...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Fall of the Roman Empire

155 statements
29 feature instances
8 referencing feature instances

The Fall of the Roman Empire	type	TVTItem
The Fall of the Roman Empire	label	The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Fall of the Roman Empire	page	TheFallOfTheRomanEmpire
The Fall of the Roman Empire	comment	The Fall of the Roman Empire is a 1964 Epic Movie directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel Bronston. It has an All-Star Cast that includes Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Christopher Plummer, Alec Guinness, Mel Ferrer and James Mason. Omar Sharif also appears, in a small role.The narrative focuses primarily on the trio consisting of General Livius (Stephen Boyd), and the children of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) — Commodus (Christopher Plummer) and Lucilla (Sophia Loren). Livius and Commodus are childhood friends, and he is in love with Lucilla, and all things considered would like to Marry for Love and become part of the Imperial family. However, tensions in the final years of the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) and a series of conspiracies by senatorial factions lead to the fracturing of their friendship. Commodus, unexpectedly and against his father's intentions, becomes Emperor, Lucilla enters into an Arranged Marriage, and, little by little, the empire crumbles from within.Together with the previous year's Cleopatra, the film is considered by some to be the real end of the old Hollywood Epic Movie, or at least the end of epic Sword and Sandal theatrical films for a long time. It boasted the largest outdoor set in the history of film, a 92,000 square meter replica of the Roman Forum. 2000's Gladiator would relaunch the genre and, ironically, borrowed a lot from this film while not quite being a remake.
The Fall of the Roman Empire	fetched	2024-02-28T17:30:29Z
The Fall of the Roman Empire	parsed	2024-02-28T17:30:29Z
The Fall of the Roman Empire	processingComment	Dropped link to AdaptationalDyeJob: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
The Fall of the Roman Empire	processingUnknown	AdaptationalDyeJob
The Fall of the Roman Empire	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_14beeefd	type	Darker and Edgier
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_14beeefd	comment	Darker and Edgier: Almost all Hollywood Epics before this (with the exception of Spartacus) made Rome into a Crystal Spires and Togas-like great civilization. Anthony Mann's bleak, dark, nihilistic take is a much harsher, and colder look at the era, and its civilization, and openly condemns Rome's imperialism and warmongering, seeing the latter as the true source for its corruption and downfall.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_14beeefd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_14beeefd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_14beeefd
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_169d22e6	type	Villain Team-Up
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_169d22e6	comment	Villain Team-Up: The Armenian and Persian Empires team up to take advantage of the Roman civil war. Historically, Armenia was an agreed upon buffer kingdom patronized by both Rome and Persia, as per the peace agreement brokered by Augustus.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_169d22e6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_169d22e6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_169d22e6
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_230d64	type	Screw the Rules, I Have Money!
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_230d64	comment	Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: This is how Commodus manages to get the entire city and the few remaining loyalists to Marcus Aurelius's dream to join him in his mad revelry.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_230d64	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_230d64	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_230d64
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_27690f66	type	Literary Allusion Title
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_27690f66	comment	Literary Allusion Title: The title refers to Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_27690f66	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_27690f66	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_27690f66
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_295087bf	type	Non-Indicative Name
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_295087bf	comment	Non-Indicative Name: As the finale, quoting Will Durant notes, this was the "beginning of the Fall of the Roman Empire". The film chronicles the reign of Commodus (177-192) and the Empire lasted 200+ years after that.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_295087bf	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_295087bf	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_295087bf
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_3e8c87a3	type	Dated History
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_3e8c87a3	comment	Dated History: The film takes as its thesis that Marcus Aurelius was the last great emperor and that the Empire after his passing was a long decay. While this was a popular opinion for a long period of time, historians have since corrected and modified this, by noting that the Emperors like Aurelian showed great dynamism bringing Rome Back from the Brink of the "Crisis of the Third Century", and furthermore even crackpots like Caracalla actually did extend citizenship across the Empire as Aurelius had planned. Furthermore the great rulers like Diocletian, Constantine came after this period. The so-called "decline" of the Roman Empire is no longer seen as a result of decay or some inevitable slide but a result of serious political and institutional errors on the part of its final emperors. The portrayal of Commodus as a Bastard Bastard comes from a rumour that Faustina Minor had taken a gladiator as a lover and the unreliable Augustan History even painted her as an adulteress that had relations with sailors, gladiators and men of rank but we now know her and Marcus Aurelius to have been mutually devoted.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_3e8c87a3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_3e8c87a3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_3e8c87a3
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_48384f95	type	Intermission
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_48384f95	comment	Intermission: Part One ends with Caesar Commodus entering the Temple of Jupiter. He puts his laurel on the altar and looks up at the Statue of Jupiter, gaining delusions of godhood.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_48384f95	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_48384f95	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_48384f95
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_4e3d253b	type	Downer Ending
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_4e3d253b	comment	Downer Ending: Livius and Lucilla survive. The Empire does too, but is clearly mortally wounded, as Commodus's crown is auctioned off to the highest bidder, while any chance of peace with the now pissed-off barbarians in Germania is ended.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_4e3d253b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_4e3d253b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_4e3d253b
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_55180ce	type	Snow Means Death
