Rating: 
Summary: the ultimate epic extravaganza
Review: From the lovely murals of the opening titles to the mano a mano combat in the finale, this film has my rapt attention for all of its 188 minutes, and is one of my favorite and most watched films; the stellar cast is superb, and the extraordinary recreation of the center of ancient Rome fantastic, especially for those of us who have walked through the ruins of the Capitoline Hill.
Filmed in Spain, Anthony Mann's direction is meticulous, Robert Krasker's cinematography breathtaking, and the Dimitri Tiomkin score enhances every scene.
The big name international cast:
Christopher Plummer is riveting as Commodus; he is unhinged and cruel, and yet with a certain devilish charm that makes his portrayal believable. His is the pivotal role in the film, and it is Plummer at his finest.
Stephen Boyd is excellent as Livius, the heroic element of the story, and his part is the antithesis of his Messala in Ben Hur, and in the wheel crushing chariot race in the first part of the film, he is the one driving the white horses.
James Mason can do no wrong in my eyes, and he is fabulous as Timonides the humanitarian philosopher.
Sophia Loren is gorgeous in a sensitive performance as Lucilla, Marcus Aurellius's daughter and Livius' love.
Other notable performances are from Alec Guiness as Marcus Aurelius, Anthony Qualye as Verulus, and Mel Ferrer as the blind and cunning Cleander. Omar Shariff has a small (pre-Dr. Zhivago) part as Sohamus the Armenian king.
Like an historical novel, there are elements that have been changed and shifted to be condensed into a film, but there is much here that is authentic; the battle scenes are spectacular, and "The Fall of the Roman Empire" was one of the last films made to include the thousands of extras, and the vast sweep of epic story-telling, and was at the time the most expensive set (destroyed after filming so that other, smaller budget films would not use it) ever made.
Comparisons and similarities will endlessly be made to Ridley Scott's "Gladiator", and there is the coincidence that Richard Harris, who was originally slated to play Commodus, but left the cast after altercations with director Mann, was to play his father Marcus Aurelius in "Gladiator".
It astounds me that the only Oscar nomination this film received was Best Original Score, losing to "Mary Poppins", and in a musical sweep, most other awards going to "My Fair Lady".
The film ends with a quote from Will Durant: "A great civilization is not conquered from without, until it has destroyed itself from within".
Rating:
Summary: 1964: always one of the greatest movies!
Review: I first saw THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE in 1964, when it was released for movie theaters. I saw it in Toronto, 4 times, 4 evenings in a row. I was simply appalled by the actorship of some of the greatest to have been seen obn a screen. The story itself respected a great deal what the historians related about the last says of emperor Marcus Aurelius, and the tragic taking-up of power by his mad son, Marcus Aurelius Commodus. Not to mention the grandiose musical score by one of the greatest, Dimitri Tiomkin ( I still have the vinyl LP, and play it regularly, when I want to get in the mood of ancient Rome ).Yesterday, I viewed " GLADIATOR ". It certainly did ring a bell. Although I enjoyed the Ridley Scott epic, as well as the fine play of actors such as Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, I am sorry to say this most modern production has to be rated quite a few steps below its 1964 predecessor. Thanks for letting me the chance to express my opinion Pierre Gauthier
Rating: 
Summary: The Fall of the Roman Empire
Review: I have to agree with most of Toshif's DVD review (March 27, 2001) of THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. In terms of the script, acting, and the historical accuracy, it clearly is a better film than GLADIATOR. The latter film clearly borrowed copiously from THE FALL, why was this not acknowledged? Alec Guiness is wonderfully cast as emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. His performance is far better than the rather weak performance of Richard Harris in the same role in GLADIATOR. I would like to touch on another film that seems to owe something to THE FALL. My young son, on seeing Marcus Aurelius making his first appearance exclaimed, "That's Obi-Wan Kenobi!" It is true, even down to the costuming and beard, the resemblance of the two characters played by Alec Guiness is startling. We then looked up the biography of Marcus Aurelius in the World Book Encyclopedia and were informed that the Stoic emperor believed that all mankind was bound together by a "universal force." This cannot possibly be entirely coincidental! Is Guiness' Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight, in the STAR WARS epics a reprise of his portrayal of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher emperor of Rome?
