The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) --- Senate scene

Starring Stephen Boyd as Livius, James Mason as Timonides, Christopher Plummer as Comodus, Mel Ferrer as Cleander, and Finlay Currie as the Old Senator.

[TheIamtheoneandonly]

“The best answer to anger is silence.” - Marcus Aurelius

[rjona]

Truly, the verbal dialogue of this scene is better than any special effects

[kyliam]

I love these old movies. These are the days when actors were legit, professional and didn't care about looking good for the camera, they simply wanted to nail their part no matter how big or small. You feel like you're watching a stage play, not a movie.

[jordanvex]

James Mason never fails to deliver an excellent performance.

[Warmaker]

The insult of "Greek" leveled at the guy was fun, because it was in Greece that the last bastion of the Roman Empire lasted for about 1000 years after the fall of Rome itself. They considered themselves Romans, because their institutions were in lineage from Rome.

Great movie though!

[deadby]

These arguments are intriguing in today’s context, too.

[horsepukey]

This film has a very interesting history. It was film entirely in Spain. And the scenes were done in actual Roman towns, the rest in studios in Madrid and Rome. This is close to historical accuracy. This is truly a well crafted film; from directing, writing, acting, and editing. No 21 century film can compare too this work. There is amount cgi or any computer simulation can produce this quality. Thank you for sharing this beautiful vignette.

[CristeroFanatic]

“How does an Empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No.”

Alexander The Great’s Empire : Uhhhh, actually....

[frogocric]

"Fellow Romans"
This is too much.
Truly life imitates art

[jdghgh]

James Mason has a special, compelling presence.

[Rawhead_Rex]

Some of the greatest speeches ever filmed are contained in these ten minutes!

[physical_insanity]

I absolutely love the acoustics in this scene. Almost makes you feel as if you're really there.

[StoicNatsoc]

This is how the empire falls....with thunderous applause.

[dumitrufrunza]

It's so refreshing so see these old movies, after all the modern day CGI induced fatigue!

[chaschk]

In 7th grade we had the opportunity to see this film for extra credit. I loved it. I always loved history. With Stephen Boyd ( an under rated actor) and the great Christopher Plummer it was a great movie. RIP Stephen Boyd and Christopher Plummer.

[OneTrueVikingbard]

The fact that Stephen Boyd is once again playing a Roman gives this movie some unintended continuity with 1959’s Ben-Hur

[richardhall]

There is truth with all those speeches that resonate today!.

[MichaelSmith-ijut]

The "rights to all thing" in this was a product of the time the film was written. 1964 was the same year the Civil Rights Act was passed in the U.S. (this is an American film). The lead writer of the film was a Jewish Canadian who was blacklisted during McCarthyism for he and his wife's Communist affiliations.

Citizenship to all was something Emperor Caracalla passed 30 years after the events of this scene, and Roman historian Cassius Dio asserts this was done to expand the tax base of eligible citizens. Another reason might have been to expand the recruitment pool of eligible draftees into the Legions. Unfortunately that wound up reducing the appeal of the Auxiliaries, non-citizen soldiers who would enlist to seek citizenship as a reward for service; citizenship came with legal protections that subject/auxiliary status didn't have and so it provided an attractive incentive for willing service. Uniform citizenship also blurred the legal distinction between the Italian "core" of the Empire and the auxiliary provincials. All were subject to the same laws now, and over time the centralness of Italia shifted away.

This film also directly inspired Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator' 36 years later. The overall plot is almost beat for beat identical, right down to the final duel between Commodus and the fictional protagonist. In this one, Commodus is killed in the Forum instead of the Arena, but it still pre-kills him about 12 years before his real historical death (he was sole Emperor for 12 years). There's also a scene involving the fictional Timonides (the Greek ex-slave in this scene) holding his hand in a flame without crying out to prove his bravery; it's a direct lift from the tale of Gaius Scaevola doing the same when he was captured by the Etruscan Clusium King.

[justjohn]

“We have changed the world, can we not change ourselves?”

[InFltSvc]

These were the glory days of the real Hollywood. Back then the pictures where HUGE productions. Just look at all the cast and extras in this scene. Imagine the wardrobe, catering, lighting all in a HUGE way to produce such a play like act yet for the camera. And notice the actors did the lines by the page without a cut or edit. They were real professional actors. Not like today. They can’t remember two lines. I love to watch these older moves as well as the black and white movies. They captivate me and demand attention and then you know they have truly done their job well as professionals they were. it’s wonderful that we have these great pictures to be entertained and to take us to a place and time forgotten.