The Fall Of The Roman Empire

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE [1964 / 2011] [Two-Disc Deluxe Edition] [Blu-ray + DVD] [UK Release] A Sumptuous Epic! Never Before A Spectacle Like It!

One of the great screen epics, director Anthony Mann's Oscar® nominated ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ comes to Blu-ray for the first time in this digitally remastered deluxe edition. The all-star cast includes Academy Award® winners Sir Alec Guinness and Sophia Loren with Christopher Plummer, Stephen Boyd, James Mason and Omar Sharif. Drawn from the same events that later inspired the film ‘Gladiator.’ The film charts the power-hungry greed and father-son betrayal that led to Rome's collapse at the bloody hands of the Barbarians. Featuring great sets, fine acting, and a thundering battle scenes. Plus a blistering chariot race rivalling that of ‘BEN-HUR.’ This is a must-see “epic full of the gore and glories of ancient Rome” (Channel 4). Narrated by Robert Rietty.

FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1965 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Music, Substantially Original Score for Dimitri Tiomkin. 1965 Golden Globes: Win: Best Original Score for Dimitri Tiomkin. 2012 International Film Music Critics Award: Nominated: Best Archival Re-Recording of an Existing Score for Dimitri Tiomkin (music), Nic Raine (conductor), James Fitzpatrick (album producer, album art direction), Frank K. DeWald (liner notes), Damien Doherty (album art direction) and Ginko Digi (album art direction).

FILM FACT No.2: ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ was one of Samuel Bronston's super-productions in Spain, with Marcus Aurelius's winter camp on the Danube shot in snow in the Sierra de Guadarrama, northern Madrid. The 'Battle of the Four Armies' involved 8,000 soldiers including 1,200 cavalry and was shot on an undulating plain at Manzanares el Real which allowed large numbers of soldiers to be visible over a long distance. The film's reconstruction of the Roman Forum at Las Matas near Madrid, at 400 x 230 meters (1312 x 754 feet) holds the record for the largest outdoor film set. The various ancient Rome settings covered 55 acres (220,000 m2). The set was later used for the movie version of ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.’

Cast: Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Sir Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quayle, John Ireland, Omar Sharif, Mel Ferrer, Eric Porter, Finlay Currie, Andrew Keir, Douglas Wilmer, George Murcell, Norman Wooland, Michael Gwynn, Virgilio Teixeira, Peter Damon, Rafael Calvo, Lena von Martens, Roland Carey (uncredited), Margaret Fuller (uncredited), Gabriella Licudi (uncredited), Jeffrey O'Kelly (uncredited), Guy Rolfe (uncredited), Friedrich von Ledebur (uncredited), Patricia Wright (uncredited) and Robert Rietty (Opening Narrator) (uncredited)

Director: Anthony Mann

Producers: Jaime Prades, Michal Waszynski and Samuel Bronston

Screenplay: Basilio Franchina (screenplay), Ben Barzman (screenplay), Philip Yordan (screenplay) and Edward Gibbon (based on "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire")) (uncredited)

Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography: Robert Krasker, B.S.C., A.S.C. (Director of Photography)

Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Ultra Panavision 70)

Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio,
English: 2.0 LPCM Digital Stereo Audio

Subtitles: None

Running Time: 172 minutes

Region: Region B/2

Number of discs: 2

Studio: Paramount Pictures / Anchor Bay Entertainment

Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: How do you adapt a six volume historical work that spans 1200 years for the screen? It was a question many critics had for director Anthony Mann when he took on the challenge of making ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ [1964] and based on Edward Gibbon's acclaimed work, “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.” Although Edward Gibbon's epic narrative spanned from 200 AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Anthony Mann chose to concentrate on the first 300 years. Many factors led to the decline of the Roman Empire, too many, in fact, to cover adequately in a 172 minute feature, but Anthony Mann focuses on the political power shift that eventually resulted in the invasion of the Barbarians and the rise of Christianity, two factors which ended Roman domination of the civilized world.

