Simply Perfect

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This film is PERFECTLY cast and has the perfect balance of drama and logic to keep things going from beginning to end. The COSTUMES and sets are all absolutely amazing and it makes perfect sense that so many members of the cast from this film were "stollen" to be part of the cast for Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth a decade later! There are quite a few staggered plot twists, compliments of my faves, Omar Shariff and Sophia Lauren as well as a few others -- no spoilers!!!!

Someone once said that Raymond Chandler inherited the mantle of Dahiell Hammet and dyed it a deeper shade of crimson; the remark was, of course, intended as a compliment to Chandler's talent, ability, and skill. To reverse the compliment I would say that Stephen Boyd inherited the solid mahogany of Edmund Purdom and added a few knotholes of his own. To hand him what is virtually the lead role of a multi-million dollar spectacle is on a par with handing Tiny Tim the leading role in the biopic of Paul Robeson. Not that this oven-ready turkey needs much help in stinking up the screen. Ironically in terms of historical accuracy it tests high, probably something like 80% but where it falls down is in the thesping department with Christopher Plummer leading from the front and flaunting his Gold Medal from the Charles Laughton Academy of York Hams, with a distinguished group - Guiness, Mason, Porter, Sharif et al slugging it out for Silver and Bronze. To say dire is praise indeed.

I love epics, having been brought up on the likes of Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments. As far as epics go, The Fall of the Roman Empire is not among the best, but it is hardly among the worst either. There are several amazing things about it, but also some assets that could've been done much better.Starting with the flaws, The Fall of the Roman Empire is mostly compelling, but feels very stodgy and flat in the last forty minutes or so and in the scenes with Boyd and Loren. This is to do with three things I think. One is that of the cast, Stephen Boyd is the least impressive, most of the time he is very wooden and stiff. Two is that he and Loren have little or no chemistry together. Finally, the writing is intelligent and very well-written on the most part, particularly with the nods to Edward Gibbon, but some scenes feel really contrived and stilted.However, like a lot of epics before, during and since, Fall of the Roman Empire is visually stunning. The Roman settings are wonderfully evocative, the costumes are sumptuous and the cinematic shots are sweeping and really quite exquisite. Dmitri Tiomkin is a favourite of mine when it comes to film composers, Fall of the Roman Empire with its rousing, beautiful and majestic themes is no exception.Excepting Boyd, the cast are fine. For any lack of chemistry with Boyd, Sophia Loren more than makes up for it with her allure and some convincing delivery. Alec Guinness' performance is brief but altogether wonderful, Omar Sharif is every bit as charismatic as he ever was, likewise with Anthony Quayle and Mel Ferrer is appropriately menacing. James Mason is excellent, and while he has some rough spots towards the end, slightly overdoing it, Christopher Plummer is wonderfully slimy.Fall of the Roman Empire is directed by Anthony Mann with his usual finesse, and boasts some skilled chariot action and action sequences. In conclusion, a good interesting movie, but lacks that extra something to make it go the extra mile. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The Fall of the Roman Empire is directed by Anthony Mann and co-written by Ben Barzman, Basilio Franchina and Philip Yordan. It stars Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Mel Ferrer, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle, John Ireland & Finlay Currie. Music is scored by Dimitri Tiomkin and cinematography is by Robert Krasker. Filmed out of Samuel Bronston's productions in Spain, it was shot in the 70mm Ultra Panavision format.Plot is a fictionalisation of events involving the Roman Empire AD 180 to 192, and focuses on the last days of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius to the death of his son and successor Commodus.It was a financial disaster for Samuel Bronston, something that might lend one to think the film to being rather poor. That isn't the case at all, time has been kind to Mann's epic, showing it to be one of the better, more intelligent, sword and sandal epics to have surfaced in cinema history. Massive in scope and production values, it harks back to a time when epic actually meant just that. A huge cast list is supplemented by thousands of extras, all cloaked by real scenery and expertly crafted sets, with not a CGI sequence in sight. Scripting is literate, where three separate writers combine to tell a tale of political intrigue, violence, romance, glory and greed, the ultimate spun narrative of a system collapsing from within. While the action is superbly marshalled by Mann as it flits in and out of the dialogue driven story. Be it the snow laden campaign against the Germanic Barbarians, or an exciting chariot duel, Mann shows himself to be adroit in the art of scene construction.It's not all perfect, the length at over three hours asks much of the casual observer; the production for sure is grand, but some of the longer character exchanges could easily have been trimmed. After Kirk Douglas and Charlton Heston turned down the role of Livius, Stephen Boyd filed in for lantern jawed stoicism, he looks the part but with such a razor sharp script calling for dramatic worth from one of its main characters, Boyd barely convinces in a film that convinces everywhere else. Loren, a vision of loveliness, is guilty of over pouting, but both her and Boyd's failings are masked over by the performances of the others around them, and to be fair their romantic union has the requisite warmth about it. Guinness (classy), Mason (likewise) and a terrific Plummer (grand egomaniacal villainy-himself stepping in when Richard Harris bailed) dominate proceedings, while Tiomkin's Academy Award nominated score is stirring and itself epic in production.An essential film for the historical epic fan, The Fall of the Roman Empire is a lesson in adult sword and sandalry. 8.5/10