The Fall of the Roman Empire

Though Fall of the Roman Empire is now infamous as the epic which destroyed the cinematic "empire" of producer Samuel Bronston, the film is actually an above-average historical drama, attempting to make sense of the political intrigues which resulted in the dissolution of the Glory That Was Rome. ...more

This film does not depict the fall of the Roman Empire, only the beginning of it. And it takes three hours to do it. Like Gladiator more than three decades later, it distorts second century Roman history, making Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Sir Alec Guinness) a victim of murder instead of plague. And like Gladiator, it distorts events surrounding the death of Aurelius' son and successor, Commodus (Christopher Plummer). In real life, Commodus was strangled while taking a bath. Finally, like ...more