The fall of the Roman Empire, 1964

FULL SCREEN

Cast: Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Christopher Plummer, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Mel Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, Eric Porter, John Ireland, Omar Sharif, Douglas Wilmer, Finlay Currie, Andrew Keir.

Roman Empire, 2nd century AD. Marcus Aurelius (160-181), the philosopher emperor, was the last ruler of the Roman Golden Age. Much to his chagrin, he had to fight various peoples to defend the Empire's borders. In domestic politics, his dream was to restore republican institutions, which is why he named his protégé Livio his successor, to the detriment of his ambitious and corrupt son Commodus. But he did not accept the decision of his father and seized the throne.