The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (The Miriam Collection)

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And Alec Guinness effectively renders Emepror Aurelius during the latter part of his career. Plummer gives us a mad Commoddus with the same gusto that Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov gave us colorful renditions of Nero. Stephen Boyd plays Livius, a powerful and principled general, who was the favorite of Marcus Aurelius to succeed him. An excellent two-disc edition, brilliantly re-mastered, with many extras, this is much worth owning. In contrast to Ben-Hur, where he plays a villain, here he is shown as a good man, and he succeeds admirably in demonstrating his range. Its characters are fascinating, all of them played by actors lacking superstar status, with the exception of Sophia Loren. It studiously avoids compromise and makes demands on the viewer to be taken seriously as a historical and moral document that highlights themes like friendship, treachery, ambition and a larger view of humanity under the stress of war.

Though slow-paced and lacking in excitement and the dramatic action of some of its predecessors (Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia), this majestic film makes up in depth of concept and characterization. A forceful movie, with a powerful message, this is a good vehicle for both entertainment and historycarefully avoiding the pitfalls of a history lessson. Rome had five great emperors in succession, from Hadrian to Marcus Aurelius, in a span of two centiries, but subseuently fell into the hands of icompetent egomaniacs whose concept of Rome was based on central power and exploitation, rather than sharing its wealth and privileges with other peoples. Christopher Plummer as Commodus displays his versatility in shifting from the noble aristocrat of The Sound of Music to a despicable egomaniac who single-handedly undoes the life-long struggle of his father to instill the concept of peace and equality among a vast number of national entities that comprise the mosaic of the Empire. And Sophia Loren, who hardly ever gave a bad performance, is quietly effective as Commodus's sister Lucilla, who is in love with and shares the principles of Livius. Thouh only semi-historical, with fictional elements and characters, it makes a point, that the fall of a great empire is a result of many causes, but essentially it is a decay from within that brings it about. At times when the epic was often "mere spectacle," this is an attempt of taking history seriously, dissecting the real causes of the decline of the greatest empire in the ancient world.

Livius sticks to principles and despises Commodus, an ex-friend, but his is unwilling to betray him when the latter subverts his father's will and takes over a Caesar.

A very enjoyable movie with good period detail and enough history to be well above the typical sword and sandal movie.

For example : in his relatively short appearance in the beginning of the movie Alec Guinness (in his role as Ceasar) speeks at sunrise the almost poëtly line:. " Probably this motion picture will not be brought out on blue-ray discs so.by it on dvd to keep it close for your moments of need to see a classic and impressive motion picture. A high recommended movie because of the superior quality of actors, the greatness of outdoor scenes and some great lines. ".Timodeus.it is said more people die at this moment when night is about to give way to day then at any other time.seems to me night whispers.COME WITH ME TO THE WEST.SLEEP FOREVER.WHÃT HAS ANOTHER DAY TO OFFER YOU.

This film has the same historical fiction than "Gladiator". The best of this DVD are the extras. I hoped, by the title, the last moments of the roman empire in the fifth century A.D., but is an interpretation of one of many causes of the collapse of the empire, the begining of fool emperors at the end of the second century A.D., with Comodous.

I really do like Gladiator, but I this one is still my favorite. I'm so glad that this great movie was FINALLY released to DVD. The movie,Gladiator (Widescreen Edition) is basically a remake of the same story.