Julius Caesar
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Moviegoers witnessed a resurgence of historical epics in the postwar era thanks in part to the innovations of new technologies such as widescreen aspect ratios. Joseph Mankiewicz’s interpretation of Ancient Rome is one of the less spectacle-driven films of the period filmed in standard Academy ratio and relying on the brilliant words of the great William Shakespeare. Marlon Brando offers one of his least mannered but no less fascinating performances as Marc Antony. Anthony Mann embraces the sensational in his account of Rome’s final days. Filmed in Ultra Panavision 70, The Fall of the Roman Empire brings every decadent detail to the screen. Combined with the failure of Mankiewicz’s Cleopatra, the film’s lackluster box office signaled the end of the period epics.
PROGRAM
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Julius Caesar
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
With John Gielgud, James Mason, Marlon Brando.
US, 1953, 35mm, black & white, 121 min.
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The Fall of the Roman Empire
Directed by Anthony Mann.
With Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness.
US, 1964, 35mm, color, 152 min.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Tol’able David / To the Last Man
Buffalo Bill and the Indians... / The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Daydreams / Drifters
The Silent World / In The Pink: Faded Films
