Ancient Rome at the Cinema: Story and Spectacle in Hollywood and Rome

This study of depictions of ancient Rome in film concentrates on the idea of spectacle, and how this relates to narrative. In her readings of six films (Ben-Hur, Spartacus, the Fall of the Roman Empire, Gladiator, Fellini Satyricon and Titus) Theodorakopoulos looks at how spectacle is used to draw the audience into the story, but at the same time to provide a critique of spectacle, through its identification with oppression, and violence as entertainment, and through its ambiguous place as a narrative pivot in the storytelling.