The film opens during the reign of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (AD 121-180) as he considers a successor to his throne. Instead of choosing his own son Commodus [Christopher Plummer] to succeed him, Aurelius [Sir Alec Guinness] favours his adopted son, Livius [Stephen Boyd], a decision which is never made official because of the emperor's premature death. Instead, Commodus proclaims himself Emperor and Livius, his boyhood friend, pledges his support and is appointed Commander of the Army. But where Aurelius made a humane and philosophical leader, Commodus proves himself to be a rash and irresponsible one. Eventually his tyranny alienates Livius who ends up siding with Lucilla [Sophia Loren], Commodus's sister and the wife of the Armenian King, Sohamus [Omar Sharif]. The power struggle between Commodus and Livius culminates in the latter leading the Barbarians against the Romans with a decisive javelin duel to the death between the emperor and his former army commander.

Ask anyone who knows about ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE,’ and their response is sure to include the word "sumptuous." From back in the day when epic meant upwards of 10,000 extras, gargantuan sets, and 122-piece orchestras, Anthony Mann's 1964 consolation prize after being fired from 1960's ‘Spartacus’ is filled with literal pageantry: parades of troops in authentic costumes and plenty of heraldic ceremony.

It's unusual for a set to be a film's greatest achievement, but here is an unusual set, shepherded by the great Veniero Colasanti and John Moore, partners in production design, set decoration, and costume design. The Roman Forum was completely constructed: 27 structures over seven months, down to the cobblestones and statuary. In other words, CGI is for wimps. No backdrops, no matte paintings, no facades, this was a three-dimensional scale replica. Aside from the jaw-dropping sets and costumes, ‘The Fall of the Roman Empire’ is a pretty decent classic film in its own right, sometimes overripe or stodgily stolid, but in its fictionalised way acknowledging the complicated political pressures that worked against the empire.

Anthony Mann was also a big advocate of filming on location because he discovered early on that unpredictable occurrences due to weather or some uncontrollable factor could actually result in an inspired cinema moment. "For instance," he recalled, "I had always thought for Roman Empire, I would love to do the death of Marcus Aurelius in the snow. One morning I woke up and it was really snowing. So I called everybody early and I got them up there and I said: 'I know it's freezing to death here, but we'll put you in warm tents and we're going to do this sequence all in the snow.' It was marvellous! Because it had a silence about it, a kind of majesty it wouldn't have had if it had been done on a sunny day or any other kind of day."

The old-school acting can inspire eye-rolling at times, but Sir Alec Guinness, James Mason, and Christopher Plummer keep things lively with well-calibrated performances, and John Ireland, Mel Ferrer, and Anthony Quayle contribute as supporting players. Anthony Mann ably choreographs the action sequences, including an impressive chariot race sequence and battles between the Romans and the raven-maned Germanic "barbarians" at the gates. This long film's centrepiece scene is Commodus' quite remarkable procession into what may be the largest film set ever built and the Roman Forum recreation and culminating in the warning "Remember: thou art mortal." Tell that to producer Samuel Bronston, who bankrupted his production company with this entertaining epic.

When ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ finally opened in its theatrical run, the critics were sharply divided over it. The film was made toward the end of the epic film cycle in the early sixties and many moviegoers had become bored with the genre. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "So massive and incoherent is it, so loaded with Technicolor spectacles, tableaus and military melees that have no real meaning or emotional pull, that you're likely to have the feeling after sitting through its more than three hours...that the Roman Empire has fallen on you." Numerous reviewers pointed out that Anthony Mann's film was a distortion of Edward Gibbon's work, an accusation that prompted the director to remark, "Now I guarantee you there is not one person that had read Edward Gibbon...From Bosley Crowther on down or up. And for them to start to say: 'This isn't Gibbon' well, this is a load of crap! Because all we were trying to do was dramatized how the Roman Empire fell. Incest, buying an army, destroying the will of the people to speak through the Senate, all these things...were in the film." Nevertheless, The Fall of the Roman Empire was generally overlooked during Oscar® time though it did receive a sole nomination for Best Score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Yet the film certainly had its defenders, particularly in England where the Daily Express called it "an epic to make one cheer rather than cringe" and the critic for the Evening Standard "proclaimed it one of the best all-round epics I have ever seen." And in recent years, the film's reputation continues to grow with director Martin Scorsese among its more famous admirers.

