A Cinematic Companion to the Ancient and Antiquity
I hoped to compile this list in chronological order (or in relationship to the text's supposed historicity) as opposed to 'release date' - but that might be a task for later on.
Right now, it's a list of mostly "Western' films focusing on the Antiquity of the Mediterranean and surrounding areas, stretching from 1mya to the Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Biblical stories (old and new testament) and Classical Roman Antiquity.
Right now, it's a list of mostly "Western' films focusing on the Antiquity of the Mediterranean and surrounding areas, stretching from 1mya to the Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Biblical stories (old and new testament) and Classical Roman Antiquity.
List activity
37 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
148 titles
- DirectorGiovanni PastroneStarsItalia Almirante-ManziniLidia QuarantaBartolomeo PaganoCabiria is a Roman child when her home is destroyed by a volcano. Sold in Carthage to be sacrificed in a temple, she is saved by Fulvio, a Roman spy. But danger lurks, and hatred between Rome and Carthage can only lead to war.Second Punic War (218–202 BC)
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsClaudette ColbertWarren WilliamHenry WilcoxonThe man-hungry Queen of Egypt leads Julius Caesar and Marc Antony astray, amid scenes of DeMillean splendor.Death (30 BC)
- DirectorBenjamin ChristensenStarsBenjamin ChristensenElisabeth ChristensenMaren PedersenFictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMargaret LeahyWallace BeeryThe misadventures of Buster in three separate historical periods.
- DirectorFred NibloCharles BrabinChristy CabanneStarsRamon NovarroFrancis X. BushmanMay McAvoyA Jewish prince seeks to find his family and revenge himself upon his childhood friend who had him wrongly imprisoned.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsH.B. WarnerDorothy CummingErnest TorrenceJesus Christ faces religious and political oppression during his ministry and in the days before his death and resurrection.
- DirectorCarmine GalloneStarsAnnibale NinchiCamillo PilottoFosco GiachettiA story of the Second Punic Wars, beginning with Scipio's futile pleas to the Roman Senate to build an army to battle Hannibal, that climaxes with the battle of Zama.
- DirectorSohrab ModiStarsSohrab ModiPrithviraj KapoorVanamalaThe story is set in 326 B.C. The film begins after Alexander the Great (Sikander in Hindi/Urdu) conquers Persia and the Kabul valley and approaches the Indian border at Jhelum. He respects Aristotle and loves Persian Rukhsana (known in the west as Roxana).
- DirectorJohn RawlinsStarsMaria MontezJon HallTurhan BeyYoung, lovely Naila becomes queen of the ancient Egyptian kingdom of Khemis after her father is killed in a slave revolt. Continuing her penchant for going incognito among the people, she seeks out rebel leader Herua. But through palace treachery, she herself is captured and enslaved. After various adventures, she finds herself rescued by (and attracted to) the very rebel she was seeking. Will gratitude or revenge win out? Gorgeous scenery and costumes.
- DirectorGabriel PascalStarsClaude RainsVivien LeighStewart GrangerAt the height of the Roman Civil War, a young Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh) meets a middle-aged Julius Caesar (Claude Rains), who teaches her how to rule Egypt.
- DirectorAlessandro BlasettiStarsMichèle MorganHenri VidalMichel SimonIn ancient Rome a love story blossoms between Fabiola, daughter of a senator, and Rhual, a Gallic gladiator. After Fabiola's father is killed, the Romans blame the Christians and the persecution begins. Rhual confesses to being a Christian, is accused of the murder and sentenced to fight to the death in the arena.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsHedy LamarrVictor MatureGeorge SandersWhen strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.
- DirectorDavid BradleyStarsCharlton HestonGrosvenor GlennHarold TaskerThe growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckSusan HaywardRaymond MasseyAfter King David sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing from the palace roof, he enters into an adulterous affair which has tragic consequences for his family and Israel.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyAnthony MannStarsRobert TaylorDeborah KerrLeo GennAfter fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
- DirectorCarmine GalloneStarsMaría FélixGeorges MarchalMemo BenassiA story, set in Rome of 44 A.D., concerning the amorous and political intrigues of the evil Empress Messalina, the wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, and her eventual hounding to death.
- DirectorChester ErskineNicholas RayStarsJean SimmonsVictor MatureAlan YoungStory of a Christian in ancient Rome who befriends a lion.
- DirectorPietro FrancisciStarsLeonora RuffoGino CerviGino LeuriniThe Queen of Sheba falls in love with the King of Israel. The King of Israel, however, is in love with someone else.
- DirectorRiccardo FredaStarsMassimo GirottiLudmilla TchérinaYves Vincent74 B.C. Somewhere in the Roman Empire, Spartacus, a young officer, is condemned to be a slave because he hit a superior. Brought back to Roma in a gladiators' school, he escapes and stirs up all the slaves in a revolt against the Roman Empire.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsRita HayworthStewart GrangerCharles LaughtonAfter her banishment from Rome, Jewish Princess Salome returns to her Roman-ruled native land of Galilee, where prophet John the Baptist preaches against Salome's parents, King Herod and Queen Herodias.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsLouis CalhernMarlon BrandoJames MasonThe growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsRichard BurtonJean SimmonsVictor MatureIn the Roman province of Judea during the 1st century, Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio is ordered to crucify Jesus of Nazareth but is tormented by his guilty conscience afterwards.
- DirectorMario MattoliStarsSophia LorenAlberto SordiPaul MullerSophia Loren plays a dual role, as both the sultry Queen of the Nile with a "man-a-night" appetite and a beautiful slave girl who takes her place and is wooed by a bodyguard who thinks she's the real monarch.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsVictor MatureSusan HaywardMichael RennieIn first-century Rome, Christian slave Demetrius is sent to fight in the gladiatorial arena and Emperor Caligula seeks Jesus' robe for its alleged magical powers.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJean SimmonsVictor MatureGene TierneyIn ancient Egypt, a poor orphan becomes a genial physician and is eventually appointed at the Pharaoh's court where he witnesses palace intrigues and learns dangerous royal secrets.