Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) - Best Roman Epic?
“Senatus Populusque Romanus”, for people, like me, who did not know what it means, means “The Senate and People of Rome”, (abbreviated as “SPQR”). Along with the Roman eagle, it was the official emblem of Rome.
Which of these that have scenes set in the ancient city of Rome or in a city of the Roman Empire (Pompeii) is your favorite?
This list will include musicals and “Sword and sorcery” flicks (as long as the gods in it use the Roman names), to which a certain famous Italian Director, who was later famous for westerns, actually started his career doing.
The senate, or rather say, “Forum” or “Circus Maximus”, for this can be found here.
Which of these that have scenes set in the ancient city of Rome or in a city of the Roman Empire (Pompeii) is your favorite?
This list will include musicals and “Sword and sorcery” flicks (as long as the gods in it use the Roman names), to which a certain famous Italian Director, who was later famous for westerns, actually started his career doing.
The senate, or rather say, “Forum” or “Circus Maximus”, for this can be found here.
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- DirectorAnthony MannStarsSophia LorenStephen BoydAlec GuinnessThe death of Marcus Aurelius leads to a succession crisis, in which the deceased emperor's son, Commodus, demonstrates that he is unwilling to let anything undermine his claim to the Roman Empire.
- DirectorStanley KubrickAnthony MannStarsKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsThe slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyAnthony MannStarsRobert TaylorDeborah KerrLeo GennAfter fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsCharlton HestonJack HawkinsStephen BoydAfter a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsRichard BurtonJean SimmonsVictor MatureIn the Roman province of Judea during the 1st century, Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio is ordered to crucify Jesus of Nazareth but is tormented by his guilty conscience afterwards.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsAnthony QuinnSilvana ManganoArthur KennedyGovernor Pontius Pilate gave the populace a choice to spare either Barabbas, a criminal, or Jesus, condemned as a heretic, from crucifixion. The masses chose Barrabas, and he is haunted by the image of Jesus for the rest of his life.
- StarsDerek JacobiJohn HurtSiân PhillipsThe personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.
- DirectorTinto BrassStarsMalcolm McDowellPeter O'TooleHelen MirrenA dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his scheming, his perversion and decadence, his brutality and his lunacy.
- DirectorTimur BekmambetovStarsJack HustonToby KebbellRodrigo SantoroJudah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army, returns to his homeland after years at sea to seek revenge, but finds redemption.
- DirectorMario BonnardStarsSteve ReevesChristine KaufmannFernando ReyA demobilized centurion returns home to Pompeii to find his father murdered by a gang of black-hooded Christian robbers that terrorizes the city and he decides to investigate the matter while the nearby volcano threatens to erupt.
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsKit HaringtonEmily BrowningKiefer SutherlandA slave-turned-gladiator finds himself in a race against time to save his true love, who has been betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts, he must fight to save his beloved as Pompeii crumbles around him.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRory CalhounLea MassariGeorges MarchalWhile holidaying in Rhodes, an Athenian war hero becomes involved in two plots to overthrow the tyrannical king: one from Rhodian patriots, and the other from sinister Phoenician agents.It is in here because of it’s director’s name, Sergio Leone
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsLouis CalhernMarlon BrandoJames MasonThe growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczRouben MamoulianStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonRex HarrisonQueen Cleopatra VII of Egypt experiences both triumph and tragedy as she attempts to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsVictor MatureSusan HaywardMichael RennieIn first-century Rome, Christian slave Demetrius is sent to fight in the gladiatorial arena and Emperor Caligula seeks Jesus' robe for its alleged magical powers.
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsZero MostelPhil SilversBuster KeatonA wily Roman slave schemes to earn his freedom by romantically uniting his master with a courtesan. But matters get complicated and he ends up dragging in his neighbors around him, leading to chaos.
- StarsFrankie HowerdElizabeth LarnerKerry GardnerLurcio is a much-put-upon slave in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii. More often than not, Lurcio finds himself keeping his owner's family members apart, in order to keep them together.
- DirectorBob KellettStarsFrankie HowerdPatrick CargillBill FraserRoman slave Lurcio inadvertently becomes the possessor of a scroll naming the proposed assassins of the Emperor Nero. Administering to the participants of his master's orgy guests seems small compared to the trouble the scroll brings, but all are in for a nasty shock when Mount Vesuvius decides to erupt.
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsMichael FassbenderDominic WestOlga KurylenkoA splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is devastated in a guerrilla attack.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsJeff ChandlerJack PalanceLudmilla TchérinaWith the Roman Empire divided, Attila the Hun hopes to conquer. In his way are a brave centurion, a beautiful princess...and Christianity.
- DirectorStuart BurgeStarsCharlton HestonJason RobardsJohn GielgudThe growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar, but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsPeter O'TooleCharlotte RamplingVittoria BelvedereCaesar Augustus tells of how he became the emperor to his reluctant daughter, Julia following the death of her husband Agrippa.
- DirectorRené GoscinnyAlbert UderzoStarsRoger CarelJacques MorelPierre TornadeAsterix and Obelix are tasked by Julius Caesar with accomplishing twelve impossible labors to determine the fate of their indomitable Gaulish village.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMartin PotterHiram KellerMax BornA series of disjointed mythical tales set in first-century Rome.
- CreatorBruno HellerWilliam J. MacDonaldJohn MiliusStarsKevin McKiddRay StevensonPolly WalkerA down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.Suggested by Peter
- CreatorSteven S. DeKnightStarsAndy WhitfieldLucy LawlessManu BennettThe life of Spartacus, the gladiator who lead a rebellion against the Romans. From his time as an ally of the Romans, to his betrayal and becoming a gladiator, to the rebellion he leads and its ultimate outcome.Suggested by Silitonga
- DirectorJose MaganStarsLee PartridgeMickey RourkeJoaquim de AlmeidaNoreno, a half-Roman, is entrusted with the mission of crossing the snowy mountains of Armenia, swarming with Parthian patrols, to seek help for his slowly dying men.
- DirectorDoug LeflerStarsColin FirthBen KingsleyAishwarya Rai BachchanAs the Roman empire crumbles, young Romulus Augustus flees the city and embarks on a perilous voyage to Britain to track down a legion of supporters.
- CreatorSteven S. DeKnightStarsJohn HannahManu BennettPeter MensahIn the time before the arrival of Spartacus, the House of Batiatus faces many challenges from competitors, and within its own household.Suggested by Silitonga
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsRachel WeiszMax MinghellaOscar IsaacA historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.Suggested by Pench15