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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Fall of the Roman Empire (Umbrella Ent) (1964)

The Fall of the Roman Empire (Umbrella Ent) (1964)

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Released 6-Jul-2010

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 1964
Running Time 177:41
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (106:00) Cast & Crew
Start Up Programme
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Anthony Mann
Studio
Distributor

Umbrella Entertainment
Starring Sophia Loren
Stephen Boyd
Alec Guinness
James Mason
Christopher Plummer
Anthony Quayle
John Ireland
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI $19.95 Music Dimitri Tiomkin


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Unknown English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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Plot Synopsis

     In 180 AD Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) is campaigning on the borders of Germania. He summons from all corners of the vast Roman Empire Consuls, Princes and Kings with the intention of declaring an end to war and the peaceful co-existence of Rome and its former enemies. Also joining Aurelius are his daughter Lucilla (Sophia Loren), his son Commodus (Christopher Plumber) and his favourite soldier Livius (Stephen Boyd) who is close friends with both Lucilla and Commodus. Indeed Lucilla and Livius are in love but to secure Rome’s eastern border Aurelius promises Lucilla in marriage to Prince Sohamus of Armenia (Omar Sharif). But Aurelius, who has been away from Rome fighting for 17 years, is dying. To protect the empire he has decided to bypass Commodus, whom he knows is more interested in gladiators and debauchery than matters of state, and to name Livius as his heir and the next Emperor of Rome.

     That does not find favour with some corrupt senators. Aurelius is murdered without Commodus’ knowledge before Aurelius can make his choice public, and Commodus becomes Emperor. Commodus intends to reverse everything Marcus Aurelius stood for; to enjoy himself and to rule by force, not reason. After his triumphant procession into Rome, his first act is to double the grain and tribute to be paid by the Eastern Provinces, although those provinces were already in famine. Livius returns to the northern armies to complete the subjugation of the German tribes still fighting under Ballomar (John Ireland) and Lucilla is packed off to Armenia.

     Some years later, Livius wins a battle in Germania and captures Ballomar. But instead of killing the prisoners, Livius believes the way to lasting peace is to promise the Germans Roman citizenship and settle them on vacant Roman land. This is opposed by Commodus and a number of the senators who object to granting barbarians Roman citizenship. Commodus asks that Livius drop his plans, and offers him Lucilla in marriage if he will agree. However Livius honours his promise to the Germans and the bill is passed by the senate. Commodus takes this rebuff badly; Livius is exiled back to northern Germany and Lucilla returned to her husband in Armenia.

     Bled dry by Commodus’ demands, the Eastern Provinces revolt and Livius is recalled from Germany and sent east to defeat them. On arrival he discovers that Lucilla and her husband have joined the revolt. Lucilla begs Livius to join them and to march on Rome to depose Commodus, but his sense of honour is too great and he refuses. Just as Roman is about to fight Roman the Persians invade, and Livius and the other Romans join forces to defeat them. Livius is hailed as a hero by Commodus, and offered a share of the throne. The catch is that Livius must massacre 5,000 people from each of the Eastern provinces that had revolted. He refuses and starts to march his army towards Rome. In retaliation, Commodus orders the massacre of the Germans who had previously settled on Roman land. Finally, in the Forum in front of the Roman masses, Commodus and Livius square off in a contest to the death to decide the fate of the Empire.

     Three years after their smash hit El Cid director Anthony Mann and producer Samuel Bronston returned with The Fall of the Roman Empire. It was bigger and bolder; massive sets, more stars, thousands of Spanish extras in huge battle scenes, spectacle and grandeur, yet it bombed at the box office. Indeed, the film cost approximately $US19 million to make yet grossed only $US4.75 million in the US box office and basically sent Samuel Bronston broke.

     This was a surprise. Many of the elements that were successful in El Cid were again present in The Fall of the Roman Empire. If Charlton Heston was absent there was still a whole galaxy of stars: Sophia Loren, Alex Guinness, James Mason, Stephen Boyd, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quayle, Omar Sharif. The producer and director returned as did the cinematographer (Robert Krasker) and legendary second unit director (Yakima Canutt). Composer Miklos Rozsa did not return (apparently he was unhappy that Bronston had cut 20% of his El Cid music from the film), but instead the experienced Dimitri Tiomkin, who had scored films for Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston and Howard Hawks and who would before his death in 1979 win four Oscar Awards including for High Noon, was hired to do the score.

