Ancient Rome is always in the cinema, from the age of silent films through modernity with films like Gladiator. In point of fact, the Rome of Classical Antiquity pervades all elements of modern culture, not just popular film. Our most prestigious public buildings are supported by grand colonnade facades and our legal, medical, and scientific language is rife with Latin, the language of Ancient Rome. Our modern society is built on a foundation of Roman Republic and Empire and our culture is invariably indebted to it. But why is this the case, and why do we feel the need to endlessly reiterate this fact in film? The answer is simple: we are in awe that so many of the socio-cultural advancements which we somehow consider modern were able to be established over two thousand years ago, prior to cars and cable and microwave ovens. The fight for slave freedom is not an invention of the 19th century, but a reiteration of the slave revolts of ancient Rome, and so we draw the connection between these events with films like Spartacus. The story of the great nation nearly conquered by a foreign military genius but led to victory by a genius general still holds great emotional impact for the contemporary viewer, and so films like Scipione l'africano are made to evoke such passions. The stories of ancient Rome are not only timeless but hold our fascination because, with many fewer resources, the historic characters that populate them achieve those things which we ourselves aspire to achieve.
Upon entering the Roman Forum one is struck by the overwhelming knowledge that first-century AD Rome was among the grandest civilizations ever realized. The architecture, even in its fractured and ruinous state, is beautiful, and the forum, even absent the tourists, still bustles with life. I do not mean, here, to imply the life of the tourists snapping selfies and oogling the pagan monstrosities as if they were at Epcott. Rather, I mean that, walking among the ruins of the Curia, the temple of Romulus, and the well of Juturna, one can feel the bustle of Roman citizens, heading to worship gods they probably didn't believe, rushing to the Curia to vote in the Senate, or merely passing through and listening to the various orators (depending upon the era). Perhaps they are heading to the Circus for a race. Perhaps they venture more toward the Basilica Iulia for a formal function. Perhaps they are merely heading home, anticipating some Cena celebration that evening. One can feel that they bustle still as we do, but somehow more beautifully. I digress in this manner in an attempt to describe, I suppose, why I think so many films about the Roman world are still made--It is because the Roman world is still felt and felt in such a way that it seems both familiar and foreign in its grand simplicity and civility. The stories, histories, and lives of the Romans are at once directly analogous to our own and also more concentrated and beautiful. Consequently, they are and always have been the perfect subjects for film
