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.

25 The Silver Chalice (1954)

A Greek Artist Is Commissioned To Make The Cup Of Christ

Paul Newman is said to have hated his work in this movie, but that doesn’t stop it from having a lasting legacy. The Silver Chalice marked Newman’s feature film debut. Victor Saville acted as both director and producer of the movie, wanting to make an epic befitting of the novel of the same name on which it is based.

The story sees a Greek artisan asked to cast the chalice of Christ in silver with his disciples depicted around it. His journey takes him to both Jerusalem and Rome while someone else is busy trying to convince everyone he’s the new messiah.

The movie received largely mixed reviews when it was initially released because it didn’t look like other Hollywood biblical epics of the era, but that’s part of what makes it such an interesting look into the classic subgenre. The set pieces featured abstract decorations that differentiated it from Hollywood of the 1950s. That set design is part of why Martin Scorcese himself enjoys the movie. He called it a “guilty pleasure” in New York magazine in 1978. He also revealed the movie is what got him to hire art designer Boris Leven to work on his New York, New York.

24 Agora (2009)

Agora Takes The Action To Roman-Occupied Egypt

While most of the movies set in Ancient Rome are about wars or the conflict between Christianity and other religions, there are some, like The Silver Chalice, that set a love story in that setting. Agora is not that, but instead, a biopic, centering on Hypatia, one of the earliest female mathematicians, philosophers, and astronomers. She lived in Egypt in the fourth century, but it was an Egypt controlled by the Roman Empire.

Weisz is fantastic in the role and her performance is worth some of the lesser aspects of the script.

Here, Hypatia is played by Rachel Weisz as she researches the two conflicting views of astronomy - the popular view at the time was that the universe orbited the Earth, but a conflicting view that the Earth orbited the sun had emerged. Hypatia’s research plays out among the conflicts between Christians and Pagans. Even seeking refuge in libraries doesn’t exempt her from the conflict. Hypatia is viewed as a witch by the Christians who rise to power, and eventually, her life ends in tragedy.

While there are plenty of aspects of the story that are likely not historically accurate, so little is actually known about Hypatia’s life and so much of her scholarly research has been destroyed, that the movie doesn’t have to be accurate. Weisz is fantastic in the role and her performance is worth some of the lesser aspects of the script.

23 King Arthur (2004)

Roman History Is Infused With Arthurian Legend

The 2004 version of King Arthur is not the best version of the story. It is, however, one of the most creative interpretations of the legend of the ruler of Camelot. It’s also tied into the Roman Empire, which makes it an interesting addition to Ancient Roman movies. Though it’s not set in Rome itself, it’s set in England at a time when Roman soldiers were occupying it.

Arthur himself is the child of a Roman soldier and a Gaelic woman in this interpretation of the story. He grows disillusioned with the conflict between English natives and the Romans that occupy the land, and eventually, he grows to fight for his friends and neighbors when he realizes that the very Romans he’s been sent to protect have enslaved people.

Along the way, of course, the love triangle between Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere develops and Arthur rises to become king. Fusing the legend with the idea of Roman soldiers beginning to withdraw from Britain makes it unique, but not the best Ancient Roman story.

22 History of the World Part 1 (1981)

This Movie Spans More Than Just Ancient Rome

When it comes to movies about ancient history in general, History of the World Part 1 comes to mind. It features stories from the Stone Age all the way up through the French Revolution, but a good chunk of the room revolves around a character in Ancient Rome.

That character is Comicus, a comedian and philosopher played by Mel Brooks. When Comicus insults Emperor Nero during a performance for Julius Caesar, Nero happens to be in the audience. He spends much of the rest of his storyline avoiding being captured by soldiers of the Roman Empire.

At the time of its release, the movie didn’t get much critical love beyond the performance of Mel Brooks, but it’s become something of a cult classic among comedy fans today. Hulu even commissioned a sequel series that picks up in other time periods.

21 The Fires Of Pompeii (2008)

Doctor Who Episode 190

“The Fires of Pompeii” is not technically a movie, but it does have a similar feeling to some of the classic movies set in Ancient Rome. It’s an episode of Doctor Who that sees David Tennant’s version of the Doctor and his companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) journey to Ancient Rome, specifically to Pompeii, right before the massive volcanic eruption that would destroy it.

Doctor Who is known for putting its own spin on historic events and many of its best-known episodes have a cinematic quality to them. Here, Donna struggles with her future knowledge of what will happen to the people she meets. She implores the Doctor to save people, but that’s not part of what he’s usually able to do in these situations. Tate’s emotional performance as she tries to get people to avoid areas where she knows they’ll be killed makes the episode.

This episode is also known for future Doctor Who stars Peter Capaldi and Karen Gillan appearing as different characters than the ones they would play in the future.

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 ed 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 engaging 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.

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 ed 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.