Synopsis
Quo Vadis (1951) is a historical epic you can watch online, set in Rome under Nero and built on a scale Hollywood rarely attempted at the time. Roman commander Marcus Vinicius comes home from war and falls for Lygia, a hostage who secretly follows the new Christian faith.
That attraction sets an officer of the empire against everything his world is founded on. Lygia won't renounce her beliefs even facing death, while the city sits under the madness of Nero — played by Peter Ustinov as a preening, insecure performer rather than a snarling tyrant, which makes him far more chilling. When the Great Fire breaks out, the emperor hunts for someone to blame, and Christians are marched into the arena with the lions. Robert Taylor and Deborah Kerr anchor the romance, but Ustinov walks off with the picture.
Mervyn LeRoy directed, adapting the novel by Nobel laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz, shooting at Rome's Cinecittà with thousands of real extras and zero digital trickery. The film drew eight Academy Award nominations and became one of the decade's biggest box-office draws. It's for anyone who loves old large-format cinema where the crowds are real and the sets were actually built. Stream Quo Vadis online on iFILM.
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