Spartacus historical figure 97, 98–9, 100 Spartacus 90–5, 106, 107, 110, 111–12, 113–14, 116, 117, 230 Spartacus 3, 49, 50, 58, 89–120, 92, 114, 155, 157, 192, 205, 240 cast 89 historical context 95–100 Oscar nominations 115 plot outline 90–5 production 103–14 recent background 100–3 themes and interpretations 114–20 Spartacus (novel) 100, 102 Spartacus (play) 100 Spielberg, Steven 103, 227 spirituality 251–2 sports television 244–5, 247 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 77 Stewart, James 46 Stewart, Jon 188 Stone, Oliver 77, 228, 238 Strode, Woody 92, 118 Styne, Jule 166 Suddenly Last Summer 139, 149 Suetonius 12, 13, 41, 42, 53, 130, 136 Suez Crisis 86 Sulla, Lucius Cornelius 96–7 Sullavan, Margaret 71 Sullivan, Ed 140 Sweeney Todd 166 Swiftus Lazarus (History of the World, Part I) 195, 200, 205 symbolism Ben-Hur 82–3 Gladiator 253–4 Spartacus 110–11 Syria 43, 66 Tacitus 12, 14–15, 16, 19, 26, 39, 40, 41, 196 Taylor, Elizabeth 75, 124, 139, 140, 142, 148, 149, 150, 153–4, 235 Taylor, Robert 22, 25, 28, 45 Technicolor 1, 20, 47 The Ten Commandments 1, 75, 80 Terence (Publius Terentius Afer) 164 terrorism 177, 190, 192 Thatcher, Torin 51–2 Thelma and Louise 226 Theodotus (Cleopatra) 122, 123 Thesiger, Ernest 53 They Won’t Forget 18–19 Thorne, Ken 168, 171 Those About to Die 228 Thrasyllus 42 Three Smart Girls 46 Thring, Frank 77, 84 Thurinus, Gaius Octavius 131 Tiberius (emperor) Ben-Hur 63, 81, 85 historical figure 39–40, 41–2 The Robe 37, 49–50, 53, 54, 55 Tigellinus historical figure (Gaius Ofonius Tigellinus) 13, 196 Quo Vadis 8, 11, 12, 25–6, 28 Tigranes (Spartacus) 93, 94 Tigris of Gaul (Gladiator) 212, 247 Tirzah (Ben-Hur) 60, 61, 64, 65, 80–1 Titanic 83, 225 Titus (son of Vespasian) 44, 180, 219 toga films 58, 87, 199, 224, 225, 233, 239, 250 Tootsie 166 totalitarianism 28, 29, 118 Toussaint l’Ouverture 101 Trajan (emperor) 213, 214 Troy 238 Truman, Harry S. 56 Truman, Ralph 25 Trumbo, Dalton 103–4, 108, 117 Tunberg, Karl 72 The Twelve Chairs 198 20th Century Fox 222, 223 2001: A Space Odyssey 103 Ulysses 105 underdog sports films 245 United Nations 86, 151–2 urban renewal 30 Ursus (Quo Vadis) 9, 11, 17, 23 Ustinov, Peter 10, 24, 28, 112, 200 Vacation movies 166 Varinia (Spartacus) 90, 93, 94, 95, 109, 110–11, 113–14, 120, 155 Varinius, Publius 98 vaudeville 167, 169, 170 Vergil 136 Verus, Lucius Aurelius 215, 217 Vespasian, Titus Flavius (emperor) 16, 44, 219 INDEX 273
Via Appia 11, 12, 21, 24, 95, 99, 113 Via Veneto 2, 6, 140 Vidal, Gore 72 Vietnam War 173 Vindictus, Marcus (History of the World, Part I) 195, 200 Vinicius, Marcus (Quo Vadis) 8–9, 10–11, 12, 17, 22–4, 28, 29, 30, 31–2, 33, 200 Vitellius, Aulus 16 voice patterns and accents Ben-Hur 84 Cleopatra 149 Gladiator 232–3 Quo Vadis 28 The Robe 49 voice-overs Ben-Hur 74 Cleopatra 143 History of the World, Part I 199 Quo Vadis 21–2, 28 The Robe 48 Spartacus 105 Wallace, Lew 45, 68, 69 Walton, Tony 170 Warsaw Pact 152 Washington, Kenny 118 Weiss, Nathan 141 274 INDEX Welles, Orson 199 West Side Story 166 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? 149 Wick, Douglas 225 Wilder, Gene 198 Williams, Tennessee 139 Winkler, Martin 84 The Wizard of Oz 19 Woman of the Year 138 Writers’ Guild of America 56 Wuthering Heights 71, 108 Wyke, Maria 16, 17, 18, 20, 31, 47, 55, 84, 100, 101, 115, 118, 224 Wyler, William 5–6, 70–1 see also Ben-Hur Wyman, Jane 45 Yacowar, Maurice 201, 203 Yates, Janty 237 “Year of the Four Emperors” 16 You Only Live Twice 144 Young Frankenstein 198, 205 Young, William 69–70 Your Show of Shows 166, 197 Zealots 44, 180 Zeffirelli, Franco 184 Zimbalist, Sam 70, 74 Zimmer, Hans 227, 247
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Big Screen Rome
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BIG SCREEN ROME Monica Silveira Cyr
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Contents List of Illustrations vi A
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11 A Funny Thing Happened on the Wa
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permissions were secured in part wi
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Map 1 The city of Rome in the imper
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R P I D A C I A M O Sarmizegetusa C
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provocative combination of dignity
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chapters examine how both films use
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duty and desire set against the mon
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Plot Outline It is the summer of ad
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Plate 1 Quo Vadis. Petronius (Leo G
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a soldier kills Tigellinus, calling
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of Rome. Their obstinate refusal to
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he was also condemned to death. The
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associated with the Catholic Polish
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ambivalent one, given the glitterin
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This is the Appian Way, the most fa
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suggestive of the illumination she
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in historical epic films (Winkler,
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narrative and thematic focus also s
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later decades evolved into the Amer
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Peter. Eunice is the slave of Petro
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Chapter 2 The Robe (1953) The great
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Plate 3 The Robe. Marcellus (Richar
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on the command of the new emperor,
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him to retire to the island of Rhod
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of the Senate, the institution was
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of Caesarea, the prefect would spen
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of the changes in Catholicism that
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of showing off the enduring power,
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have made a great empress, thus hig
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would also play Odysseus in Helen o
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crime as a Roman citizen who has jo
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Hollywood artists who sold out duri
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Demetrius, and his jealous rage whe
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Plot Outline In the Roman province
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Judah, his mother and sister are le
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farewell: they embrace and kiss, an
