The Fall of the Roman Empire

"Never before a spectacle like the fall of the Roman empire"

1964 3h 8m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 240

DramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

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In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.

“Never before a spectacle like the fall of the Roman empire”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Anthony Mann
Writers: Philip Yordan, Ben Barzman, Basilio Franchina
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 188 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Anthony Mann, shot by Robert Krasker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sophia Loren and Stephen Boyd and Alec Guinness carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Never before a spectacle like the fall of the Roman empire".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Anthony Mann directs. Robert Krasker behind the camera. Dimitri Tiomkin scores. Robert Lawrence cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 188 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
2Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
362 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Anthony Mann, shot by Robert Krasker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Robert Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Sophia Loren and Stephen Boyd and Alec Guinness carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Never before a spectacle like the fall of the Roman empire".
9IMDB entry: tt0058085 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "roman empire", "ancient rome", "barbarian", "chariot".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Krasker
Original score: Dimitri Tiomkin
Editing: Robert Lawrence
Production design: John Moore
Costume design: Veniero Colasanti
Makeup / hair: Mario Van Riel
Sound: Gordon K. McCallum
Stunt coordinator: Yakima Canutt
Runtime: 188 min · 3h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $19,000,000
Box office: $4,750,000
Return: 25% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

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Anthony Mann

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CinemaSerf2024-06-01
★ 7/10
It's amidst the frozen forests of Germany that we meet Caesar Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) who is pondering a crucial question. He is ailing, aware that he'll be with his gods soon and that his son "Commodus" (Christopher Plummer) should not be entrusted with the empire. That honour ought to go to his childhood friend, and the emperor's commander "Livius" (Stephen Boyd). When he announces this, it leaves the honourable general with a conundrum - not helped by his love for the princess "Lucilla" (Sophia Loren). Thanks to an apple and a very dodgy paring knife, things come to an head and what might have seemed like the honourable thing to do at the time soon comes home to bite "Livius" as his new boss turns out to be every bit as bad as his father had feared. With the empire facing battles on many fronts, the scheming Armenian king "Sohamus" (Omar Sharif) up to mischief in the East - he's now also married to "Livilla", it looks like a battle royal will have to take place to save Rome from itself and it's foes. This is a great looking and sumptuously staged drama with loads of attention to detail both in the wilderness of the trees and with the lavishness of the Imperial court. A veritable all-star cast support too - James Mason, a slightly wooden Anthony Quayle and a brief appearance from Mel Ferrer all add colour to the thing, but it's the surfeit of writing that slows down the pace. There's just way too much chat and not enough action. That said when it does liven up then the grand-scale battle scenes are superbly photographed by Robert Krasker. In the end, the whole just isn't the sum of it's parts, and though gorgeous, Loren doesn't look remotely interested in much, if any, of the proceedings. It'd be hard to shave much from it's three hour running time and make much difference, I think it just doesn't quite work often enough.

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