NationStates Jolt Archive

Out of these films, which is your favorite? For me, it's really hard. I loved the style 300 took, and I really enjoyed Troy. I liked the fact that they took out the gods and I couldn't give a shit if Achilles had a gay lover or not.

But I still have to go with Gladiator. There's less than a handful of films that have made me cry, but Gladiator's certianly inluded. There's a reason that film won so many awards.

For me, it has to be the second version of Ben-Hur. (The first version is the silent). Though Gladiator would rank a close second.

Gladiator for certain. Although I loved Troy and have yet to see 300 (but I will soon) Gladiator had a very unique story to it, especially within the genre it is in. The story was very complex.

Out of these films, which is your favorite? For me, it's really hard. I loved the style 300 took, and I really enjoyed Troy. I liked the fact that they took out the gods and I couldn't give a shit if Achilles had a gay lover or not.

But I still have to go with Gladiator. There's less than a handful of films that have made me cry, but Gladiator's certianly inluded. There's a reason that film won so many awards.

Not to rain on your parade, but Gladiator was horrible if you ask me... the plot was extremly easy to read. I mean, the moment you saw the emperor you knew he was evil just by the look of his shady eyes and false smile... all downhill from there...

But with classical, do you mean classics or just movies about past times? If you mean the first, I must go with Kelly's Heroes, awsome flick.
And if you mean the latter I'll say Caligula, just because of all the boobies;) (although, in all honesty, it probably wasn't a blockbuster...)

Gladiator.

300 was pretty, but it is digitally generated, so the feel is completely different, plus it is not trying to be "realistic", 300 is a fantasy movie. (I know, Troy is not trying to be historical, but it is adding a reality component to the equation).

Troy direction sucked big time, and Ridley Scott gave a class on how to manage a camera, so I'll keep with Gladiator any day.

300 was pretty, but it is digitally generated...

Guys prancing around in front of a greenscreen do not a film make. I refuse to see 300 on principle.

Not to rain on your parade, but Gladiator was horrible if you ask me... the plot was extremly easy to read. I mean, the moment you saw the emperor you knew he was evil just by the look of his shady eyes and false smile... all downhill from there...

But with classical, do you mean classics or just movies about past times? If you mean the first, I must go with Kelly's Heroes, awsome flick.
And if you mean the latter I'll say Caligula, just because of all the boobies;) (although, in all honesty, it probably wasn't a blockbuster...)

Well I wasn't asking you. ;) I was asking the Academy Awards which it won for best picture and best actor: russel crowe! Ohhhh! Buuuurn! Haha

As for what I mean, I'm using classical in the senes of movies set in the "classical" eras of Rome and Greece.

Guys prancing around in front of a greenscreen do not a film make. I refuse to see 300 on principle.

Did you refuse to see the second two matrix movies or sin city on the same principle? If so your "principle" is making you miss some damn good movies.

As for what I mean, I'm using classical in the senes of movies set in the "classical" eras of Rome and Greece.

Well, in that case, I go with the relevant bit of Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I. :p

Well I wasn't asking you. ;) I was asking the Academy Awards which it won for best picture and best actor: russel crowe! Ohhhh! Buuuurn! Haha

As for what I mean, I'm using classical in the senes of movies set in the "classical" eras of Rome and Greece.

Ahh, the Academy Awards, the movie industrys award to itself, I see why you trust them to choose good movies;) Caveman with Ringo Star is a good classical movie. It shows the discovery of many important things in history haha.

Caveman with Ringo Star is a good classical movie. It shows the discovery of many important things in history haha.

Mel Brooks covered that, too. :p

Well I wasn't asking you. ;) I was asking the Academy Awards which it won for best picture and best actor: russel crowe! Ohhhh! Buuuurn! Haha

As for what I mean, I'm using classical in the senes of movies set in the "classical" eras of Rome and Greece.

He liked Caligula...Do we need more...proof of his taste?

And you liked Matrix II and III? yuck!

Spartacus tugged at my emotions more than gladiator or any other modern "classical " Blockbuster
or Barabbas

Guys prancing around in front of a greenscreen do not a film make. I refuse to see 300 on principle.

You don't watch movies do you?

Clash of The Titans.

Forrest Gump

You don't watch movies do you?

I do, but if I want a computer game, I'll play one.

I'm not sure Hollywood (= all films everywhere) has done a really good "classical" movie. About the best I know is BBC's I, Claudius.

Well, in that case, I go with the relevant bit of Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I. :p

Caveman with Ringo Star is a good classical movie. It shows the discovery of many important things in history haha.
two of the best "Classical" movies around.

