I doubt that Leonard Bernstein was even notified, but the music that is playing during a battle sequence early in the film distinctly sounds like the rumble from "West Side Story". I couldn't mistake those somber tones anywhere. How about the tons of authors who had written novels about the supposed killing of an infant at birth to prevent future rebellion? That's apparently what happened during the reign of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius when his queen had twins. Now he is dead, and the supposedly only surviving one is the evil emperor Commodus (Mimmo Palmara), and members of the senate who know the truth set out to find the other, hoping he's a lot better.
The search leads them to Lucius Crassus (Richard Harrison) who has been raised a commoner and is thus a man of principal. Obviously, Commodus isn't happy with the revelation that his reign may be challenged, fulfilling the curse that there will be blood, and he doesn't want it to be his. Of course the plot includes two women who are rivals, the good one blonde and naturally pretty, the other brunette, vindictive, and overloaded with crescent moon shaped gold eye makeup, severe looking head gear and a bad attitude.
Obvious standing sets from big Hollywood epics on Roman history filmed in Italy were utilized for this peplum film which actually is pretty entertaining. The story is pretty derivative however, and predictable but it's fun to watch it all unfold. The contrast between the twin brothers is aided by the fact that two different actors played them, and the sneering Palmara (or whoever dubbed his voice in English) makes it instantly clear that he's rotten. Indeed the real Commodus was assassinated so you're getting a teeny bit of Roman empire history here. I still wouldn't cast this hidden stone for being historically accurate. Fun for the kind of nonsense it is, and nothing more.
The search leads them to Lucius Crassus (Richard Harrison) who has been raised a commoner and is thus a man of principal. Obviously, Commodus isn't happy with the revelation that his reign may be challenged, fulfilling the curse that there will be blood, and he doesn't want it to be his. Of course the plot includes two women who are rivals, the good one blonde and naturally pretty, the other brunette, vindictive, and overloaded with crescent moon shaped gold eye makeup, severe looking head gear and a bad attitude.
Obvious standing sets from big Hollywood epics on Roman history filmed in Italy were utilized for this peplum film which actually is pretty entertaining. The story is pretty derivative however, and predictable but it's fun to watch it all unfold. The contrast between the twin brothers is aided by the fact that two different actors played them, and the sneering Palmara (or whoever dubbed his voice in English) makes it instantly clear that he's rotten. Indeed the real Commodus was assassinated so you're getting a teeny bit of Roman empire history here. I still wouldn't cast this hidden stone for being historically accurate. Fun for the kind of nonsense it is, and nothing more.