The Fall of The Roman Empire is an epic film made in 1964 that was released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Anthony Mann, while the well known historian Will Durant was the advisor in regard to the plot and the specific details of the period. Unfortunately the film had collapsed at the box office and was a financial failure. It was however considered an intellectual film that put forth before the public the historical aspects of the Roman Empire. The plot of the film depicts the historical personalities, events and trends during the period 180 to 192 AD which is taken as the period during which the Roman Empire stopped growing and witnessed a steady down fall which culminated in the ultimate fall of the Empire. The film is particular in highlighting the tradition of choosing an adopted successor to the throne, which had continued since the time of Nerva in 96 AD. The stars of the film included legendry actors of the time such as Stephen Boyd, Sophia Loren, Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer, James Mason and Omar Sharif. At the beginning of the film there is a clear depiction of the fate of the Roman Empire by way of a dialogue which implies that a great civilization can never be conquered by outsiders unless it first destroys itself internally. It is in this sense that the entire length of the film bears witness to such circumstances while the story depicts the rampant greed and corruption that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire. The film opens on the snow covered northern border regions of the Roman Empire where Marcus Aurelius, the Caesar, played by Alec Guinness, had been trying to repress the barbarians who had become very dominant. The Caesar is under the impression that there will be peace and he has called upon all the leaders of the empire to this front line to observe what he perceives to be the beginning of a peaceful era which will bring about the existence of a group of powerful and equal nations in achieving the dream pf Pax Romana. Consequently there is a distinguished gathering of provincial governors and generals who are present to shower praise on the present Caesar. The Emperor is portrayed as relying heavily on Timonedis (James Mason), a former Greek slave whom he always has beside him in being his primary advisor. Amongst the august gathering is also Livius (Stephen Boyd), the powerful General of the Army who is slated to become the successor to Aurelius. Another dignitary amongst the leaders is Commodus (Christopher Plummer), the real son of Aurelius who has been ruling the playful city of gladiators and games in a rather irresponsible and dissolute style. Commodus is portrayed as being coarsely ambitious in expecting to succeed as Caesar one day, and when he comes to know of his father’s plans to place Livius on the throne and not him, he is shocked and the rift between the two widens. Commodus and Livius had been childhood friends but the events would soon depict their transformation into bitter enemies. In matters that get further complicated, Livius clandestinely falls in love with Lucilla (Sophia loren), the daughter of Caesar, for she is to be given in marriage to Armenian King Sohamus (Omar Sharif) in order to strength