Summary

• Ancient Rome has been a popular subject in movies since the early days of silent films, with some of the world's earliest blockbusters being set in this time period.
• The best movies about Ancient Rome often have massive sets and budgets, which bring big risks but also awards recognition to the studios.
• From epic historical tales like Gladiator and Ben-Hur to unique stories like Risen and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, there is a wide variety of movies about Ancient Rome across multiple decades, budgets, and genres.

Movies about Rome often bring to memory emperors, gladiators, Julius Caesar, and aristocrats. Many people also think of William Shakespeare, as the Bard himself wrote frequently on the subject in his plays. Outside of Shakespeare and adaptations of his work, Ancient Rome played a big role in massive studio movies since the early days of silent films. Some of the most renowned movies in cinema history have been set in Ancient Rome, including some of the world's earliest blockbusters with headline-grabbing budgets, such as Ben Hur's then-recording-breaking $15 million dollar production cost in 1959.

Movies set in the Roman Empire fall into the "sword and sandal" movie subgenre, though the movies set in this specific corner of the ancient world are renowned for their tendency to have massive sets and budgets to match. The increased budget brought with it big risks, but the best movies set in Ancient Rome often ended up bringing awards recognition to the studios that took a chance on them. With multi-award-winning movies like Gladiator and Ben-Hur to the smaller, yet critically-beloved releases like Titus and Life of Brian, there are a wide variety of movies about Ancient Rome across multiple decades, budgets, and genres.

20 The Robe (1953)

Richard Burton's Tale Of The Soldiers Who Crucified Christ

Movies set in Ancient Rome have been a staple of cinema for decades, with many of the best arriving in theaters in the early-mid 20th century. Released in 1953, The Robe is based on the Biblical tale of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Richard Burton stars as a Roman military tribune named Marcellus who commands the unit tasked with crucifying Christ. This was a movie that has the significance of being the first ever released in CinemaScope (via Academia.edu).

When Marcellus comes to accept Jesus as the Son of God, he has to decide if he will denounce him or make a stand. The movie was a successful release concerning the box office and went on to pick up two Oscar wins in five nominations. While it was nominated for Best Picture, it only won for Art Direction and Costume Design.

19 Ben-Hur (2016)

Director Timur Bekmambetov's Take On One Of The First Epic Movies

In 2016, director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) re-imagined the epic 1959 Ancient Rome movie Ben-Hur. Bekmambetov tried to push his movie at a much faster pace than the 1959 original, and the remake definitely feels more like a modern action movie than an epic historical tale at points. John Huston stars as Ben-Hur, a man betrayed by a childhood friend during Christ's crucifixion as he seeks both revenge and redemption.

The movie is shorter than the 1959 version, and while this is mostly a good thing, it also lacks the true weight of Ben Hur's redemption compared to the original.

The movie is shorter than the 1959 version, and while this is mostly a good thing, it also lacks the true weight of Ben Hur's redemption compared to the original. Huston is joined in the cast of 2016's Ben Hur by the likes of Morgan Freeman as Sheik Ilderim, Rodrigo Santoro as Jesus (who has a greater role in this version of the story), and Toby Kebbell as Messala.

18 Pompeii (2014)

An Ancient Natural Disaster Gets A Modern Glow-Up

The destruction of the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii in AD 79 is one of the earliest natural disasters to be cataloged by historians, with as many as 20,000 people or more losing their lives. Released in 2014, Pompeii is a disaster movie taking place in the Roman city of Pompeii during the devastating Mount Vesuvius eruption.

There was little doubt what would happen in the plot of Pompeii, since the volcano destroyed the entire city, but director Paul W.S. Anderson filled the movie with some huge stars and created an enaging revenge tale to complement the inevitable volcanic destruction. Milo (Kit Harrington) is a man whose parents were murdered when he was a child by Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), a former general turned senator. The movie won six awards at the Canadian Screen Awards, and Pompeii is fairly historically accurate to Roman history.

Pompeii is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

17 Caligula (1979)

Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, and Peter O'Toole Lead One Of History's Most Controversial Movies

Caligula is an interesting Ancient Rome movie, as it is a historical epic, but also an erotic drama with major stars. Malcolm McDowell (who also co-wrote the script) stars as the Roman Emperor Caligula in the cinematic retelling of the infamous ancient tyrant's downfall, while Helen Mirren stars as his wife, and Peter O'Toole appears as Tiberius. Directed by Tinto Brass, the movie became infamous due to containing — among other things — scenes of supposedly real and completely unsimulated sexual acts.

The movie's sex and violence caused protests, and it ended up being banned in several countries.

Caligula was controversial partly because one of the main producers was Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione, while novelist Gore Vidal wrote the script alongside McDowell. The movie's sex and violence caused protests, and it ended up being banned in several countries. It has since become a cult classic, though it isn't a movie set in Ancient Rome for the faint of heart.

16 Risen (2016)

An All-Star Cast Brings To Life The Search For The Body Of Christ

A key reason there are so many movies about the Roman Empire is their prominence in the New Testament of The Bible, and Risen is another Ancient Rome movie based on the story of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. The 2016 movie follows Joseph Fiennes is Clavius, a Roman Tribune who supervises the crucifixion of Jesus. The cast of Risen is especially notable, with Fiennes joined by the likes of Tom Felton of Harry Potter fame.

When Jesus rises from the dead, Pontius Pilate orders Clavius to find who "stole" the body to stop a possible uprising. He sets out and interviews people with his aide Lucas (Tom Felton) and soon discovers that this situation is greater than he ever believed. The movie was a slight box office success and received positive reviews, and is a unique story among the many adaptations of historical events in the swords-and-sandles subgenre.

15 Barabbas (1961)

A 1961 Epic Shot In Rome Itself