USA 1964
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Though lacking the mythic clarity of El Cid - Mann's other epic for Samuel Bronston - this is a superior example of the genre. Deserting the usual conflict of Christians and Romans, the story moves to a later era and charts the intrigues surrounding the Imperial throne, held by Marcus Aurelius and coveted by the corrupt Commodus, that led to the Romans' downfall at the hands of the Barbarians. Largely accurate in historical terms, thanks to a wordy but intelligent script by Philip Yordan (a master of the epic style), it is surprisingly restrained, both in terms of action and acting. But the atmosphere is consistently convincing: darkness holds sway on the fringes of the Empire, where the armies are struggling to repel the invading hordes, while Rome is presented as a magnificent but decadent monument to the unimaginative pragmatism of the Roman mind. Terrific sets, a stirring score by Dimitri Tiomkin and the overall quality of the production values manage to counteract the film's excessive length. Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE
In an era when "Spartacus", "Cleopatra" or "Ben-Hur" were blossoming on the big screen, Anthony Mann's swan song epic "The Fall of the Roman Empire" seems sadly forgotten. With dynamic Ultra Panavision 70 cinematography and production on a grand scale (At 1312 by 754 ft., the Roman Forum still holds the record as the largest outdoor set ever built for a film!) it remains a quiet giant. Modern day audiences should immediately notice the similarities to Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" with the same historical references, time-frame and characters (Lucilla, Marcus Aurelius, Timonides and Commodus) - the forest battle with the barbarians is particularly reminiscent and it's easily noticed that the dubious 2000 Oscar winner exists only after standing on the shoulders of this better acted but less effects-stacked drama. For its anonymity "The Fall of the Roman Empire" remains a wonderful surprise filling the screen with visions of pure Hollywood over-production where its slight lack of narrative bonding is highlighted by its grandiose style and noble charisma. Any fans keen on the consistent climb of Anthony Mann from "Strange Impersonation" will beam at this Romanesque-genre completion to his often unrecognized career. The master of many a genre took on two Samuel Bronston epics as his finale (this and El Cid). I miss his cinema and long for more of his subtle and gracious films in which imitators are conspicuously absent in today's theatres. |
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Theatrical Release: March 24th, 1964
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DVD Comparison:
Tohokushinsha - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Genius Products
(Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC(Tohokushinsha - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Genius Products (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)
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| Distribution | Tohokushinsha Corp.- Region 0 - NTSC | Genius Products (Miriam Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC |
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There is also a 'Limited Collector's Edition' of The Fall Of
The Roman Empire coming out on the same day. Like the Miriam Collection of
El Cid , I expect the digital supplements to be duplicated but
the 'Limited' edition should have some trinkets like postcards, a souvenir
program etc. It is
approx. $10 more.
NOTE: Mel Martin has told us: "..., the third disc in the set is quite
interesting.. it is 3 educational films Bronston allowed to be shot on
the sets, using some costumes from the film. It shows some more of the
amazing sets from |
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| Runtime | 2:59:30 | 1:29:06 + 1:35:57 = 3:04:51 |
| Video |
2.32:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.33 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
2.35:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.23 mb/s 6.66 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: Japanese Edition |
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| Bitrate: Miriam Collection Disc 1 |
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| Bitrate: Miriam Collection Disc 2 |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 4.0 Surround) | English (Dolby Digital 4.0 Surround) |
| Subtitles | Japanese, None | English, Spanish, None |
| Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Theatrical
trailer |
Release Information:
Edition Details:
• Feature commentary by the producer's son Bill Bronston and film expert
Mel Martin • Trailer Gallery - El Cid, Fall of the Roman Empire, Cinema Paradiso and Control • Still gallery (Behind the Scenes and Promotional galleries) Filmographies of director and 13 cast Disc 2 • Fall of the "Real" Roman Empire featurette (10:56) • The Rise and Fall of a Production - The Making of Fall Of The Roman Empire featurette (29:12) • Hollywood vs. History featurette (9:45) • Dimitri Tiomkin: Scoring the Roman Empire (20:04)
• About this film (text message) |
| Comments: |
ADDITION: Miriam Collection - April 2008 - Obviously, by looking, the new 'Miriam Collection' digital rendition, spread over two dual-layered discs, is far superior to the Tohokushinsha Japanese release from 2003. It is the second release of "The Miriam Collection" label (dedicated to their mother by the Weinstein Brothers) - the first being El Cid (released in January of this year). The colors come to life quite satisfyingly although skin tones can occasionally tend toward the reddish/orange. It is free of the extensive dirt (and more noise) on the Japanese edition and is much brighter. Compared to that release it is truly 'night and day'. The Japanese edition is also cropped a shade on the right edge. It's really no contest as evidenced by the screen grabs below.NOTE: The Miriam edition has the musical interludes (hence the 5 minute longer running time). The Japanese has the opening music but only on a blank screen. It has no mid-break (intermission) or exit music.
