The Fall of the Roman Empire Film and History [Paperback]

The essays collected in this book present the first comprehensive appreciation of The Fall of the Roman Empire from historical, historiographical, and cinematic perspectives. The book also provides the principal classical sources on the period. It is a companion to Gladiator: Film and History (Blackwell, 2004) and Spartacus: Film and History (Blackwell, 2007) and completes a triad of scholarly studies on Hollywood’s greatest films about Roman history.

• A critical re-evaluation of the 1964 epic film The Fall of the Roman Empire, directed by Anthony Mann, from historical, film-historical, and contemporary points of view
• Presents a collection of scholarly essays and classical sources on the period of Roman history that ancient and modern historians have considered to be the turning point toward the eventual fall of Rome
• Contains a short essay by director Anthony Mann
• Includes a map of the Roman Empire and film stills, as well as translations of the principal ancient sources, an extensive bibliography, and a chronology of events

List of Illustrations vii

Notes on Contributors ix

Editor's Preface xii

1. A Critical Appreciation of The Fall of the Roman Empire 1
Martin M. Winkler

2. History, Ancient and Modern, in The Fall of the Roman Empire 51
Allen M. Ward

3. Marcus Aurelius: The Empire Over Himself 89
Diskin Clay

4. Was Commodus Really That Bad? 102
Eleonora Cavallini

5. East and West in The Fall of the Roman Empire 117
Jan Willels2