The Films Set During the Classical Roman Era subgenre typically features Films About the Romans, Films About the Roman Empire, Films About The Bible, and Historical Biopics. For our purposes, we also have included World History films set during this era from 500 BC – 600 AD. This timeframe also corresponds to the latter portion of the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC – 249 BC), the Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC), the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) and the Six Dynasties (220 AD – 589 AD). This list also includes many Chinese Historical Films set during the years of these different dynasties.
Film set during this era primarily focused on the Roman Era and became known as ‘sword and sandal’ epics which ushered in the First Golden Age of Films Set During the Roman Classical Era. As many events in the Bible were also set in this era, there was some crossover between Roman biopic and historical warfare films vs. films about the Bible focusing on specific events or people. Julius Caesar (1953) was one of the first classic films of this subgenre and was followed by other classic films including Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960), Barabbas (1961), Cleopatra (1963) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). The most notorious film of this subgenre appeared at the end of the 1970’s with Caligula (1979). Despite featuring renowned actors including Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole and Helen Mirren, the film incorporated hard-core X-Rated content in post-production at the direction of Bob Guccione.
The next decade would feature spoofs of the Roman Era with Life of Brian (1979) and History of the World: Part 1 (1981). This decade also saw one of the most controversial films about Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ (1981). The Catholic Church had banned the book the film was based on and some Christian groups denounced the film for its portrayal of Jesus.
The 1990’s saw the emergence of two different types of films set during the Roman Era. The Bible Collection was released and featured Hollywood-quality films about different people and events from The Bible. Esther (1999) and Jesus (1999) were the first two films released during this decade. China released its own historical romance epic called The Emperor and the Assassin (1998) which was based on Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian set during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC). The other classic subgenre film to emerge from this decade included Titus (1999).
The 2000’s would see the emergence of the Second Golden Age of Films Set During the Classical Roman Era beginning with the best film of the subgenre in Gladiator (2000). Gladiator would soon be followed by other classic subgenre films focused on Romans, Greeks and British History & Mythology with Attila (2001), Julius Caesar (2002), King Arthur (2004), Alexander (2004), Tristan & Isolde (2006), Hannibal: Rome’s Worst Nightmare (2006), 300 (2007), The Last Legion (2007), Beowulf (2007) and Agora (2009). Films about Christianity and The Bible also continued in this decade with Saint Paul (2000), The Apocalypse (2000), Judas: Close to Jesus (2001), Thomas: Close to Jesus (2001), The Passion of the Christ (2004) and the The Nativity Story (2006). This decade also saw a Golden Age of a microgenre within this subgenre begin – Chinese Historical Films. Hero (2002), Battle of the Warriors (2006), Red Cliff (2008) and Red Cliff Part II (2009) were a few films based on Chinese history set during the same time period as the Classical Roman Era.
The 2010’s continued the Second Golden Age of the subgenre in the early half of the decade. Centurion (2010), The Eagle (2011), Pompeii (2014) and 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) would be the last major films to be released during this Golden Age. Chinese cinema, however, continued to produce Chinese Historical Epics with Little Big Soldier (2010), White Vengeance (2011), The Assassins (2012) and Dragon Blade (2015). Other notable films during this decade included Risen (2016), Last Days in the Desert (2016), Ben-Hur (2016) and Mary Magdalene (2018).
Our list of Films Set During the Classical Roman Era includes over 53+ films from 1953 – 2018. This list includes Films About Romans, Films About Greeks, Films About British Mythology, Films About the Egyptians and Films about Religion (including Films About Christianity and Films About Islam). We also have included Chinese Historical Films set from the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC – 249 BC) to the Six Dynasties (220 AD – 589 AD). For our list of Top Films Set During the Classical Roman Era You Haven’t Seen, we went with a mixture of Chinese Historical Films, Films About Religion and Classic Roman Films. Honorable mentions that didn’t make the list include Life of Brian (1979) and The Final Inquiry (2006).
We have embedded a compilation video of our Top Films Set During the Classical Roman Era You Haven’t Seen and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
#10
Boudica
Plot: Leader of the Iceni tribe tries to unite the tribes of Britain against Roman Conquest.
Year(s): ~60 AD
KBZ’s Take: Though there are a few films about the Roman Conquest of Britain (i.e. The Last Legion (2007), Centurion (2010) & The Eagle (2011)), Boudica is one of the only films about the famed British warrior’s revolt against the Romans. Though the film has a limited budget and questionable opening and ending scenes, it still features some impressive battle scenes and major points in Boudica’s life. It’s also one of the first films featuring Emily Blunt as the Warrior Queen’s daughter. Recommended film for fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Hnhgdc
#9
Agora
Plot: Historical drama about philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria.
Years(s): ~391 AD
KBZ’s Take: This Spanish production is an English language film and covers an interesting period of time – the growing influence of Christianity in the Roman Empire and within the Egyptian city of Alexandria. While the film’s main plot involves the relationships of Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) with Davus (Max Minghella) and Orestes (Oscar Isaac), its subplot and background conflict of growing Christian fundamentalism against Science is the much more interesting aspect of the film. Recommended for fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3j9EMTa
Plot: The death of Marcus Aurelius sparks friction between the new ruler Commodus and soldier Livius.
