I'm Spartacus

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jasonxx

I'm Spartacus

Post by jasonxx »

Just a bit of fun. the Stone Movie has been hammered and I liked the Burton Movie.

Its been said it would be hard to make Alexander. I watched Spartacus. It won Oscars and was made about 50 years ago and yes it was great. Id have prefered a few more Battle scenes but. The story the politics. The Caesar waiting in the wings was very good. And hallywood didnt go too far with some of the made up bits.

I would ask Porthonians for there top 3 such sandal and epic movies.



1 Must be sparatcus

2 Fall of the Roman Empire.

3 Cleopatra. Even though it was overdone with the pampering of Elizabeth Taylor. It demonstrated the power and pomp that was Rome. We even got Alexanders tomb.

Kenny
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Efstathios
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Post by Efstathios »

1) 300 (the 300 of Thermopylae, the old movie from the 60's)

2) Spartacus. A classic.

3) Cleopatra.

And other films, like Ben Hur.
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Go those dusty sandals!

Post by Paralus »

Oh dear Kenny! Where does one begin? If the yardstick is Stone's Alexander, then I've a few:

During my formative years, growing up in large Catholic family of six children, the battle for the (black and white, AWA "deep vision") TV of a Saturday and Sunday afternoon was intense. What needed to be avoided at ANY cost was the "singing Elvis creature" who generally dominated one channel. The picture rolled enough without the creature attempting to rock it.

Paralus, often getting in early, tuned TV eyes to the rather more interesting Steeve Reeves, who when he wasn't playing Heracles, went through a Trojan phase in The Trojan Horse. He then followed this up with the Trojans' revenge in The Avenger. My elder sister thought the lad was "cute"; as she would, none of the blokes in the locale resembled gladiators. Nor, do I think, smelled like them either.

A staple of those days were the Gladiator flicks replete with olive oil rubbed heroes the names of whom, if spoken out loud, would often draw an admonition for spitting or swearing from Mother Paralus. I always liked Demetrius and the Gladiators, the sequel to equally entaining The Robe.

The one which really takes the cake, or filches the phalangite one might say, was this pearler: Gladiators Seven. Who could resist a film with the following plot line:

"In the 1st century A.D., a Spartan warrior leads seven Spartan gladiators on a hacking, flexing rampage to free the oppressed people of Sparta from the tyranny of the Roman Empire…"

Ha, ha, ha! Never mind that – by this time and well before Walt Disney – those same "Spartan warriors" were operating the first theme park in history: Sparta World™. Featurig the Agoge Resort with daily ceremonial whipping of the youths and the famous Homoioi Restaurant; Lycurganland and the Empire famous Hoplites of the Peleponnesus™ and Helot Hunt™ rides.

1 Spartacus

2 Three Hundred Spartans

3 The Robe
Paralus
Ἐπὶ τοὺς πατέρας, ὦ κακαὶ κεφαλαί, τοὺς μετὰ Φιλίππου καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου τὰ ὅλα κατειργασμένους;
Wicked men, you sin against your fathers, who conquered the whole world under Philip and Alexander.

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marcus
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Re: Go those dusty sandals!

Post by marcus »

Paralus wrote:The one which really takes the cake, or filches the phalangite one might say, was this pearler: Gladiators Seven. Who could resist a film with the following plot line:

"In the 1st century A.D., a Spartan warrior leads seven Spartan gladiators on a hacking, flexing rampage to free the oppressed people of Sparta from the tyranny of the Roman Empire…"
Fantastic. I've never even heard of that one! :shock:

I have a load of old Italo-American, badly dubbed Sword and Sandal epics, which are great fun but rubbish. There are then the American Sword and Sandal epics, which are great fun and slightly less rubbish.

I agree that films such as The Robe and Demetrius and the Galdiators should receive a mention, as should various versions of Quo Vadis, The Last Days of Pompeii, various films on the Trojan War.

Spartacus is definitely up there as one of the best, as is Cleopatra and The Fall of the Roman Empire. Ben Hur is too long, but the chariot race redeems it entirely (the Charlton Heston version, that is - never seen the other one).

Gladiator should receive an accolade.

I must say that it amuses me, when people spend so much time criticising the unhistoricity of Alexander, that they seem prepared to ignore the heinous lack of historical accuracy in so many of these other films. Does that mean, therefore, that the only thing people really don't like about Alexander is the way that Stone has portrayed him?; in which case, it is purely a case of Stone not making his Alexander fit our own, individual perceptions of Alexander.

Because if people are so against the film for its historical inaccuracies (where they exist), then I do not understand why all these other films are being bandied about as being 'greater' films than Alexander.

All the best, in bafflement.
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dean
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Post by dean »

Hi Marcus,
Because if people are so against the film for its historical inaccuracies (where they exist), then I do not understand why all these other films are being bandied about as being 'greater' films than Alexander.

All the best, in bafflement.
I think that the answer lies in the fact that we all have spent considerable time trying to unravel different questions regarding Alexander and in a metaphorical sense, have sweat it out to learn about Alexander. On the other hand, I can watch Gladiator- and whether or not Marcus Aurelius' son was keen on Rome's spectacularly violent "games" doesn't make much difference to me- because I haven't burnt midnight oil over it.
Am I making any sense? Oh, well whatever... :wink:

Just my tuppence worth,
Cheers,
Dean
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marcus
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Post by marcus »

dean wrote:I think that the answer lies in the fact that we all have spent considerable time trying to unravel different questions regarding Alexander and in a metaphorical sense, have sweat it out to learn about Alexander. On the other hand, I can watch Gladiator- and whether or not Marcus Aurelius' son was keen on Rome's spectacularly violent "games" doesn't make much difference to me- because I haven't burnt midnight oil over it.
Aha, I wondered whether this was it - that, as you say, people (here) have expended so much intellectual energy studying Alexander that we feel the inaccuracies more keenly than, say, in Gladiator, which is just a good, fun movie. Perhaps those scholars who had studied Commodus in more depth feel the errors in Gladiator more keenly. :?

That's fair enough - but you can understand why I was baffled? :wink:

ATB
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