The Fall of The Roman Empire is an epic film made in 1964 that was released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Anthony Mann, while the well known historian Will Durant was the advisor in regard to the plot and the specific details of the period. Unfortunately the film had collapsed at the box office and was a financial failure. It was however considered an intellectual film that put forth before the public the historical aspects of the Roman Empire. The plot of the film depicts the historical personalities, events and trends during the period 180 to 192 AD which is taken as the period during which the Roman Empire stopped growing and witnessed a steady down fall which culminated in the ultimate fall of the Empire. The film is particular in highlighting the tradition of choosing an adopted successor to the throne, which had continued since the time of Nerva in 96 AD. The stars of the film included legendry actors of the time such as Stephen Boyd, Sophia Loren, Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer, James Mason and Omar Sharif.
At the beginning of the film there is a clear depiction of the fate of the Roman Empire by way of a dialogue which implies that a great civilization can never be conquered by outsiders unless it first destroys itself internally. It is in this sense that the entire length of the film bears witness to such circumstances while the story depicts the rampant greed and corruption that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire. The film opens on the snow covered northern border regions of the Roman Empire where Marcus Aurelius, the Caesar, played by Alec Guinness, had been trying to repress the barbarians who had become very dominant. The Caesar is under the impression that there will be peace and he has called upon all the leaders of the empire to this front line to observe what he perceives to be the beginning of a peaceful era which will bring about the existence of a group of powerful and equal nations in achieving the dream pf Pax Romana.
Consequently there is a distinguished gathering of provincial governors and generals who are present to shower praise on the present Caesar. The Emperor is portrayed as relying heavily on Timonedis (James Mason), a former Greek slave whom he always has beside him in being his primary advisor. Amongst the august gathering is also Livius (Stephen Boyd), the powerful General of the Army who is slated to become the successor to Aurelius. Another dignitary amongst the leaders is Commodus (Christopher Plummer), the real son of Aurelius who has been ruling the playful city of gladiators and games in a rather irresponsible and dissolute style. Commodus is portrayed as being coarsely ambitious in expecting to succeed as Caesar one day, and when he comes to know of his father’s plans to place Livius on the throne and not him, he is shocked and the rift between the two widens. Commodus and Livius had been childhood friends but the events would soon depict their transformation into bitter enemies.
In matters that get further complicated, Livius clandestinely falls in love with Lucilla (Sophia loren), the daughter of Caesar, for she is to be given in marriage to Armenian King Sohamus (Omar Sharif) in order to strengthen the relationship between the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and Armenia. The illicit love affair between Livius and the prospective queen of Armenia is shown as being parallel to the long standing affair between Faustina, the wife of Aurilius and her stealthy lover.
The first half of the film gives an account of the attempts by the Roman Empire to conquer the barbarians and to somehow take into custody their chief, Ballomar. The campaign is doomed to become a failure due to the excessive faith of Commodus in his army of weak gladiators, which stands no ground against the well trained soldiers that Livius commands. Ultimately the two men would confront each other in gaining the entitlement to command the Northern armies. Such a battle of wits, which also includes a fierce chariot race bears all the signs that foretell the darkness in the future of Rome. The prophecy in this regard becomes worse with the guarded death of Aurelius, allegedly due to poisoning by conspirators, before the confirmation of his successor. The sudden death of Aurelius would in due course lead to the usurping of the Roman Emperor’s title of Caesar.
The second half of The Fall of the Roman Empire is focused on Rome and the rule by its new Caesar. With the abrupt death of Aurelius, Livius has no other choice but to make Commudus as the Caesar while he himself continues to be the Commander of all the armies in the empire. Commodus started to rule in stark opposition to the policies pursued by Aurelius which he labeled as weak, and demanded more tributes and tax collections from the eastern regions of Egypt and Syria thus compelling them to rebel. During this time however, Livius is able to pacify the northern frontiers by sticking to Aurelius’s policies of building human frontiers. Along with Timonides, the ex-slave and Aurelius’s advisor, Livius returns to Rome with a plan to settle and Romanize the conquered Germans on farm lands that had been abandoned. The plan is given acceptance by the Senate in Rome but Commodus is not happy with such developments and sends away Livius for extended duties in the northern frontiers.
Very soon Commodus has to face defection by Armenia and the eastern provinces, but Livius comes to his rescue in crushing the rebellion. But Livius refuses to adopt cruel and brutal retribution policies as ordered by Commodus and gives him an ultimatum that either Rome should be transformed or there should be a new Caesar. The consequent reaction by Commodus in seeking vengeance is to bribe the army and city of Rome to take his side against Livius. Commodus succeeds in influencing the people which is evident when the colossal statue in the Temple of Jupiter is swapped with a head that is similar to that of Commodus. The Senate too passes a proposal to change the name of Rome to City of Commodus and that of the empire to Empire of Commodus. Soon Livius is arrested and is to be executed along with Lucilla, but at the last momentum Commodus decides to return the favor that Livius had showered on him in making him Caesar. He challenges him to a gladiator combat promising to make him the Caesar if he wins. In the combat Livius kills Commodus and rescues Lucilla from being executed. Livius is prevailed upon to assume the title of Caesar but he refuses saying that if he became Caesar he would have all the conspirators executed. The film concludes with an auction wherein there are bids for the imperial throne which culminated with the taking over the throne by Didius Julianus. Hence began the downfall of the Roman Empire.
The film is awash with magnificent combat sequences, sturdy performances, awe inspiring sets and imposing production ethics. But one cannot ignore the fact that eventually The Fall of the Roman Empire is a rather gloomy film with lot of pessimism. As the story unfolds, most of the major characters in the film meet tragic ends. The film is characterized by a depressive climax whereby reasonableness vanishes in an environment of the ever present greediness for money and power, and with the realization that a great empire had begun to disintegrate in losing its solidity. The film does not portray the fall of the Roman Empire but only the beginning. Critics have criticized the film for having distorted some facts such as the Roman Emperor Aurelius being murdered although the truth is that he died because of plague. The death of Commodus is also depicted wrongly because he was strangulated while having a bath and not killed in combat with Livius.
Works Cited
Bosley Crowther, The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), The New York Times.
Ed Nguyen, The Fall of the Roman Empire, 2009. Web.
Tod Conrad, Critique of The Fall of the Roman Empire, Independent Film Quarterly, 2009. Web.