The read
Critics rate it 26 points higher than audiences do.
Synopsis
During the latter years of the reign of the tyrannical Roman emperor Nero, Marcus Vinicius, one of Nero's officers, falls in love with a young Christian named Lygia, attempting to enslave her. Lygia's protector, the noble and burly Ursus, works to save her from Vinicius' clutches. Pursuing Lygia, Vinicius finds himself at a catacomb prayer meeting led by the apostle Peter and finds his conscience stirring-- just as Nero orders Rome burned. A landmark in epic film, Enrico Guazzoni’s grand-scale masterpiece laid the foundations for what colossal Italian spectacles would become. The film had tremendous influence on Giovanni Pastrone’s Cabiria (1914) and D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916).
Ratings
Critics rate it 26 points higher than audiences do.
23 audience votes
Key crew
- Enrico GuazzoniDirector
- Enrico GuazzoniWriter
Cast
- Amleto NovelliVinicius
- Gustavo SerenaPetronius
- Bruto CastellaniUrsus
- Amelia CattaneoEunice
- Carlo CattaneoNero
- Lea GiunchiLygia
- Augusto MastripietriChino
- Cesare MoltiniTigellinus
- Olga BrandiniPoppaea
- Ignazio LupiAulus
- Giovanni GizziSaint Peter
- Lia OrlandiniCast