La Chute de l'empire romain

Incredibly disappointing. It may be Super Technirama 70, but that alone is not enough. The sets are divine, and the theme of the reign of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, the 16th and 17th emperors of the Roman Empire, is very attractive. But in terms of the acting the film is completely off. One of the worst performances is given by Loren, who even looks like she is from another film from the present day. The farce is then completed by Omar Sharif's amateur performance... and the pace is completely slowed down. It’s a shame to talk about a Ballomar parody. Overall, I'm glad that Ridley Scott got his hands on this theme after 40 years and made us forget this historical mistake by giving us Gladiator. (26/07/2019)

A great film that has everything, i.e., huge crowd scenes (the funeral of Marcus Aurelius), perfectly magnanimous sets (the replica of Rome, which was made in Madrid, will make many a jaw drop today), thrilling action (the chariot chase filmed in the style of a car chase, the final man-to-man duel), Tiomkin's magnificent music, and to top it all off, perfect actors and their admittedly theatrical but all the more impressive monologues and dialogues. Alec Guinness' encounter with death is memorable, as is Christopher Plummer's ferocious and erratic Commodus, but the best scene, in my opinion, is James "Timonides" Mason negotiating in the barbarians' lair. I didn't even breathe during that scene. (05/01/2014)