* * * * *

Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ storms onto the Blu-ray format courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment with an awesome impressive 1080p [Technicolor] encoded image, and also with an equally impressive 2.35:1 [Panavision] aspect ratio. The 1080p image is remarkably sharp with excellent detail on this Region B/2 Blu-ray disc, and there is still a lot of excellent separation of shades, and black levels are strikingly solid, the effect is breath-taking. There is also some wonderful cinematography in this film; especially with a long, continuous and panning shots of all the running battle scenes is totally mesmerising and the clarity even benefits the action scenes. All in all the presentation is totally fantastic. This is a superb effort from Anchor Bay Entertainment that once again proves how fabulous classic films can look in 1080p. Like the best video experiences, ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ really transports you to another time; to ancient Rome, to vintage Hollywood. And it makes us appreciate this glorious Blu-ray technology not only for what it can do for the present and future, but also for the past. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.

Blu-ray Audio Quality – The Anchor Bay Entertainment 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound presentation on this Blu-ray disc, is a totally awesome solid one. Surround sounds manage to be in good use a good bit of the time, delivering both ambiance and action. Sometimes they aren't always active, especially in a few spots where we would expect them to be in some scenes. The militaristic, percussion-heavy music of composer Dimitri Tiomkin sounds wonderfully powerful and engaging, and especially with the opening credits. The battle scene sequences, you really feel the impact of the all the fighting that goes on in those scenes and you get some nice effects, as well as chilling ones. This soundtrack is the best I've ever heard with this film, and easily surpasses the totally inferior DVD disc I owned for some time.

* * * * *

DVD Special Features and Extras:

Special Feature: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Production [2008] [480i] [1.78:1] [29:12] Here we are presented with a great new documentary on the making of the film ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.’ As we get into this special feature, we get to hear how Anthony Mann was in London and came across a book shop that had the abridged novel of “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” and Anthony Mann immediately contacted Samuel Bronston to inform him that this should be their next project, because the book would inspire to make a fantastic film on the Roman Empire and with the help of famous British thespian actors, it would give an international appeal to the paying public. After they had finished the film ‘EL CID,’ which starred Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren and felt they would be ideal for this Roman epic film, but unfortunately Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren hated and detested the sight of each other, so Charlton Heston turned the part down, but Sophia Loren was totally enthusiastic to sign up for the part in the film. One thing we are told is that Sophia Loren got on so well with Anthony Mann and also loved all the English actors’ accents and especially Sir Alec Guinness. We get to hear some fascinating facts about this Roman epic film, because there were 60,000 extras employed for the film, they employed 350 construction workers, there was 170,000 concrete blocks cast, which resulted in 27 three dimensional structures, 1.6 million feet of tubing was used, which would of measured 320 miles laid end to end, there was also 33,000 gallons of paint used, there was over 350 free standing statues of varies sizes. The tallest structure was the Temple of Jupiter which rose to 650 feet, that sat on a man-made hill, which rose almost a 100 feet in the air and so all in all they built was historical accurate. Although ‘EL CID’ was a box office hit, sadly ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ was a financial headache and cost over $28 million to make and at the time of its release was not a box office hit, but today it has now become a cult classic hit, where everyone appreciates the films artistic merit. Contributions include: Mel Martin [Author]; Paul G. Nagle [Biographer of Samuel Bronston], Norma Barzman [Wife of Ben Barzman], Neal M. Rosendorf, Ph.D. [Historian and Biographer], Anna Mann [Wife of Anthony Mann], Nina Mann [Daughter of Anthony Mann], C.O. "Doc" Erickson [Production Manager] and William Bronston, M.D. [Son of Samuel Bronston].