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_55180ce	comment	Snow Means Death: A snowy blizzard fills the air during the funerary ceremony of Marcus Aurelius, with the blowing of the winds, signifying the end of peace, stability, and hope.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_55180ce	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_55180ce	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_55180ce
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_56515a39	type	Artistic License â€“ History
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_56515a39	comment	Artistic License â€“ History: Classic for Hollywood History, albeit better than others of its time: The very title itself. The end of the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the start of that of his son Commodus around 180 AD were not the commonly named "Fall of the (Western) Roman Empire". That would be 476 under Romulus Augustulus. Marcus Aurelius made it clear that Commodus would be his heir and had no hesitancy whatsoever about his choice of claimant. The finale where the Throne is auctioned to the highest bidder, didn't happen after Commodus' death, or immediately after Commodus' death, but it happened in the Year of the Five Emperors that followed Commodus' death, so it's at best a simplification. Much of the latter half of the film revolves around peace with barbaric German tribes, but said peace was never a real political concern for Rome, since it had been policy not to send excursions to North Germany, and the Marcomanni Wars which Marcus Aurelius fought was more a border dispute than any long-lasting peace. In the next few centuries, many of the Germanic tribesmen would become mercenaries for Rome (and subsequently did revolt when they didn't get paid or citizenship). Aurelius' dream of equal citizenship for all Romans would be passed, uncontroversially, by Caracalla several decades onwards. The finale has Commodus plan on making Livius and Lucilla Human Sacrifice to Zeus. Human Sacrifice was illegal in Rome at this point. The last recorded sacrifices happened in the Republican era, famously after defeat at Cannae, and some other isolated incidents documented by Pliny the Elder. The character of Livius is fictional. Commodus did in fact have a sister named Lucilla, but the Real Life Lucilla was executed two years into her brother's reign for taking part in a plot to murder him. Commodus didn't die because he challenged anyone to a duel to the death. He was strangled in his bath by his wrestling partner, who was probably acting on the orders of the next emperor, Pertinax.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_56515a39	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_56515a39	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_56515a39
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_77a495f1	type	Historical Badass Upgrade
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_77a495f1	comment	Historical Badass Upgrade: Unlike his real counterpart and most modern fictional portrayals, Commodus actually served in the legion and even volunteers to fight in the front lines in a plan to bait barbarians. In addition he is not shown any hint of cheating in gladiatorial games as in real life and he chose to fight Livius under fair conditions in the penultimate fight, choosing to accept his death upon the killing blow rather than cowering or trying to escape.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_77a495f1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_77a495f1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_77a495f1
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_7fbb2a3	type	Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_7fbb2a3	comment	Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Livius, despite having verbal confirmation from Lucilla that Marcus Aurelius did name him his heir, won't hurt his friend Commodus by accepting it, and instead proclaims him Caesar. Fortunately...
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_7fbb2a3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_7fbb2a3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_7fbb2a3
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_80621707	type	Arranged Marriage
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_80621707	comment	Arranged Marriage: Marcus Aurelius packs Lucilla off to be bride to the king of Armenia. Lucilla, who loves Livius, is unhappy about this.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_80621707	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_80621707	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_80621707
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_957e5fc2	type	Villainous Breakdown
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_957e5fc2	comment	Villainous Breakdown: Commodus hits this hard after Livius finally turns on him, and it only gets worse when he discovers why his "father" didn't trust him.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_957e5fc2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_957e5fc2	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_957e5fc2
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_95b7c400	type	Faux Affably Evil
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_95b7c400	comment	Faux Affably Evil: Commodus strikes a cheerful, friendly manner no matter what. He is smiling and chuckling as he tells the eastern governors that he doesn't care if their people are starving; they'll double their grain shipments and Commodus will destroy them if they don't.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_95b7c400	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_95b7c400	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_95b7c400
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a37e27db	type	Back from the Brink
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a37e27db	comment	The film takes as its thesis that Marcus Aurelius was the last great emperor and that the Empire after his passing was a long decay. While this was a popular opinion for a long period of time, historians have since corrected and modified this, by noting that the Emperors like Aurelian showed great dynamism bringing Rome Back from the Brink of the "Crisis of the Third Century", and furthermore even crackpots like Caracalla actually did extend citizenship across the Empire as Aurelius had planned. Furthermore the great rulers like Diocletian, Constantine came after this period. The so-called "decline" of the Roman Empire is no longer seen as a result of decay or some inevitable slide but a result of serious political and institutional errors on the part of its final emperors.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a37e27db	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a37e27db	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a37e27db
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a70223	type	Karma Houdini
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a70223	comment	Karma Houdini: Many of Commodus' supporters, including the senators and soldiers he corrupted through bribery, survive the events of the movie unpunished for their shameful actions. It could also be seen as a case of Laser-Guided Karma given that these same people will eventually have to face the consequences of Commodus' shortsightedness, including violent uprisings from Germania and the eastern provinces.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a70223	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a70223	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a70223
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a8559a9f	type	RealLife
