Best Movies Set in Rome

[Niedel]

I agree with most said, maybe not with the Stephen Boyd comment. His performance in "Ben Hur" and several other films (The Bravados, for example) show that he was a good actor. The part is just really poorly written, and I don't think Charlton Heston would have been any better in it (he might have been even more ridiculous in this part, me thinks, which really only asks for a "handsome, upright" Roman general, who is really dumb in his support of Commodus, I might add...). Can you imagine Heston coming pack from patrol and asking "Is Lucilla here?" and smiling in anticipation? Makes me cringe, I really don't think he would've been any better in this than Boyd. The two leads are really the main problem of FOTRE, Loren is miscast and her part is badly written as well, although I do like her monologue when she pushes her way through the Roman "carneval" crowd towards the end of the movie. But to me, it's still the best Roman movie to date.
By the way, I totally disagree that Oliver Stone catered to the young crowd with his interpretation of Alex. I am absolutely positive that that's how he sees Alex. Whatever you think about that movie, his dedication to historical accuracy is pretty rare in Hollywood. What a weird movie that one is, too. Failed and flawed in many ways, but on what a scale!