Year(s): ~180 AD
KBZ’s Take: If you’re a fan of Gladiator (2000), then this is a film you should also watch. It covers roughly the same period of Marcus Aurelius’ rule and subsequent failings of Commodus. While it was one of the last ‘sword and sandals’ epics of the 1950’s and 1960’s, it’s still one of the best and features some amazing battle scenes. It’s also incredible at showing the scale of the Roman army pre-CGI. Christopher Plummer gives one of his best performances as Commodus and the film is highly recommended for fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3wML3qJ
Plot: A Docudrama / Documentary on Carthaginian General, Hannibal and his Italian campaign during the Second Punic War.
Year(s): 218 BC – 201 BC
KBZ’s Take: In the early 2000’s, ‘dramatized documentaries’ started to become popular blending elements of the documentary format with more skilled actors showing filmed sequences. And this is one of the best. Alexander Siddig (Hannibal) gives one of his best performances as Hannibal – a general feared by the Romans and one of Rome’s greatest adversaries. Highly recommend films for fans of the subgenre and fans of Roman warfare.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/40gpWec
Plot: The doomed affair between a British knight and Irish princess.
Year(s): ~500 AD
KBZ’s Take: Based of the English romanticized legend of Tristan and Iseult, the story is set during the Early Dark Ages and after the fall of the Roman Empire. While the film received mixed reviews, we feel it’s one of the better films that covers English (Arthurian) legends and the time period. Most films cover the Roman Empire or Medieval Era but this is one of the only films that covers the time period in between. It has a strong cast with James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell, Mark Strong and Henry Cavill so it’s worth your time checking out – especially if you’re fans of the subgenre and happen to have a date night ?
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3DOisWj
Plot: 20-year old Julius Caesar flees Rome but returns to become Rome’s supreme dictator.
Year(s): ~82 BC – 44 BC
KBZ’s Take: While Marlon Brando’s Julius Caesar (1953) is a classic film of the subgenre, we actually prefer this updated miniseries. Starring Jeremy Sisto (Julius Caesar), Richard Harris (Lucius Sulla), Christopher Walken (Cato) and Christopher Noth (Pompey), the miniseries focuses more on the younger years of Julius Caesar and how his outlook developed over time. This is also a film that can be used for a very unique movie trivia question – Who is the only actor to have played both Julius Caesar and Jesus Christ? Answer – Jeremy Sisto in this film and Jesus (1999).
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/40c1SJf
Plot: Mary and Joseph make the journey to Bethlehem in this retelling of the Nativity story.
Year(s): ~7 BC
KBZ’s Take: We’ll start off by saying that this is one of the more engaging movies about the Bible. Whether or not you are Christian or follow Christianity, this is still a film with great production qualities and a great cast (with Oscar Isaac, Ciarán Hinds and Keisha Castle-Hughes). The film’s narrative is interesting and easy to follow and it has a surprising amount of tension and suspense when the Romans pursue the couple.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3XN9xvX
#3
Red Cliff
Plot: In the final days of the Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Cao declares war on the Kingdoms of Xu and East Wu.
Year(s): ~208 AD
KBZ’s Take: While most fans of the subgenre (and fans of Films With Massive Battle Scenes) have likely seen this film, if you haven’t, then add it to the top of your queue now. This is one of John Woo’s best films and it’s an epic filmmaking effort across 2 films – Red Cliff Part 1 (2008) and Red Cliff Part 2 (2009). It is hard to describe how amazing this film is between numerous epic-sized battles, unique battle strategies and the wealth of great acting (especially between Tony Leung as Zhou Yu and Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang). Highly recommended film and one of the best of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3DrAPA0
#2
Risen
Plot: Roman tribune is tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to the body of Jesus Christ.
Year(s): ~33 AD
KBZ’s Take: We had put off on watching this film due to other Religious and Bible-inspired films we’ve watched and we’re sorry that we did. This is a great film and plays much more like a Whodunit & Detective Film set during the Roman Era. While it does tap into the Faith narrative during the Third Act of the film, the First and Second Acts focus more on the initial detective work of the Tribune and eventual pursuit of the Tribune and Apostles by the Romans. Despite the religious aspects of the film, it’s still a very strong film that should be seen by fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3HKCxiB
#1
Attila
Plot: Romanticized account of the rise of Attila the Hun and his battles against Rome.
Year(s): ~434 AD – 453 AD
KBZ’s Take: This is one of a handful of films about Attila the Hun and the best one. While it’s a miniseries with limited budget, it plays above its weight with some great historical cinematography and battle sequences. Above all, the film is driven by the performances of Gerard Butler (Attila) and Powers Boothe (Flavius Aetius). It’s the ‘friends to foes’ dynamic that develops between Attila and Flavius that makes this subgenre film one of the best. It also has two parallel narratives that focus on Flavius and Rome’s deterioration juxtaposed against Attila’s unification of the Huns and eventual sacking of Rome. Highly recommended film for fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/40rJyfB
