Movies
Gladiator (2000)
Get it for the opening combat scene (Zulu chant not withstanding). Stay for the insipid Hollywood history. It’s a fun movie, just don’t take it too seriously.
Spartacus (1960)
The cable TV remake was a bore. Get the original, with Kirk Douglas; still one of the all-time classic Hollywood epics.
Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal (1937)
Sure, this was a propaganda film intended to bolster Dictator Benito Mussolini’s power and popularity. Doesn’t knowing that make you curious?
Empires: The Roman Empire in the First Century (2001)
The first century was more than just the dawn of the modern era, it was also the first 100 years of the Roman Empire. The reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Domitian and Trajan all are noteworthy case studies attesting to the allure of absolute power and in most cases the corrupting influence it can have.
Cleopatra (1963)
The tale of the Egyptian queen is one of Hollywood’s favorites, but the best of the lot was the 1963 Academy Award winner with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
I Claudius (1975)
A miniseries adapted from the Robert Graves novel of an autobiography written by the fourth emperor, Claudius, I Claudius is an entirely plausible, fascinating look at the daily life of political giants in the Roman world. Starting when Claudius is a child during the reign of Augustus, it proceeds through the brutal years of his uncle, Tiberius and the depravity of his nephew, Caligula; ending with his own term as emperor.
Julius Caesar (1970)
Charlton Heston, Jason Robards, Richard Hamilton and John Gielgud star in this fine screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.
300 Spartans (1962)
An otherwise passable account of the Battle of Thermopylae, where allegedly a mere 300 Spartans under King Leonidas held off a vast invading army of Persians, is marred by utterly pointless and inappropriate love story.
