Put 'em in a toga and they all think it's 1925. This is Cecil B deMille at his very worst. How he manages to make decent actors seem like they're in a children's pantomime is quite astonishing. This is one to avoid!
It does however shine a light on what people in 1932 found entertaining. These overweight CBdM epics were the blockbusters of the day, events which had to be endured because it was expected. That's no reason to watch this now - who'll be watching TRANSFORMERS in ninety years time?
This is two hours of torture. It's gratuitously violent. The love story is ridiculous and patently impossible. The background story, based on a third rate novel is just wrong - Eddie Cantor's ROMAN SCANDALS was more authentic. The Roman soldiers look like extras from FLASH GORDON and Fredric March looks stupid in his little mini skirt and weird 1920s eye make-up. But the worst thing wrong with this is the acting. It's like they've all suddenly forgotten that they don't make silent movies anymore.....and that includes the normally great Mr March! Oh how they have clearly missed being able to do those exaggerated over the top gestures but in this they can all behave like an animated emojis to their heat's content.
No, there's something even worse than the terrible acting - the Christians. Holy mackerel, if the Cristians had been like this back then there wouldn't be any of us around today. I think that if somehow I found myself there I'd have been tempted to feed all the sanctimonious, annoying, smiling smug sods to the lions myself. Stop singing you annoying people! Stop speaking as though you're doing the tv commentary for the funeral of Queen, speaking ever so slowly with quiet somber reverential tones! Why does every single word they say have to sound so sincere and earth shatteringly important and why are they constantly accompanied by choirs of angels? And why have they all got beards? Is it wrong to cheer on the lions?
Everything and everyone associated with this is terrible with one exception - Claudette Colbert. Maybe because she didn't bring much silent cinema baggage with her but she's the only one who acts like she's been in a film before. I have to admit that the reason I first watched this many, many decades ago was for her famous nipple flash. That scene, maybe because it's made to look accidental or maybe it's because it's the very respectable and sophisticated Miss Colbert, is still incredibly sexy and extremely classy. As for the remaining 2 hours and 3 minutes, don't bother.
It does however shine a light on what people in 1932 found entertaining. These overweight CBdM epics were the blockbusters of the day, events which had to be endured because it was expected. That's no reason to watch this now - who'll be watching TRANSFORMERS in ninety years time?
This is two hours of torture. It's gratuitously violent. The love story is ridiculous and patently impossible. The background story, based on a third rate novel is just wrong - Eddie Cantor's ROMAN SCANDALS was more authentic. The Roman soldiers look like extras from FLASH GORDON and Fredric March looks stupid in his little mini skirt and weird 1920s eye make-up. But the worst thing wrong with this is the acting. It's like they've all suddenly forgotten that they don't make silent movies anymore.....and that includes the normally great Mr March! Oh how they have clearly missed being able to do those exaggerated over the top gestures but in this they can all behave like an animated emojis to their heat's content.
No, there's something even worse than the terrible acting - the Christians. Holy mackerel, if the Cristians had been like this back then there wouldn't be any of us around today. I think that if somehow I found myself there I'd have been tempted to feed all the sanctimonious, annoying, smiling smug sods to the lions myself. Stop singing you annoying people! Stop speaking as though you're doing the tv commentary for the funeral of Queen, speaking ever so slowly with quiet somber reverential tones! Why does every single word they say have to sound so sincere and earth shatteringly important and why are they constantly accompanied by choirs of angels? And why have they all got beards? Is it wrong to cheer on the lions?
Everything and everyone associated with this is terrible with one exception - Claudette Colbert. Maybe because she didn't bring much silent cinema baggage with her but she's the only one who acts like she's been in a film before. I have to admit that the reason I first watched this many, many decades ago was for her famous nipple flash. That scene, maybe because it's made to look accidental or maybe it's because it's the very respectable and sophisticated Miss Colbert, is still incredibly sexy and extremely classy. As for the remaining 2 hours and 3 minutes, don't bother.