The best Roman movies span the history of cinema itself, delivering many landmark moments along the way.
When a filmmaker thinks of "history", there are a few time periods that immediately spring to mind – Victorian England, World War II-era Europe, and Ancient Rome are a few popular examples. Since the dawn of filmmaking in the early 1900s, screenwriters, directors, and actors alike have been fascinated with the lives of emperors, gladiators, and even common folk. Not surprising, seeing as the Bard himself wrote frequently on the subject.
There have certainly been lots of box office bombs in the Ancient Roman historical genre, which is also known as the "sword and sandal" or "peplum flick." Nowadays, such affairs tend to have massive sets and sweeping set pieces, and with the popularity of Rome and Roman things declining, that sort of large investment is no longer sound. But in days past, when sets were sound stages and studios had a whole "Ancient Roman" room in props storage, things were different.
Updated on April 13th, 2022 by Hannah Saab: While there haven't been any recent noteworthy movies about ancient Rome, that hasn't stopped fans and critics from reviewing and rediscovering classics. This is why it's not surprising that the ratings for the best Roman movies on Rotten Tomatoes have shifted, which will rightly influence the choices viewers will make the next time they look for Roman films worth watching today.
15 Cleopatra (1963) – 60%
• Available to stream on The Criterion Channel.
It's one of Elizabeth Taylor's most iconic looks, roles, and performances, and it certainly gives the ancient world a powerful shock, Cleopatra deserves its spot in the history of cinema. As beautiful as she is manipulative, Cleopatra changes the tide of civilization as she seduces both Marc Antony and Julius Caesar, played by Richard Burton and Rex Harrison respectively.
Not exactly a Shakespearean production, but it's a spectacle in its truest silver screen form and one of the shining examples of the golden age of Hollywood. It also almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox into oblivion despite the fact that it made quite a bit of money.
14 Centurion (2010) – 61%
• Available to rent on Apple TV+.
While it's set in the Ancient Roman period and stars definitively Roman characters, Centurion is not actually set in Rome, but rather in Britain. Michael Fassbender plays Quintus Dias, the titular centurion stationed with the fabled Ninth Legion in Caledonia, which is northern Britain, in the second century.
He's joined by Olga Kurylenko as Etain, a Brigantes warrior and scout who's out for revenge against the Romans who brutally murdered her family. Though the film did okay but not great with the critics, it only made back half of its $12 million budget at the box office, making it an official bomb.
13 Titus (1999) – 68%
Helmed by the famed director for the stage and screen Julie Taymor, Titus is a film adaptation of Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus and stars Anthony Hopkins as the title character. Though it bends and at times smashes the bounds of historical accuracy (at least insomuch as it exists in Shakespeare's work), Titus is for the most part set in actual Ancient Rome.
Hopkins is joined on-screen by Jessica Lange and Alan Cummings, playing Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and Saturninus, Emperor of Rome, respectively. The film made only $3 million at the box office on a budget of $25 million and received mixed reviews from critics, but has since achieved cult status.
12 Asterix And Obelix: Mansion Of The Gods (2014) – 71%
Considering it's animated and a comedy, it's easy to miss that Asterix and Obelix: Mansion of the Gods is a story that depicts the most commonly used form of Roman subjugation that there was, and believe it or not that wasn't often force. Cultural immersion, economic pressure, and political influence were the most effective weapons that the Romans had when it came to subjugating the people of their empire.
It's an interesting twist that presents an interesting problem for the main characters, Asterix and Obelisk, who are used to fighting Romans on the battlefield. How do they push back against wealth, beauty, and opulence?
11 Gladiator (2000) – 77%
• Available to rent on Apple TV+.
Perhaps the most famous of all films set in Ancient Rome, Gladiator is a Ridley Scott masterpiece that took the world by storm in the year 2000, earning a whopping $460 million at the box office and winning five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It was so successful that it created a phenomenon known as the "Gladiator effect," spawning a spike in interest in Ancient Roman literature and history.
Gladiator stars Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a high-ranking Roman forced into slavery who seeks revenge against the cruel Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Crowe even contributed to parts of the script, specifically the speech about the soil on his family farm being "black like [his] wife's hair."
10 Satyricon (1969) – 78%
Satyricon is an episodic and fantastic story of life in ancient Rome that is based more on the legends of hedonism and pleasure than actual facts. The colors, costumes, and general atmosphere are all exaggerated to match the equally fantastic time period that encompassed the chaotic reign of Emporer Nero.
The movie doesn't tell a linear story in a conventional way but instead breaks up the narrative into nine different episodes that follow the main character as he tries to win back his young lover. It's an apt format for the dreamlike narrative that relies on some mystical surroundings and a suspension of belief.
9 Quo Vadis (1951) – 83%
• Available to rent on Apple TV+.
Often credited with saving MGM from bankruptcy, Quo Vadis is an epic historical drama that combines historical with fictional elements to tell the story of the Roman Empire's clash with Christianity and the treatment of early Christians. It stars Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, and Peter Ustinov, with narration by Walter Pidgeon (Funny Girl, Forbidden Planet).