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voice take the sword out of my hand
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throughout the countryside around G
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of people during its twenty-year ru
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Since Ben-Hur was in preparation lo
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technology, in particular the newly
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forceful, almost fanatical, speeche
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emperor’s offer of Roman citizens
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Messala, as Esther recounts her mem
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The appearances of Jesus are few an
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War to condemn oppressive foreign t
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poisoned by Rome, as he tells Pilat
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CORE ISSUES 1 How does the film por
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Plot Outline In the mines of North
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Plate 7 Spartacus. Draba (Woody Str
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army, losing nineteen thousand men
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second broke out in 104 and was que
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At this time, gladiatorial combat w
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Senate had no choice but to yield.
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the Communist Party of the United S
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the first time in thirteen years. T
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the slave movement with the migrati
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From this point, the film divides i
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At the heart of the new slave famil
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Antoninus dies in the arms of Spart
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Plate 8 Spartacus. Varinia (Jean Si
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learning from their mistakes; Gracc
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complaint.” As Gracchus observes
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Spartacus continues the epic cinema
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Plot Outline Part 1. On the battlef
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Plate 9 Cleopatra. Cleopatra (Eliza
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command at Tarsus in Asia Minor, an
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knowing he is the undisputed master
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Later, Ptolemy XIII fled and was fo
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Antony came to Tarsus in Cilicia wh
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for future campaigns. Early in 34 b
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honored her request for burial with
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Extra-cinematic commentary also sug
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The script, based on C. M. Franzero
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Plate 10 Cleopatra. Mark Antony (Ri
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as Caesar, but is best known for hi
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eginning of the second half after t
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desertion: I from myself.” As he
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majesty and power are displayed, Ta
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the United Nations was composed lar
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modern sex scandal. When Cleopatra
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desire for sons, as she articulates
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4 How does the film use the spectac
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kind and rather dim-witted gentlema
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Plate 11 A Funny Thing Happened on
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productions, and often acted in the
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shared experience of every society
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1996, with Nathan Lane, who also wo
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In A Funny Thing Happened on the Wa
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series of preposterous sight gags,
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freedom and the pleasures of uninhi
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Chapter 7 Monty Python’s Life of
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178 MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN
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autonomous part of the Roman provin
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Silly Walks,” with their in-jokes
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different religious sects, the earn
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censorship that varied from region
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may provide some inspiration for th
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obstacle to group ideals. Because t
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The cartoon construction during the
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Chapter 8 History of the World, Par
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Ancient Background The Roman Empire
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was the protagonist’s inability t
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in classic epics like Quo Vadis, Be
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202 HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART I (1
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or shocking, hidden by the generic
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3 How does the sequence incorporate
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Plot Outline In the year ad 180, th
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vets them with color codes. Maximus
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from the upper stands. Commodus inf
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to 98. Nerva’s most significant a
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most of the last decade of his reig
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morale of Roman legionaries on long
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unit known for their courage, high
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