I'm not sure Hollywood (= all films everywhere) has done a really good "classical" movie. About the best I know is BBC's I, Claudius.

It was aired on Masterpiece Theater here in the US. It was excellent.

two of the best "Classical" movies around.

Why, thank you! Hard to find support here if you don't enjoy Gladiator it seems. :)

And as a sidenote, Caligula was actually horrible, I'll take the freedom to change my choice to Life of Brian.

I have to go with Gladiator too. Having not seen 300 yet I can't even keep that in the running.

And I thought Troy was ridiculous because Orlando "I have XX Chromasomes" Bloom's character won over Brad "Fight Club" Pitt's. That and Peter O'Toole looked like he'd actually died 5 years ago and they somehow animated his corpse with puppetry for the film.

I liked Gladiator, it was emotionally well-done. Troy, some of the battles were good fare, but there was just no emotion in any of it. A more interesting and unheard of movie about this was Helen of Troy.

The only classic on the list was Sparticus...

The other 3 are all modern.

Why, thank you! Hard to find support here if you don't enjoy Gladiator it seems. :)

And as a sidenote, Caligula was actually horrible, I'll take the freedom to change my choice to Life of Brian.

it delved into his madness quite well, I thought. but not enough to make my list.

Clan of the Cave Bear tho... (Darryl Hanna in a bearskin bikini... then again Raquel Welch in same (1 billion B.C.))

yeah, Brian also is up there... How could I have forgotten the bravery of the Turkish Suicide Squad!

I voted Gladiator because the sheer quality of the movie was far and away better than any othe rin its class. I liked Troy and 300 very much as well, but they're not on the same level.

I think Alexander would have been a good one to list in the poll, although I can't decide if I liked it or not. The story line seemed incoherent and meandering, but the symbolism and imagery was good.

Guys prancing around in front of a greenscreen do not a film make. I refuse to see 300 on principle.

Melies laughs.

I do, but if I want a computer game, I'll play one.
So you havn't seen a movie made in the last 20 years?

The only classic on the list was Sparticus...

The other 3 are all modern.


As for what I mean, I'm using classical in the senes of movies set in the "classical" eras of Rome and Greece.
...
Clash of The Titans.

I totally wanted a clockwork owl!

...


I totally wanted a clockwork owl!

Don't we all? :D

I thought this was classical films, I would have gone with Lawrence of Arabia.

For this list, Gladiator gets my vote.

Spartacus. There's no way anyone could watch both Spartacus and Gladiator and come away thinking Gladiator was the superior film.

I totally wanted a clockwork owl!

I wanted a kraken. To do my bidding and crush all who dared oppose me.
"Release the kraken!"

"I am Spartacus!"

The Ten Commandments. Charleton Heston throwing the tablets at the Israelites while they dance around the golden calf is burned in my memory.

I thought this was classical films,

Wrong. It's about films set in the classical era. Pretty obvious from the poll choices.

Oh and whoever said I, Claudius get a cookie. While I don't consider that nearly as entertaining as the ones I listed, simply knowing it gets you points.

Likewise, whoever said that the tv movie Helen of Troy is better than Troy loses all their points. Say what you will about Brad Pitt, et all, but that TV movie was miserable. Trust me. I own it. It's embarassing to watch.

Oh and whoever said I, Claudius get a cookie. While I don't consider that nearly as entertaining as the ones I listed, simply knowing it gets you points.


To this day I can't see Derek Jacobi without expecting him to start twitching. Quite freaked me when he showed up in Gladiator in a non-stammering, non-twitchy role.

For me, it has to be the second version of Ben-Hur. (The first version is the silent). Though Gladiator would rank a close second.
I second that - and I'm looking forward to 300 starting in the theaters over here very soon.

For classic as in the Classical Roman or Greek sense, it has to be Ben Hur (1959). Chariot races, slave ships, crucifixions, slightly veiled homo-erotica... how can you go wrong!

Gladiator. There has been nothing as good as it for a long time. The only thing that comes close is Braveheart.

Troy is cheesy. I disliked it, a lot. They tried too much to make it looks realistical, but failed miserably. It looks way too cheesy.

Alexander is crap. Not just the gay factor, but direction, production, acting, plot, characters, battles, it all sucks.

Spartacus was good, but its old.

I wanted a kraken. To do my bidding and crush all who dared oppose me.
"Release the kraken!"

Whenever a large group needs to be punished I always say, "Release the Kraken!"

Smaller groups get the hounds.

Gladiator ftw! Are you not entertained!?

Spartacus was good, but its old.
Is old bad?