It was both a box office and a critical success, earning $21 million on a $7 million budget (impressive for its time) and mixed to positive reviews. Critics seemed impressed by the film's scope more than its filmmaking or narrative qualities, but that seems to be neither here nor there.
8 A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966) – 86%
• Available to stream on Amazon Prime.
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum is a bit different from other films set in Ancient Rome, to say the least. For starters, it's a musical comedy. Based on the stage musical of the same name, which is based on the works of Roman comedic playwright Plautus, it tells the story of a slave named Pseudolus, played by Zero Mostel, who attempts to earn his freedom by helping his master win the heart of the girl next door.
For those in need of a break from all the blood and guts of Gladiator and Centurion, but don't feel quite ready to leave behind Ancient Rome, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is the perfect movie. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music fans will be humming funny songs for days.
7 Ben-Hur (1959) – 86%
• Available to stream on HBO Max.
Ben-Hur is a classic film that was remade in 2016, but the 1959 version itself is a great remake of a 1925 silent film. It tells the story of Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), a Jewish prince forced into Roman slavery who becomes a champion charioteer and swears revenge on Roman citizen Messala (Stephen Boyd), who has greatly wronged him.
At the time of its release, Ben-Hur was the most expensive film ever made, with a $15 million budget. Shooting required 200 camels, 2,500 horses, and an estimated 10,000 extras, all packed onto some of the biggest sets that had ever been built. But it all paid off, as the film earned $146 million at the box office, becoming the second highest-grossing film of its time, behind only Gone with the Wind.
6 Barabbas (1961) – 89%
• Available to stream on Amazon Prime.
The religious epic Barabbas tells the story of - unsurprisingly - Barabbas, the New Testament biblical figure. Unlike many of the films in the niche, it was actually shot in Rome, as well as in Verona, Italy, with huge set pieces, including a gladiatorial battle and a crucifixion shot during an actual solar eclipse.
It stars Anthony Quinn as Barabbas, Arthur Kennedy as Pontius Pilate, and Arnold Foà as Joseph of Arimathea, the man who was responsible for Jesus' body and burial after the crucifixion. It earned $2.9 million at the box office and has received positive reviews from contemporaneous and modern critics alike.
5 Spartacus (1960) – 93%
• Available to rent on Apple TV+.
Many people may be familiar with the story of Spartacus because of his recent appearance on the small screen in Starz's television series Spartacus. But he first arrived on film long before that, in this famed 1960 film of the same name directed by Stanley Kubrick and written by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.
Spartacus' role in American history is perhaps even more interesting than the story it tells - President John F. Kennedy personally crossed picket lines in order to view it, helping to end the practice of blacklisting those filmmakers who had been marked as communists or communist sympathizers.
4 Julius Caesar (1953) – 95%
• Available to rent on Apple TV+.
There have been many films made about the life of famed Roman Emperor Julius Caesar - including one in 1950 and one in 1970, both starring Charlton Heston. But it is the 1953 film starring Marlon Brando as Mark Antony, based on Shakespeare's stage play of the same name, that tops the list.
Julius Caesar details the betrayal and assassination of the titular character by his allies and friends and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. Production was plagued by the interpersonal drama between the actors and the director and used many existing sets from Quo Vadis, which had been released two years earlier.
3 Life Of Brian (1979) – 95%
• Available to stream on Netflix.
One of Monty Python's most polished feature films, Life of Brian has both the budget and script of a real movie. It's also one of the most accurate depictions of life in a Roman province ever put on the silver screen.
The movie doesn't take place in the capital city itself but in the Roman province of Judea, and it includes a lighthearted but realistic look at life under Roman rule. It's not always funny, either, as sometimes the satire takes a biting turn when it comes to the tyranny of the Romans and the local Judean authorities.
2 Cabiria (1914) – 96%
Cabiria is set during the Second Punic War and depicts many of the most famous moments of that war: Hannibal's march across the Alps, the Siege of Syracuse, and Roman general Scipio's military campaign in Northern Africa, to name a few.
Martin Scorsese credits this film as inventing the epic genre. If he's correct - and he probably is - that makes Cabiria the spiritual ancestor of films like Ben-Hur and Gladiator. It was restored and re-released at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, and during its original release in 1914, it was the first film to ever be screened at the White House, showing on the lawn for President Woodrow Wilson.
1 The Fall Of The Roman Empire (1964) – 100%
• Available to rent on Apple TV+.
Spectacle, drama, political intrigue, and lust for power are the core elements of 1963's The Fall of the Roman Empire. When film aficionados weep over the end of Hollywood's Golden Age, this is the kind of movie they're crying about. To give an idea of how the industry has changed, Ridley Scott made a condensed version of this for modern audiences that fans may be familiar with – Gladiator.
Essentially a historical epic in its purest form, the 1964 film covers the might and expanse of Rome's greatest age and how it fell from within. With several stellar performances, including those from the likes of Alec Guinness and Christopher Plummer, the magnificence of the empire is presented in glorious technicolor for all to see.
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