Special Feature: Dimitri Tiomkin: Scoring The Roman Empire [2008] [480i] [1.78:1] [20:03] This special feature goes into magnificent depth on the subtleties of Dimitri Tiomkin composer's work on the Roman epic film.We get to hear that Dimitri Tiomkin was not happy with his work on ‘EL CID’ as he felt the sound effects drowned out his music score, so with the collaboration with Samuel Bronston, he wanted Dimitri Tiomkin film score to be heard and was given total freedom. Most of the recordings were done in London and Samuel Bronston spent a lot of money on the film score, which in turn brought out the best in Dimitri Tiomkin music score for this Roman epic film. At the start of the film you get the dramatic organ music and also at the end of the film, well it was done by the organ in Westminster Hall in London. But of course with this special feature on Dimitri Tiomkin, everyone praises this brilliant film composer, because with all the films he has composed for, he always brings out the best with every film in such a dramatic way. Contributors include: John Burlingame [Film Music Historian], Olivia Tiomkin-Douglas [Widow of Dimitri Tiomkin], Mel Martin [Author] and John Mauceri [Conductor].

Special Feature: Julius Caesar: The Rise of the Roman Empire [1964] [480i] [1.37:1] [21:38] On the 15th March, 44 B.C., a man was murdered on the floor of the Roman Senate and among the assassins, could be counted more friends than his enemies, but most of all he was loved, but he was also hated, but most of all he was feared. Here we have a dramatized story of Julius Caesar's rise to power, explaining the factors that enabled him to transform a city-republic into a world empire. Discusses the personal qualities of Julius Caesar in relation to the political, economic, and social conditions that existed in Rome in the last century before the birth of Christ. The film was produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films Inc. It was in collaboration with John W. Eadie, Ph.D. [University of Michigan]. But most importantly it was produced in cooperation with The Samuel Bronston Production in relation with the film ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.’ Directed and Produced by William Deneen. Music was composed by Fred Jocobs.

Special Feature: Rome in Madrid [1964] [480i] [1.37:1] [22:14] With this full-colour 1964 promotional film, that is narrated by James Mason. A cut above the usual style of documentary and the film gives us glimpses of the massive sets being built, as well as the production's stables and arsenal. We see the arrival of Sophie Loren in Madrid. You see costume and makeup screen tests for Sir Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer, Stephen Boyd, James Mason, and Omar Sharif. Sir Alec Guinness and Christopher Plummer are viewed in a staged chess match; and we get a comparison of the standing Roman ruins, artist's rendering of the buildings, and the finished set. This was a Globe Video Film Production.

Special Feature: Hollywood vs. History [2008] [480i] [1.78:1] [9:45] Here we take a look at the parts of the Roman Epic film that accurately represent the reality of the situations and characters as well as which elements take liberties. We get to find out about the real facts versus fiction aspect of Hollywood’s impression of the Roman Empire in this special feature. The all say they were very impressed with the film set in Madrid, and also comparing the film's script to what's historically known. But one passing thought from Mel Martin, is that the film is not 100% accurate, but the film has to look much more spectacular, otherwise it would be totally boring for the general paying public. Contributors include: Dr. Neal M. Rosendorf, Ph.D. [Historian and Biographer], Dr. Peter Heather [King's College London], Dr. Ronald Mellor [Professor of Roman History at the UCLA], Norma Barzman [Wife of Ben Barzman] and Mel Martin [Author].

Special Feature: Claudius: Boy Of Ancient Rome [1964] [480i] [1.37:1] [16:08] Once again we have another presentation film from the people at Encyclopaedia Britannica Films Inc. A dramatization of a Roman boy's friendship with a slave in his father's household. It depicts, through the young boys' experiences and activities, the way of life and customs of ancient Rome. Once again William Deneen utilises the sets from Samuel Bronston's epic ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.’ This “Claudius: Boy Of Ancient Rome” was actually one of two released concurrently by the Encyclopaedia Britannica Films Inc. It was in collaboration with John W. Eadie, Ph.D. [University of Michigan]. But most importantly it was produced in cooperation with The Samuel Bronston Production in relation with the film ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.’ Directed and Produced by William Deneen. Music was composed by Fred Jocobs.

