarters of the Empire that I Commodus, now Caesar, proclaim Gaius Metelus Livius Pro Consul of the Roman Empire, Commander in Chief of all the Roman armies, second only to Caesar himself"

An epic indeed.