I'll pick Spartacus. As a side note -- has anyone seen the 1962 version of 300, "The 300 Spartans"?

The only classic on the list was Sparticus...

The other 3 are all modern.

I thought this was classical films, I would have gone with Lawrence of Arabia.

For this list, Gladiator gets my vote.

classical =/= classic.

classical is relating to the ancient Greek and Roman world
classic is either relating to Greece and Rome or the highest ranking of something (Moby-Dick is a classic book, the Mona Lisa is a classic painting...)


and its 300 for me. Maybe because I saw it in IMAX.

they should make a movie about the Battle of Marathon

and an actually good movie about Alexander the Great

oh and probably....Gladiator

Right then; for anybody with a classical education, Troy was dumbed down version of the Iliad made more acceptable for the common audiance.
Secondly, 300, whilst looking good enough, simply perpetuates sensationalist fallacies regarding the Spartans.

I'd say either Gladiator, or Sparticus.

Right then; for anybody with a classical education, Troy was dumbed down version of the Iliad made more acceptable for the common audiance.
Secondly, 300, whilst looking good enough, simply perpetuates sensationalist fallacies regarding the Spartans.

I'd say either Gladiator, or Sparticus.

they're also movies, not classical literature or history lessons

they're also movies, not classical literature or history lessons

They're also bollocks. One can't claim to put the Iliad in film, then change half the book.

I don't know. Let's guess and say.. that one where that guy wears a toga.

They're also bollocks. One can't claim to put the Iliad in film, then change half the book.

Hence why it's not called "The Iliad." It's called Troy...it's about Brad Pitt and Eric Bana, and ENTERTAINMENT. I love Roman and Greek history, but when I want to learn about it, I'll watch the history channel or read a book. When I want to be entertained, I'll go see a movie.

300 is not called "A Historical Account of the Battle of Thermopylae," it's called 300. It's a movie based off a comic book, whose creator readily admits it's not based on fact.

They're also bollocks. One can't claim to put the Iliad in film, then change half the book.

happens all the time. The general idea was portrayed. If you want the book, read it. Otherwise, don't expect it to be a direct translation. The text of the Iliad would fail miserably as a movie. Text must be reworked to be made into a visual.

The battle of Troy was recorded in the Iliad, yes. I, personally, never heard that Troy tried to replicate the Iliad, only the battle of Troy (I may have just missed it. Admittedly, I don't really care what the filmmakers inspiration is)

Lawrence of Arabia! NO PRISONERS!

I didn't see Troy and didn't like Gladiator too much.

300 wins for all the violence even if Leonidas says that hunchback Greek can't fight because the Spartans fight in a phalanx and then proceeds to fight out of formation for the rest of the movie.

"Tonight, we dine in HELL!"

Mughal e Azam is my favorite historical movie.

Madhubala......*sighs*.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054098/

"I am Spartacus!"me too :D

my top picks of Greco-roman movies are:

#Ben-Hur.

#Gladiator.

#Spartacus.

_______________________
BTW I give honesty+courage points to the makers/director of "Alexander".. they resisted the pressure to change history and "hide the Gayness."

Aliens.

Aliens.oh yeah.. great movie.

oh yeah.. great movie.

Are you seriously suggesting that it's not?

dp

Aliens.

:confused: Since when was Aliens set in ancient Greece or Rome?

Are you seriously suggesting that it's not?I liked it.. very much.
BTW can you guess what was the Spanish name for the first movie.

I have yet to see a greco-roman movie that totally does it for me. The best of the lot; Spartacus and Gladiator both have little things that bug me about them. The things I dislike about Spartacus are largely in the dated feeling of the film, so I would have to say it's superior. However, I enjoy Gladiator more, despite some campy scenes with Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus.

Clash of the Titans is awesome. And I actually enjoyed Helen of Troy, in some ways more than Troy.

Alexander was horribly disappointing. 300 was entertaining, but far shy of 'great' in my books.

Worst Greco-Roman movie of all time; Amazons and Gladiators. I wish I had paid someone the $7.00 to keep the damn thing in the bargain bin where it should have stayed.

Clash of The Titans.

I loved that movie...

...when I was six. :p

I'll vote for Gladiator, since we're going with ancient Greece and Rome, though I thought Ridley Scott did better work with Kingdom of Heaven.

Clash of the Titans or Jason and the Argonauts. Can't go wrong there.

To be truly great it would have to feature Victor Mature in a micro toga and have special effects by Ray Harryhausen. So it probably doesn't exist.

Does Hercules in New York count, the finest work of the Governator.