     With this array of talent why did the film fail at the box office? The casting was one factor. Originally Charlton Heston was to play Livius and Richard Harris Commodus but both pulled out. Losing the first choice for two of the three main characters was not a good start: Stephen Boyd as hero lacks the charisma and star power of Charlton Heston in the central role, Christopher Plummer, so great with a stiff upper lip in, for example, The Sound of Music (1965), as Wellington in Waterloo (1970) or indeed as Tolstoy in The Last Station (2009), does not convince as the crazy Commodus while Alec Guinness looks too young and healthy to be the dying Aurelius (he was 50 years old in 1964). However Sophia Loren as Lucilla has more to do than in El Cid and does it well although whether she was worth the $US1 million she was paid to return (only the second actress after Elizabeth Taylor who received $US1 million for Cleopatra in 1963) is a moot point. In addition, the film fails to find the emotional core of the story. The intimate details of the relationship between Rodrigo and Chimene that grounded El Cid in recognisable human emotions is missing in The Fall of the Roman Empire; indeed it is not really Livius’s story (he is such a wimp anyway) as the story of Commodus, and his character never develops. As well, the dialogue often borders on the banal and the plot veers wildly; one moment Livius and Commodus are fantastic friends, then they try to kill each other, then friends again, then . . . Finally, while the score of Dimitri Tiomkin is fine and suitably epic, it does not find that intimate, common touch that moves us.

     In the end, while The Fall of the Roman Empire is grand epic adventure, the mixed plotline, the less than charismatic lead and the scale of the production, where the massive sets dwarf the human characters both physically and emotionally, mean that we are not intimately involved with, or care much about, the characters’ journeys.

     Yet The Fall of the Roman Empire is hardly a disaster. The sets present spectacle on a huge scale (at 1312 by 754 feet the Roman Forum set still holds the record as the largest outdoor set ever built for a film), there is colour, pomp, grandeur and action on a grand scale in battle and crowd scenes: Commodus’ entry into Rome, done for real, leaves the similar entry sequence in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator for dead. Indeed it is clear that Gladiator owes a huge debt to The Fall of the Roman Empire including the battles in the German forest amid the snowflakes and the climax where ex-soldier and Emperor fight in single combat. If the parts of The Fall of the Roman Empire do not coalesce, and the film does not draw us into its drama as it should, the attention to detail, the sets, the spectacle are all stunning. Indeed, the entire film is fabulous to look at and still worth a viewing for lovers of epic, historical cinema.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The Fall of the Roman Empire is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The original theatrical ratio for 70 mm prints was 2.20:1, the 35 mm prints were released in a ratio of 2.35:1. This film is now almost 45 years old but on this DVD it looks fabulous.

     The video is very sharp allowing full visuals of the wonderful sets and costumes as well as Loren’s luminous beauty. Blacks and shadow detail are great, brightness and contrast very slightly as do skin tones but mostly they are natural. The colours can only be described as lush and beautifully rendered on the DVD. The opening is a stunning visual combination of dark forest greens, grey skies and magnificent costumes with the massive stone fortress as a back drop. There is mild grain and the occasional dirt mark and scratch but they are infrequent and not distracting.

    There are no subtitles.

     The layer change at 106:00 creates a slight pause.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The only audio choice is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps. While it lacks the panning effects of modern films this is still a good track. Dialogue was clear and easy to understand, weapons clanged in a satisfactory manner and other effects were nicely done. The surrounds are constantly in use for the score plus effects; the funeral of Aurelius with the snow falling is rendered well and in a couple of sections, such as where Aurelius debates with himself, his inner thoughts come from the surrounds. The sub added depth when required such as for thunder and music.

     The score by Dimitri Tiomkin comes across loud and clearly defined in this audio.

     Lip synchronisation was fine.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     There is no menu with this DVD. While there are 17 chapter stops they cannot be accessed except by stepping through the film with the remote. The trailer plays automatically after the conclusion of the film.

Trailer(4:01)

Censorship

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     The best available version of The Fall of the Roman Empire is the Region 1 two disc Miriam Collection. On disc 1 is the first part of the film, a commentary with Bill Bronston (son of producer Samuel Bronson) and Mel Martin (biographer of Samuel Bronson), Rome in Madrid, a 1964 promotional film (22:18), cast & crew filmographies, stills galleries, the original theatrical trailer (4:03) and trailers for the Miriam Collection: El Cid (1:04), Cinema Paradiso (1:24) and Control (1:21).

    On disc two the film and audio commentary continues plus:

     If your system supports Region 1 DVDs, this is the edition of choice. If not, our Region 4 at least is a good presentation of this epic film.

Summary

     The Fall of the Roman Empire was a box office failure yet there is much to enjoy. The sets present spectacle on a huge scale, there is colour, pomp, grandeur and action on a grand scale in battle and crowd scenes. Indeed, the entire film is fabulous to look at and still worth a viewing for lovers of epic, historical cinema.

     The film is presented on a DVD with excellent video and audio but minimal extras. If your system will support Region 1 DVD, the 2 disc US edition is the standout winner. However, we should be very thankful Region 4 has at last got a good version of this almost forgotten epic film. If you enjoyed Gladiator have a look at the film that clearly influenced Ridley Scott.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ray Nyland (the bio is the thing)
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Review Equipment
DVDSony BDP-S350, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 42inch Hi-Def LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderNAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationNAD T737
SpeakersStudio Acoustics 5.1

Other Reviews NONE