In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.
Production
Built a fake Rome in Madrid—still the largest outdoor set ever.
Cinematography
Mann frames the decay like a funeral for an entire civilization.
Acting
Plummer's Commodus: unhinged, pathetic, dangerously magnetic.
Director
Anthony Mann
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
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