Rating:
Summary: The Fall of the Roman Empire
Review: I have to agree with most of Toshif's DVD review (March 27, 2001) of THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. In terms of the script, acting, and the historical accuracy, it clearly is a better film than GLADIATOR. The latter film clearly borrowed copiously from THE FALL, why was this not acknowledged? Alec Guiness is wonderfully cast as emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. His performance is far better than the rather weak performance of Richard Harris in the same role in GLADIATOR. I would like to touch on another film that seems to owe something to THE FALL. My young son, on seeing Marcus Aurelius making his first appearance exclaimed, "That's Obi-Wan Kenobi!" It is true, even down to the costuming and beard, the resemblance of the two characters played by Alec Guiness is startling. We then looked up the biography of Marcus Aurelius in the World Book Encyclopedia and were informed that the Stoic emperor believed that all mankind was bound together by a "universal force." This cannot possibly be entirely coincidental! Is Guiness' Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight, in the STAR WARS epics a reprise of his portrayal of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher emperor of Rome?
Rating:
Summary: DVD is great
Review: I recently purchased and viewed Fall of the Roman Empire on DVD in Widescreen and Dolby Digital Stereo format. I believe the 5 stars were earned due to great scripting, direction by Anthony Mann, and music of Dimitri Tiomkin. The action scenes and music are further enhanced by the widescreen and dolby of the DVD version.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, on many levels this is the original "Gladiator" film
Review: Interest in this 1964 film from director Anthony Mann was revived by the Oscar winning success of "Gladiator." Not only does "The Fall of the Roman Empire" has some of the same characters, primarily the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodos, but there is also a Roman general who was a better son to the Emperor than his own flesh and blood. There is even a gladiator fight; but there is also a chariot race and actor Stephen Boyd, so you might end up being reminded of "Ben-Hur" as well. Judged by the standard of "history," this is clearly the more accurate film, for what little that is worth by Hollywood standards. After all, at the end of this three-hour film you find out that this is really just the BEGINNING of the Fall of the Roman Empire... After two centuries of bloody rule by the Caesars, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guiness) wants to return the Roman Empire to the idealized state of the Republic. But while the Emperor valued virtue, his son Commodus (Christopher Plummer) is a bad seed. Consequently, the Aurelius takes the unprecedented step of naming his successor to be the General Livius (Stephen Boyd), commander of the Northern legions, who agrees with the Emperor's vision for the future of the Empire. Commodus makes this all moot by having a slave (Mel Ferrer) murder the Emperor. Once he is in charge, Commodus exiles Livius to the frontiers of Germania and sells off his own sister, the woman the general loves, Lucilla (Sophia Loren), to the King of Armenia (Omar Sharif) to cement an alliance (and, one suspects, to add insult to injury for Livius). Despite all the relationship issues "The Fall of the Roman Empire" consistently goes with spectacle over story during its three hour run. Guiness has the best performance in the film and he gets killed off early on. Boyd is not a dynamic enough actor to make the part of Livius more interesting, but his nature reticence works for his character, at least in the first half of the film. Loren is given very little but to stand that and look lovely and emotionally distraught over the latest turn of affairs. James Mason has a couple of really nice speeches to deliver as Timonides, the advisor to Auerlius. Plummer provides a really edgy performances as the mentally unstable Commodus; the question is simply whether you think he goes over the top or not. However, whatever limitations of the story or uneven performances by the principles, the production design and action pieces are well above average. Certainly worth one look for fans of Roman Empire films, but it is not likely to become a favorite. There are those who think this film holds the record for most extras in a movie and while that might have been true at the time "The Fall of the Roman Empire" was made, Sir Richard Attenborough had 3,000,000 extras for the funeral scene in "Gandhi" in 1980. I have no clue what computer generated film now holds the record, but for the sake of argument we will assume it is "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" until the final film in the Trilogy comes out. Oh, and if you want a final link between this film and "Gladiator," actor Richard Harris, who played Marcus Aurelius in that film was originally signed to play Commodos in this one. I wonder why they did not ask Christopher Plummer?