Special Feature: Life in Ancient Rome [1964] [480i] [1.33:1] [15:32] Here we have commentator William Deneen gives us a running commentary, especially describing that in the year 106 A.D. during the reign of the Emperor Trajan, the power of Rome extended throughout most of the known world. The new government was strong enough to maintain world peace for more than two centuries. This film describes the life in Rome during this time. We also get to see the sight in Madrid informing us about the different structure designs of the building. The film was produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films Inc. It was in collaboration with John W. Eadie, Ph.D. [University of Michigan]. But most importantly it was produced in cooperation with The Samuel Bronston Production in relation with the film ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.’ Directed and Produced by William Deneen. Music was composed by Fred Jocobs.

Special Feature: The Rise and Fall of an Empire [2008] [480i] [1.78:1] [10:58] At the start of this documentary, we get a sign saying, Henry David Thoreau says, “Rome imposes her story still upon this late generation.” Once again we get contributions from Dr. Peter Heather [Professor of Medieval History] and Dr. Ronald Mellor [Professor of Roman History at the UCLA]. Here we get informed more known facts about Rome, and also the unencumbered aspect view in Hollywood. We also hear about the historic structure of the Roman Empire, from its great heights of being a super power, but we also hear the reason for the collapse of the Roman Empire, but most of all many scholars have theorised the collapse of the Roman Empire, but they cannot give a direct precise answer why the collapse of the Roman Empire happened.

Special Feature: Bill Deneen New Intro [1964] [480i] [1.78:1] [3:28] Here we get to see a much older Bill Deneen [Director and Producer] who was the head of the Encyclopaedia Britannica Films Inc. Bill Deneen talks about how he was able to make his Encyclopaedia Britannic Films about the Roman Empire in conjunction with the film ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE,’ especially being able to use the Madrid film set after the film was finished. The situation arose when Bill Deneen contacted Samuel Bronson and asked if could use the film set and without any hesitation Samuel Bronson gave Bill Deneen the green light and was very honoured that someone wanted to use the film set in Madrid. When Bill Deneen finally visited the Roman film set, he was totally overwhelmed by what he encountered when he finally walked onto the film set.

Theatrical Trailer [1964] [480i [1.37:1] [4:02] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE FALL OF THE  ROMAN EMPIRE.’ But for some unknown reason it is being brought to you by The Rank Organisation and being presented on the DVD disc, the quality is totally atrocious.

Finally, on the purely image level, there are some impressive scenes in the film ‘THE FALL OF THE  ROMAN EMPIRE,’ such as one of a parade of chariots arriving at a northern fortress in the snow, and another of the funeral of Marcus Aurelius. This has the grandeur of ancient ritual, with the bier of the dead emperor carried in a torchlight procession through the swirling snow. There is also something very commanding about Dmitri Tiomkin's musical score. Largely accurate in historical terms, thanks to a wordy but intelligent script by Philip Yordan who was a master of the epic style, it is surprisingly restrained, both in terms of action and acting. But the atmosphere is consistently convincing: darkness holds sway on the fringes of the Empire, where the armies are struggling to repel the invading hordes, while Rome is presented as a magnificent but decadent monument to the unimaginative pragmatism of the Roman mind. But overall it has fantastic awesome terrific sets, and again a stirring music score by Dimitri Tiomkin and the overall quality of the production values manage to counteract the film's length. All in all ‘THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ is a really wonderful old-fashioned, widescreen, 172 minutes epic, shot in glorious Technicolor and Anthony Mann’s film is a feast for the eyes and they certainly do not make films like this classic look at the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Highly Recommended!

Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado 
Le Cinema Paradiso 
United Kingdom