LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

arthur_tafero There were several attempts at doing Roman Empire movies in the 50s and 60s. Several of them were good, and others were not so good. The tagline: "with a cast of thousands!" would often accompany these types of films. This one would have read: "with a cast of hundreds!" because it was obviously a low-budget film. Low-Budget films should not attempt epics. Alan Ladd, a fine actor, was horribly miscast in this one, and could not escape his cowboy persona. The whole film had almost all the soldiers as calvary, when historically, the opposite was true. It was the Roman LEGIONS, not calvary. The direction and screenplay was a mess; it was all over the place. The dialogue was unintentionally laughable, with the exception of one good line for the entire film "No man really understands a woman". But a film cannot hold up with one good line of dialogue. The female lead was some horse-faced woman who was supposed to be sexy. Every other woman in the film was better looking and sexier than she was. Let's not even mention the hilarious attempts at acting by most of the cast. This was an epic, all right; an epic disaster.

clanciai This is not a film you should miss if you are an admirer of Alan Ladd, although this was one of his last films and he is rather tired; but he makes a startling performance as the outcast, one of three brothers who are the main champions of Rome, banished for assumed cowardice - he is never allowed to state his case or defend himself against the alleged charges. His voice is already marked by the cancer he died of a few years later at only 50, and the impression he creates by his character is of deep melancholy - he is rather an anti-hero than a hero, although he ultimately manages all his challenges.It's not a great or important film, but it's one of the best Peplums - there is a great variety of Peplums of very second rate quality, all dealing with ancient times in Greece or Rome, often with mythological subjects and always with great fights and stylish monumentality. In this film the quality is further enhanced and lifted forth by the excellent music, one of Lavagnino's best. So if you can endure the hardships of various laborious Peplums, this should come in as a healthy change with a different and more earnest string moving the heart.

Rainey Dawn Romans and the Albans both have been loosing way to many men in battles. 3 brothers from each are chosen in the end to fight to the death in one final battle to settle the dispute but it doesn't quite go as planned.This is rather drab film. Routine peplum with nothing special to add to the genre, it only gives us one more history peplum to throw into the mix - and a very bland account of it.Cheers for the costuming and prop eye-candy, boo for the tedious way of telling us the story.2/10

sep1051 The story of this movie has been described here by others and suffice it to say I found the movie to be very average. I think the really memorable aspect was the chance to see Alan Ladd and Robert Keith at the end of their careers. Alan Ladd would go on to make two other movies before his untimely death at 50. Unfortunately, from this movie, it is clear that his personal and professional lives were in decline at this time. He appears sluggish and bloated with only the infrequent flashing of a smile to remind viewers of past glories. Although he plays a general his performance doesn't really command the screen. If you want to see him, in his later movies, I would suggest you pass this up and settle for his final role, in the Carpetbaggers, which shows much more bite. Secondly, this represented the final film in the long career of actor Robert Keith (here playing the King of Rome). Although, by modern standards, a relatively young man (63) when this movie was made, it would be his last before his death five years later. He appears very frail but conveys a strong sense of dignity and maintains a masterful diction. Perhaps, given the combination, a suitable finale for a character lead.