Best Movies Set In Ancient Rome


20 Centurion, 2009

Centurion

AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying Picts. Quintus Dias, sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus’ legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon. But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines. Enduring the harsh terrain and evading their remorseless Pict pursuers led by revenge-hungry Pict Warrior Etain, the band of soldiers race to rescue their General and to reach the safety of the Roman frontier.

Director: Neil Marshall
Writer: Neil Marshall
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko
Budget: $12 000 000
Box office: $6 814 000

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19 Imperium: Augustus, 2003

Imperium: Augustus

The desperate struggle for power in the world of Ancient Rome is on. Its first emperor, Caesar Augustus faces the many challenges of leadership. On one hand there is his beautiful and beloved daughter Julia who cannot bring herself to accept her destiny and on the other he had his stepson, the unwilling Tiberius who is in the running to be emperor after him. Iullus Antonius, son of Augustus’ enemy Mark Antony, who is in love with Julia is determined to seek revenge for his own father’s death by killing Augustus and save Julia and her sons for the fate of death that will surely be bestowed on them by Augustus’ wife, Livia.

Director: Roger Young
Writer: Eric Lerner
Starring: Peter O’Toole, Charlotte Rampling, Vittoria Belvedere

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18 The Robe, 1953

The Robe

Marcellus is a tribune in the time of Christ. He is in charge of the group that is assigned to crucify Jesus. Drunk, he wins Jesus’ homespun robe after the crucifixion. He is tormented by nightmares and delusions after the event. Hoping to find a way to live with what he has done, and still not believing in Jesus, he returns to Palestine to try to learn what he can of the man he killed.

Director: Henry Koster
Writers: Philip Dunne, Albert Maltz, Gina Kaus
Starring: Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature
Budget: $5 000 000
Box office: $36 000 000

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17 The Sign of the Cross, 1932

The Sign of the Cross

After burning Rome, Emperor Nero decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena. Two old Christians are caught, and about to be hauled off, when Marcus, the highest military official in Rome, comes upon them. When he sees their stepdaughter Mercia, he instantly falls in love with her and frees them. Marcus pursues Mercia, which gets him into trouble with Emperor for being easy on Christians, and with the Empress, who loves him and is jealous.

Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Writers: Waldemar Young, Sidney Buchman, Dudley Nichols
Starring: Fredric March, Elissa Landi, Claudette Colbert

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16 Barabbas (Варавва), 2019

Варавва

The unique view on the well-known story of Christ’s death and resurrection, which we see with the eyes of brigand Barabbas who got away from death on the cross.

Director: Evgeniy Emelin
Writer: Evgeniy Emelin
Starring: Pavel Kraynov, Regina Khakimova, Zalim Mirzoev
Box office: $109 000

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15 The Eagle, 2010

The Eagle

In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca, Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia – to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion’s golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writers: Jeremy Brock, Rosemary Sutcliff
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland
Budget: $25 000 000
Box office: $27 122 000

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14 The Fall of the Roman Empire, 1964

The Fall of the Roman Empire

Intent on securing peace and prosperity throughout the mighty Roman Empire, the wise diplomat, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, calls together the local governors from all over the Empire, after conquering the Germanic tribes. With this in mind, Marcus has decided to turn over his crown and the much-coveted imperial throne to General Livius, instead of choosing his corrupt son and logical successor, Commodus. As a result, high treason and blind ambition lead to the death of Aurelius by poisoning, paving the way for a new era of oppression, endless machinations, and rapid decline. Now, as darkness prevails on the outskirts of the Empire where the Roman legions struggle to subdue the invading hordes, delusional Commodus declares himself a god, and no one is safe; not even Aurelius’ daughter, Lucilla. Can anyone stop the fall of the Roman Empire?

Director: Anthony Mann
Writers: Ben Barzman, Basilio Franchina, Philip Yordan
Starring: Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness
Budget: $19 000 000
Box office: $4 750 000

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13 Barabbas, 1961

Barabbas

In times of great upheaval during Passover in early-first-century Jerusalem, the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, finds himself before a pressing dilemma. As part of a tradition, the indecisive ruler offers the agitated crowd the choice to have either Jesus of Nazareth or the murderer, Barabbas, released from Roman custody; but, instead, the people demand the release of the thief. Now, as Jesus takes Barabbas’ place on the cross, an inhumane act of punishment paves the way for an arduous spiritual journey of faith, leading Barabbas to Sicily’s dark sulphur mines, and the blood-soaked soil of Emperor Nero’s Coliseum. Will Jesus’ sacrifice set Barabbas, the slave, free?

Director: Richard Fleischer
Writers: Christopher Fry, Nigel Balchin, Diego Fabbri
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Arthur Kennedy

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12 Cabiria, 1914

Cabiria

Three centuries before Christus. Young Cabiria is kidnapped by some pirates during one eruption of the Etna. She is sold as a slave in Carthage, and as she is just going to be sacrificed to god Moloch, Cabiria is rescued by both Fulvio Axilla, a Roman noble, and his giant slave Maciste. Maciste is captured just after having confided Cabiria to Sophinisbe’s safe keeping, while Fulvio Axilla manages to escape from Carthage. Ten years went away with Punic wars before he is able to come back to Carthage…

Director: Giovanni Pastrone
Writers: Gabriele D’Annunzio, Giovanni Pastrone, Titus Livius
Starring: Carolina Catena, Lidia Quaranta, Teresa Marangoni
Budget: $210 000

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11 Fellini Satyricon (Fellini – Satyricon), 1969

Fellini - Satyricon

In ancient Rome, students Encolpio and Ascilto are friends and roommates. That friendship is threatened in their mutual attraction to a young slave boy named Gitone, which serves as the backdrop to other goings-on as they move from situation to situation in the extreme hedonism of the ancient Rome. The situations often place both men in a position of survival as hedonism is prioritized over life.

Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Brunello Rondi, Petronius, Federico Fellini
Starring: Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born
Budget: $3 000 000
Box office: $1 137 000

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