First there was "Cleopatra" to put the mockers on the large-scale Roman epic then this, which despite being largely intelligent and expansive, was the nail in the coffin for this sort of thing for decades to come. Perhaps the title was prophetic; whatever, the film was a commercial and critical disaster.
Only a few years earlier Samuel Bronston's production of "El Cid", also directed by Anthony Mann and starring Sophia Loren and again filmed in Spain, (well, it would, wouldn't it), was a huge success so it seemed likely that the formula would be repeated but the tide had turned and coming hot on the heels of the debacle that was "Cleopatra" audiences stayed away in droves, the pity being that this remains one of the finer examples of the genre with an unusually literate script and fine performances from its quite considerable cast.
Ironically, the first half formed the basis of the first part of "Gladiator" which was a huge success, winning the Oscar as the year's Best Picture, (this limped home with one nomination for Dimitri Tiomkin's emphatic score). But by then CGI reduced the need for vast sets and millions of extras and, unfortunately, for the kind of imagination that this film had in spades.
Only a few years earlier Samuel Bronston's production of "El Cid", also directed by Anthony Mann and starring Sophia Loren and again filmed in Spain, (well, it would, wouldn't it), was a huge success so it seemed likely that the formula would be repeated but the tide had turned and coming hot on the heels of the debacle that was "Cleopatra" audiences stayed away in droves, the pity being that this remains one of the finer examples of the genre with an unusually literate script and fine performances from its quite considerable cast.
Ironically, the first half formed the basis of the first part of "Gladiator" which was a huge success, winning the Oscar as the year's Best Picture, (this limped home with one nomination for Dimitri Tiomkin's emphatic score). But by then CGI reduced the need for vast sets and millions of extras and, unfortunately, for the kind of imagination that this film had in spades.