The Fall of the Roman Empire

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The Fall of the Roman Empire

1964

2h 33m

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

56%

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50 Reviews

68%

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2,500+ Ratings

Toward the end of his reign, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) intends to hand over his throne to the steadfast soldier Livius (Stephen Boyd). Before he can enact his intentions, a loyalist to Commodus (Christopher Plummer), the de facto heir, poisons Aurelius. Commodus becomes an ineffectual leader, corrupt and pompous -- and although Livius concedes to Commodus' rule, he cannot stand by when Commodus threatens to kill Aurelius' daughter, Lucilla (Sophia Loren).

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Critics Consensus

Wrangling a civilization's slow decline into a runtime that's frustratingly episodic, The Fall of the Roman Empire is splendid to look at but climaxes the sword-and-sandal genre more with a whimper than a bang.

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Richard Roud

Guardian

Jun 30, 2026

"The Fall" has, unfortunately, intellectual pretensions. And it doesn't have much action. Strangely enough, what action there is is very clumsily handled.

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Philip K. Scheuer

Los Angeles Times

Jun 30, 2026

As moviemaking it is stupendous. Yet the only emotion it engenders is excitement -- intermittent excitement, and its art lies in its parts, but not in their sum.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Jun 30, 2026

Large in theme and concept, colorful in treatment, The Fall of the Roman Empire is Sam Bronston's greatest coup de cinema. It has large earning potential.

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Felix Barker

Liverpool Echo

Jun 30, 2026

A real breakthrough for an epic -- a splendid example of how, without sticking to the letter of history, you can capture its rich and fascinating spirit.

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Josephine O'Neill

The Sun-Herald (Australia)

Jun 30, 2026

Samuel Bronston has been so busy making an epic that he has forgotten that the Romans were human, too.

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Phillip S

@phillipscott Sep 18, 2026

Man is it long though

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William H

@William_Hazle Sep 1, 2026

I've always rated The Fall of the Roman Empire as one of the best historical epics, and, for me, it's better than the similarly themed Gladiator. A flop on its original release, it has never received the love it deserves on home media, despite a fairly decent DVD release from Miramax. Arrow really should set their sights on this one – it's crying out for a new 4K restoration. The fall of the Roman Empire in Hollywood terms. Rome's decline plays out over nearly three hours, but it's superbly cast and, visually, one of the most convincing historical epics ever made. It's a slow burn for the first hour, with some excellent performances from Alec Guinness and James Mason, but once Christopher Plummer arrives as Commodus, the film truly ignites. Give it a chance, you may be pleasantly surprised.

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KarthiK P.

@madkarthi Jun 15, 2026

It is a mixed fictional film overall. But it absolutely captures a stunning level of quality on screen. The production values are massive. I really love the beautiful historical costumes. The giant physical set pieces and those massive crowded scenes look incredibly impressive. Even though the story takes a lot of fictional liberties with history the grand scale of the filmmaking is fantastic. I really like this film for its spectacular presentation and old school epic vibe.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Apr 6, 2026

Ok so it is a ridiculous rewriting of history but a very entertaining one with an incredible set. One of Hollywood’s greatest financial flops has aged as an impressive monument to grand ambitious film making. Superb cast brings this tale to life. Really enjoyed the epic. Watched on BBC iPlayer.

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David T

@RT35094583 Sep 5, 2025

This movie could have been an hour shorter. A lot of mugging for the camera (sorry Sophia). Some of the speeches were unnecessary and the battle scenes were somewhat silly. Plummer is a good actor and Boyd is the usual eye candy. The sets were good and the history was fairly accurate. They spent some cash on this thing and I think it lost money. In 1964 American tastes were changing, these epics were becoming history. All in all, not a bad movie just too long a a little messy.

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chris t

@RT02401283 Dec 6, 2024

Terribly slow and ponderous, wooden dialogue, the male bonding scene at start is cringtastic . I think they watched this before they made gladiator, and said let's remake except we leave out the boring crap bits

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Anthony Mann

Director

Sophia Loren

Lucilla

Alec Guinness

Marcus Aurelius

Stephen Boyd

Livius

James Mason

Timonides

Christopher Plummer

Commodus

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Synopsis

Toward the end of his reign, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) intends to hand over his throne to the steadfast soldier Livius (Stephen Boyd). Before he can enact his intentions, a loyalist to Commodus (Christopher Plummer), the de facto heir, poisons Aurelius. Commodus becomes an ineffectual leader, corrupt and pompous -- and although Livius concedes to Commodus' rule, he cannot stand by when Commodus threatens to kill Aurelius' daughter, Lucilla (Sophia Loren).

Director: Anthony Mann
Producer: Samuel Bronston
Screenwriter: Ben Barzman, Basilio Franchina, Philip Yordan
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Samuel Bronston Productions
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 1964, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2012
Runtime: 2h 33m

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