Audio is given in a fairly strong (original) 4.0 track with optional English (CC) or Spanish subtitles. Extras: First off in the supplements we have a commentary by the producer's son Bill Bronston and Bronston biographer Mel Martin (author of The Magnificent Showman-The Epic Films of Samuel Bronston). It starts with the claim that there has been no home video of this film available since the LaserDisc of the 90's - which we now know is inaccurate (they obviously don't surf Beaver). There are plenty of gaps as the film is so long to try to fill with a running commentary. When the two do chat - it's not bad - stuff about doing this film in Spain (as courted by the Spanish tourism board) and how it revived the community it was produced with so many jobs for craftsmen creating the sets and so on - the enormity of the production that flowed almost directly from El Cid with the same crew etc. How Heston, Richard Harris (coincidentally later playing Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator) and Kirk Douglas were pursued for the lead role - each rejecting for a different reason. Briefly mentioned is how Gladiator is a virtual remake of the film. It's a fairly good commentary but I actually prefer just watching the film (again) than listen to the informative interruptions. Also on disc one we have a 30 minute featurette 'Rome in Madrid' showcasing the enormity of the set design. There is a Trailer Gallery with El Cid, Fall of the Roman Empire, Cinema Paradiso and Control, some stills galleries (a 'Behind the Scenes' and another 'Promotional' one). Finally on disc one - text filmographies of director and 13 member of the cast. Disc 2 continues the commentary and there are 4 more featurettes - Fall of the "Real" Roman Empire (10:56), The Rise and Fall of a Production - The Making of Fall Of The Roman Empire featurette (29:12), Hollywood vs. History featurette (9:45) and an interesting one about Dimitri Tiomkin and Scoring the Roman Empire (20:04). Wow! - stacked and of all the Bronston films I have seen - this is probably my favorite. The Weinstein's appear to spare little expense and I know fans will truly enjoy the loaded presentation. You couldn't ask for much more and less than $20 seems like excellent value. We recommend!
***
ON THE JAPANESE
RELEASE: This is a
fairly dirty image from Japanese DVD production - anamorphic and progressive. NOTE:
Gordon has warned us that his Japanese ordered copy of
El Cid is actually region
2 now - I can assure you that mine is region 0, but when we find out about
the discrepancy we will let you know.
I found
the Dimitri Tiomkin soundtrack a little overpowering at times as I
cocked and ear to discern the dialogue, but I imagine this was how it
was meant to be. On this DVD there is 4.0 surround audio and removable
Japanese subtitles.
This is definitely the
edition to own and to quote DVD times
HERE - "The Region 2 release from
Universal UK is a travesty. Not only is it grainy and packed with
artifacting, it's also severely cropped from 2.35:1 to 1.66:1. For an
RRP of £17.99 it's a bad joke. So, to sum up that point, DO NOT BUY THE
UNIVERSAL UK RELEASE OF THIS FILM."
We recommend this
Japanese DVD release until it is done (properly) in region 1.
NOTE: We have reviewed 3 more similarly
decent Japanese DVD releases (El
Cid,
55 Days at Peking and
Circus World) to include in
a possible group order from Amazon Japan or Yesasia.com.
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| DVD Box Cover |
CLICK to order from:
Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best...
|
|
| Distribution | Tohokushinsha Corp.- Region 0 - NTSC | Genius Products (Miriam Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC |
|
|
There is also a 'Limited Collector's Edition' of The Fall Of
The Roman Empire coming out on the same day. Like the Miriam Collection of
El Cid , I expect the digital supplements to be duplicated but
the 'Limited' edition should have some trinkets like postcards, a souvenir
program etc. It is
approx. $10 more.
NOTE: Mel Martin has told us: "..., the third disc in the set is quite
interesting.. it is 3 educational films Bronston allowed to be shot on
the sets, using some costumes from the film. It shows some more of the
amazing sets from |
|
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