FILM FINDER

DVD QUICK LINKS

DVD BY GENRE

DVD BY STUDIO

MY ACCOUNT

SITE MATTERS

Fall of the Roman Empire [3 Discs] [Limited Collector's Edition]

164

Market price: ~~$39.95USD~~

Our price: $27.69USD
(save 31%)

Status:

IN-STOCK
Released: 2008-04-29

You may be interested in..

Fall of the Roman Empire DVD Cast & Features Cast:
Virgilio Teixeira, Alec Guinness, Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quayle, Omar Sharif, John Ireland, Mel Ferrer, Eric Porter, Douglas Wilmer, Peter Damon, Andrew Keir, George Murcell, Lena von Martens, Gabriella Licudi, Rafael Luis Calvo, Norman Wooland, Michael Gwynn, Guy Rolfe, Finlay Currie

Director(s): Anthony Mann

Features:
Disc 1:
Feature commentary with Bill Bronston (son of producer Samuel Bronston) and Mel Martin (biographer of Samuel Bronston)
Rome in Madrid: 1964 promtional film
Original theatrical trailer
Filmographies
Still galleries
Disc 2:
The Rise and Fall of an Epic Production: The making of the film
The Rise and Fall of an Empire: An historical look at the real Roman empire
Hollywood vs. History: An historical analysis
Dimitri Tiomkin: Scoring the Roman Empire
Disc 3:
A collection of historic films about ancient Rome, all shot on the film's sets

Fall of the Roman Empire DVD Details

Video:
Enchanced Widescreen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, COLOR
Audio:
Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel
Language:
English
Subtitles:
Spanish, English

Running Time: 185
Genre: Drama
Item Weight: 3
UPC: 796019812269
Product Code: MRMC81226DVD
Format: DVD
Year:1964
Studio: Miriam Collection

Fall of the Roman Empire DVD Summary 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.

The film begins with wise, diplomatic emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) calling together the various representatives of the many nations within the Empire as a means of securing peace and prosperity for all involved.

When Marcus intimates that he intends to turn over his crown to adopted son Livius (Stephen Boyd) rather than the logical successor Commodus (Christopher Plummer), he is poisoned by one of Commodus' cronies.

Marcus' daughter Lucilla (Sophia Loren) tries to get Livius to claim the throne, but he wants no part of it; thus, the fate of the empire is in the incompetent hands of the preening Commodus.

Despite efforts by cooler heads to save Rome from ruin, Commodus vainly declares himself a god and kills anyone who poses a threat to him.

When he learns that Lucilla actually has a stronger claim to the throne than he does, Commodus condemns her to be burned at the stake.

Only then does Livius intervene, slaying Commodus and promising to try to pick up the pieces of the disintegrating empire.

Attempting to find a common ground between history buffs and action fans, Fall of the Roman Empire has come to be regarded as a classic.

Alas, audiences in 1964 had grown weary of epics (especially after the highly touted but disappointing Cleopatra), and failed to turn out in sufficient enough numbers to justify Fall's exorbitant cost.

Virtually wiped out, Samuel Bronston would not be able to return to filmmaking until 1971, and then only on a much smaller and more pinchpenny scale.