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a8559a9f	comment	The character of Livius is fictional. Commodus did in fact have a sister named Lucilla, but the Real Life Lucilla was executed two years into her brother's reign for taking part in a plot to murder him.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a8559a9f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a8559a9f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_a8559a9f
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_acf33d00	type	Nice Job Fixing It, Villain
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_acf33d00	comment	Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: ...Commodus still trusts Livius enough even after Livius defies him to appoint him to end the eastern empire's rebellion, which leads to Livius becoming aware of the true evil of Commodus and eventually opposing him. Commodus does this at the end when, having won total victory, he chooses to have a fight to the death with Livius, and gets himself killed. Of course this only for a given value of "fixing it" as Rome has begun its downhill slide regardless.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_acf33d00	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_acf33d00	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_acf33d00
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b5171e10	type	Tragic Villain
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b5171e10	comment	Tragic Villain: Commodus, who has a great deal of personal courage, enough initial grace to accept the possibility of Livius becoming Caesar instead of himself, and a genuine love for both his mother and (though strained) for his father. Too bad he's an Inadequate Inheritor with a Freudian Excuse and a Dumb Jock philosophy.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b5171e10	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b5171e10	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b5171e10
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b8e3f20a	type	Demoted to Extra
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b8e3f20a	comment	Demoted to Extra: Pertinax, Commodus' immediate successor, is relegated to a cameo while Didius Julianus, his immediate successor, is a major character.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b8e3f20a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b8e3f20a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_b8e3f20a
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3245c20	type	I Lied
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3245c20	comment	I Lied: Despite an earlier promise to spare their lives if defeated, Commodus orders the burning of Lucilla and the surviving German settlers immediately after being stabbed by Livius in one last act to feed his ego and spite Livius. After recovering from a brief Heroic BSoD, Livius barely manages to rescue Lucilla while the rest burn to death, screaming their desire to see Rome die one day.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3245c20	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3245c20	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3245c20
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3c3c608	type	Evil Former Friend
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3c3c608	comment	Evil Former Friend: Commodus to Livius, and played for tragedy, since unlike in Gladiator, their friendship so very real, and in fact a liability for both of them. They actually grew up together in childhood unlike that movie to the point their bond was much like real blood brothers.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3c3c608	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3c3c608	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c3c3c608
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c66cb5a9	type	Human Sacrifice
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c66cb5a9	comment	The finale has Commodus plan on making Livius and Lucilla Human Sacrifice to Zeus. Human Sacrifice was illegal in Rome at this point. The last recorded sacrifices happened in the Republican era, famously after defeat at Cannae, and some other isolated incidents documented by Pliny the Elder.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c66cb5a9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c66cb5a9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_c66cb5a9
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dc1761bd	type	A God Am I
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dc1761bd	comment	A God Am I: Commodus, as expected for a Roman Emperor. However, his raging ego and his Villainous Breakdown make this go into overdrive.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dc1761bd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dc1761bd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dc1761bd
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dfbb1685	type	"Pan Up to the Sky" Ending
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dfbb1685	comment	"Pan Up to the Sky" Ending: The camera pans up, following the pillar of smoke from all the people who were burned at the stake, as Livius and Lucilla leave Rome.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dfbb1685	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dfbb1685	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_dfbb1685
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_e6fa475c	type	Offered the Crown
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_e6fa475c	comment	Offered the Crown: After Commodus' death, Livius is offered rulership of the Roman Empire. Disgusted with the corruption of the Senate, his own army and the people of Rome, Livius turns down the offer and quietly leaves Rome with Lucilla.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_e6fa475c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_e6fa475c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_e6fa475c
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_ea35fda5	type	Bastard Bastard
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_ea35fda5	comment	The portrayal of Commodus as a Bastard Bastard comes from a rumour that Faustina Minor had taken a gladiator as a lover and the unreliable Augustan History even painted her as an adulteress that had relations with sailors, gladiators and men of rank but we now know her and Marcus Aurelius to have been mutually devoted.
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_ea35fda5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_ea35fda5	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_ea35fda5
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_name	type	ItemName
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_name	comment
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_name
The Fall of the Roman Empire / int_name	itemName	The Fall of the Roman Empire

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

TheFalloftheRomanEmpire	sameAs	The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	Chariot Race / int_62af7669
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	Costume Drama / int_62af7669
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	During the War / int_62af7669
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	Epic Movie / int_62af7669
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	Fake Nationality / int_62af7669
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	Fictionalized Death Account / int_62af7669
The Fall of the Roman Empire	hasFeature	Sword and Sandal / int_62af7669

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.