Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) - Best Roman Epic?
by dgranger | created - 25 Apr 2020 | updated - 13 May 2020 | Public“Senatus Populusque Romanus”, for people, like me, who did not know what it means, means “The Senate and People of Rome”, (abbreviated as “SPQR”). Along with the Roman eagle, it was the official emblem of Rome.
Which of these that have scenes set in the ancient city of Rome or in a city of the Roman Empire (Pompeii) is your favorite?
This list will include musicals and “Sword and sorcery” flicks (as long as the gods in it use the Roman names), to which a certain famous Italian Director, who was later famous for westerns, actually started his career doing.
The senate, or rather say, “Forum” or “Circus Maximus”, for this can be found here.
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1. The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
Approved | 188 min | Drama, History, War
The death of Marcus Aurelius leads to a succession crisis, in which the deceased emperor's son, Commodus, demonstrates that he is unwilling to let anything undermine his claim to the Roman Empire.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason
Votes: 10,144 | Gross: $4.75M
2. Spartacus (1960)
PG-13 | 197 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.
Directors: Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton
Votes: 143,137 | Gross: $30.00M
3. Quo Vadis (1951)
Not Rated | 171 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
Directors: Mervyn LeRoy, Anthony Mann | Stars: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov
Votes: 16,740 | Gross: $24.29M
4. Ben-Hur (1959)
G | 212 min | Adventure, Drama
After a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet
Votes: 253,582 | Gross: $74.70M
5. The Robe (1953)
Approved | 135 min | Drama, History, Romance
In the Roman province of Judea during the 1st century, Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio is ordered to crucify Jesus of Nazareth but is tormented by his guilty conscience afterwards.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie
Votes: 11,733 | Gross: $36.00M
6. Barabbas (1961)
Approved | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
Governor Pontius Pilate gave the populace a choice to spare either Barabbas, a criminal, or Jesus, condemned as a heretic, from crucifixion. The masses chose Barrabas, and he is haunted by the image of Jesus for the rest of his life.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Arthur Kennedy, Katy Jurado
Votes: 7,023 | Gross: $6.32M
7. I, Claudius (1976)
Not Rated | 50 min | Biography, Drama, History
The personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.
Stars: Derek Jacobi, John Hurt, Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed
Votes: 19,360
8. Caligula (1979)
Unrated | 156 min | Drama, History
A dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his scheming, his perversion and decadence, his brutality and his lunacy.
Director: Tinto Brass | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren, Teresa Ann Savoy
Votes: 38,344 | Gross: $23.44M
9. Ben-Hur (2016)
PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army, returns to his homeland after years at sea to seek revenge, but finds redemption.
Director: Timur Bekmambetov | Stars: Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi
Votes: 46,826 | Gross: $26.41M
10. The Last Days of Pompeii (1959)
Approved | 103 min | Action, Adventure, History
A demobilized centurion returns home to Pompeii to find his father murdered by a gang of black-hooded Christian robbers that terrorizes the city and he decides to investigate the matter while the nearby volcano threatens to erupt.
Director: Mario Bonnard | Stars: Steve Reeves, Christine Kaufmann, Fernando Rey, Barbara Carroll
Votes: 1,302
11. Pompeii (I) (2014)
PG-13 | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A slave-turned-gladiator finds himself in a race against time to save his true love, who has been betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts, he must fight to save his beloved as Pompeii crumbles around him.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson | Stars: Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sutherland, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Votes: 116,615 | Gross: $23.22M
12. The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)
Approved | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, History
While holidaying in Rhodes, an Athenian war hero becomes involved in two plots to overthrow the tyrannical king: one from Rhodian patriots, and the other from sinister Phoenician agents.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Rory Calhoun, Lea Massari, Georges Marchal, Conrado San Martín
Votes: 4,207
It is in here because of it’s director’s name, Sergio Leone
13. Gladiator (2000)
R | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
Votes: 1,619,413 | Gross: $187.71M
14. Julius Caesar (1953)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, History
The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Louis Calhern, Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud
Votes: 12,864
15. Cleopatra (1963)
G | 192 min | Biography, Drama, History
Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt experiences both triumph and tragedy as she attempts to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome.
Directors: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown
Votes: 37,396 | Gross: $57.78M
16. Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
Approved | 101 min | Action, Drama, History
In first-century Rome, Christian slave Demetrius is sent to fight in the gladiatorial arena and Emperor Caligula seeks Jesus' robe for its alleged magical powers.