Rating:
Summary: Yes, on many levels this is the original "Gladiator" film
Review: Interest in this 1964 film from director Anthony Mann was revived by the Oscar winning success of "Gladiator." Not only does "The Fall of the Roman Empire" has some of the same characters, primarily the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodos, but there is also a Roman general who was a better son to the Emperor than his own flesh and blood. There is even a gladiator fight; but there is also a chariot race and actor Stephen Boyd, so you might end up being reminded of "Ben-Hur" as well. Judged by the standard of "history," this is clearly the more accurate film, for what little that is worth by Hollywood standards. After all, at the end of this three-hour film you find out that this is really just the BEGINNING of the Fall of the Roman Empire... After two centuries of bloody rule by the Caesars, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guiness) wants to return the Roman Empire to the idealized state of the Republic. But while the Emperor valued virtue, his son Commodus (Christopher Plummer) is a bad seed. Consequently, the Aurelius takes the unprecedented step of naming his successor to be the General Livius (Stephen Boyd), commander of the Northern legions, who agrees with the Emperor's vision for the future of the Empire. Commodus makes this all moot by having a slave (Mel Ferrer) murder the Emperor. Once he is in charge, Commodus exiles Livius to the frontiers of Germania and sells off his own sister, the woman the general loves, Lucilla (Sophia Loren), to the King of Armenia (Omar Sharif) to cement an alliance (and, one suspects, to add insult to injury for Livius). Despite all the relationship issues "The Fall of the Roman Empire" consistently goes with spectacle over story during its three hour run. Guiness has the best performance in the film and he gets killed off early on. Boyd is not a dynamic enough actor to make the part of Livius more interesting, but his nature reticence works for his character, at least in the first half of the film. Loren is given very little but to stand that and look lovely and emotionally distraught over the latest turn of affairs. James Mason has a couple of really nice speeches to deliver as Timonides, the advisor to Auerlius. Plummer provides a really edgy performances as the mentally unstable Commodus; the question is simply whether you think he goes over the top or not. However, whatever limitations of the story or uneven performances by the principles, the production design and action pieces are well above average. Certainly worth one look for fans of Roman Empire films, but it is not likely to become a favorite. There are those who think this film holds the record for most extras in a movie and while that might have been true at the time "The Fall of the Roman Empire" was made, Sir Richard Attenborough had 3,000,000 extras for the funeral scene in "Gandhi" in 1980. I have no clue what computer generated film now holds the record, but for the sake of argument we will assume it is "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" until the final film in the Trilogy comes out. Oh, and if you want a final link between this film and "Gladiator," actor Richard Harris, who played Marcus Aurelius in that film was originally signed to play Commodos in this one. I wonder why they did not ask Christopher Plummer?
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: It's the greatest movie I have seen. The cast is amazing. James Mason and Loreen were at their very best. Christopher plumber deserves an oscar for his role. Stephen boyd was good; maybe the most underrated movie star, I can't believe he was not nominated for an oscar in Ben Hur. Alec Guinness was amazing.
Comparing this movie with Gladiator which won best picture...based on the same story, I think that The Fall of the Roman Empire was much better than Gladiator.
It's strange that I have been looking for this movie for over a year and couldn't find it.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: It's the greatest movie I have seen. The cast is amazing. James Mason and Loreen were at their very best. Christopher plumber deserves an oscar for his role. Stephen boyd was good; maybe the most underrated movie star, I can't believe he was not nominated for an oscar in Ben Hur. Alec Guinness was amazing.
Comparing this movie with Gladiator which won best picture...based on the same story, I think that The Fall of the Roman Empire was much better than Gladiator.
It's strange that I have been looking for this movie for over a year and couldn't find it.
Rating: 
Summary: Swords, sandalls and longing looks.
Review: Long and lumbering it takes awhile for anything to actually happen. I found the award winning music score to be intrusive. Stephen Boyd and Sofia Loren are pleasant to look at, but beneath that surface there's not much there. Boyd was an interesting overlooked actor, type-cast after his turn in Ben-Hur,it would have been interesting to have seen him as Antony in "Cleopatra". Alec Guiness and James Mason were outstanding and Christopher Plummer delightfully chews the oppulant scenery as the mad/bad emperor Commodus. The lavish sets and crowds were truly awe inspired. Unlike the computor generated effects of Gladiator, they actually built the sets and populated them with real people.
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