Sword of the Empire
Rome, under Commodus: intrigue, fight for power, gladiators, senators, Christians, Barbarians, slaves, Pretorians, battles, wrestles, swords and muscles in by-the-numbers Italian epic.
Rome, under Commodus: intrigue, fight for power, gladiators, senators, Christians, Barbarians, slaves, Pretorians, battles, wrestles, swords and muscles in by-the-numbers Italian epic.
Lang Jeffries
Marco
José Greci
Nissia
Ignazio Leone
Tigerio
Giuseppe Addobbati
Cleandro
Ennio Antonelli
Roman Christian
Giulio Tomei
Cleandro
Domenico Maggio
Piero Pastore
Ottavio
Pasquale Basile
Orazio
Rome, under Commodus: intrigue, fight for power, gladiators, senators, Christians, Barbarians, slaves, Pretorians, battles, wrestles, swords and muscles in by-the-numbers Italian epic.
Historically, this is all over the place. It's a sort of "Decline and Fall..." (also 1964) meets "Quo Vadis" (1951) with the handsome, but really hammy, Lang Jeffries in the lead role of "Quintus" trying to hold together a really weakly scripted and directed muddle. To be fair, the production looks quite good and there is plenty of swordplay and colourful action, it's just that acting is as stiff as a board. The supposedly megalomanic emperor "Commodus" (Enzo Tarascio" has nothing whatsoever by way of menace and the love interest from the glamorous but totally out of her depth José Greci as the slave girl "Nissia" really don't do anything at all to enliven this join-the-dots sword and sandals effort. I like this genre and they are usually quite watchable, but this is more of a chore than most. Perhaps Lionel would have been a better choice?
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The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.
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