Director: Delmer Daves | Stars: Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Debra Paget
Votes: 4,264 | Gross: $26.00M
17. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Approved | 99 min | Comedy, Musical
A wily Roman slave schemes to earn his freedom by romantically uniting his master with a courtesan. But matters get complicated and he ends up dragging in his neighbors around him, leading to chaos.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, Michael Crawford
Votes: 9,843
18. Up Pompeii! (1969–1970)
30 min | Comedy, History
Lurcio is a much-put-upon slave in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii. More often than not, Lurcio finds himself keeping his owner's family members apart, in order to keep them together.
Stars: Frankie Howerd, Elizabeth Larner, Kerry Gardner, Jeanne Mockford
Votes: 373
19. Up Pompeii (1971)
R | 90 min | Comedy, History
Roman slave Lurcio inadvertently becomes the possessor of a scroll naming the proposed assassins of the Emperor Nero. Administering to the participants of his master's orgy guests seems ... See full summary »
Director: Bob Kellett | Stars: Frankie Howerd, Patrick Cargill, Bill Fraser, Michael Hordern
Votes: 1,215
20. Centurion (2010)
R | 97 min | Action, Drama, History
A splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is devastated in a guerrilla attack.
Director: Neil Marshall | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, Andreas Wisniewski
Votes: 86,348 | Gross: $7.89M
21. Sign of the Pagan (1954)
Approved | 92 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
With the Roman Empire divided, Attila the Hun hopes to conquer. In his way are a brave centurion, a beautiful princess...and Christianity.
Director: Douglas Sirk | Stars: Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, Ludmilla Tchérina, Rita Gam
Votes: 766
22. Julius Caesar (1970)
G | 117 min | Drama, History, War
The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar, but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
Director: Stuart Burge | Stars: Charlton Heston, Jason Robards, John Gielgud, Richard Johnson
Votes: 2,001
23. Augustus: The First Emperor (2003 TV Movie)
R | 178 min | Drama, History, Romance
Caesar Augustus tells of how he became the emperor to his reluctant daughter, Julia following the death of her husband Agrippa.
Director: Roger Young | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Charlotte Rampling, Vittoria Belvedere, Benjamin Sadler
Votes: 1,454
24. The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976)
82 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Asterix and Obelix are tasked by Julius Caesar with accomplishing twelve impossible labors to determine the fate of their indomitable Gaulish village.
Directors: René Goscinny, Henri Gruel, Albert Uderzo, Pierre Watrin, Matt McCarthy | Stars: Roger Carel, Jacques Morel, Pierre Tornade, Henri Labussière
Votes: 19,071
25. Fellini Satyricon (1969)
R | 129 min | Drama, Fantasy
A series of disjointed mythical tales set in first-century Rome.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born, Salvo Randone
Votes: 17,186 | Gross: $1.14M
26. Rome (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
Stars: Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Kerry Condon
Votes: 185,265
Suggested by Peter
27. Spartacus (2010–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
The life of Spartacus, the gladiator who lead a rebellion against the Romans. From his time as an ally of the Romans, to his betrayal and becoming a gladiator, to the rebellion he leads and its ultimate outcome.
Stars: Andy Whitfield, Lucy Lawless, Manu Bennett, Daniel Feuerriegel
Votes: 256,893
Suggested by Silitonga
28. The Legion (2020)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, History
Noreno, a half-Roman, is entrusted with the mission of crossing the snowy mountains of Armenia, swarming with Parthian patrols, to seek help for his slowly dying men.
Director: Jose Magan | Stars: Lee Partridge, Mickey Rourke, Joaquim de Almeida, Vladimir Kulich
Votes: 1,154
29. The Last Legion (2007)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Adventure, History
As the Roman empire crumbles, young Romulus Augustus flees the city and embarks on a perilous voyage to Britain to track down a legion of supporters.
Director: Doug Lefler | Stars: Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Peter Mullan
Votes: 37,097 | Gross: $5.93M
30. Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011)
TV-MA | 55 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In the time before the arrival of Spartacus, the House of Batiatus faces many challenges from competitors, and within its own household.
Stars: John Hannah, Manu Bennett, Peter Mensah, Dustin Clare
Votes: 145,338
Suggested by Silitonga
31. Agora (2009)
R | 127 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Ashraf Barhom
Votes: 73,034 | Gross: $0.62M
Suggested by Pench15
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