Quo Vadis

Swords, sandals, bronze muscular men, chariots, an epic battle; these are all common characteristics of a sword and sandal film. The term peplum or “sword and sandal” refers to a genre of movies that tell a story of epic proportion. These movies are typically set in ancient or biblical times and tell stories of the significant characters of that time. Movies like Ben Hur (1907) (1925) (1959), The Three Ages (1923) and Quo Vadis (1951), serve as an example of what classic sword and sandal movies look like. A good sword and sandal movie wows the audience with its; grandiose theme, vivid visuals, and exceptional characters. By definition an exceptional sword and sandal film must have a large story and an even larger canvas. There are several

The subjects of many of these films include; biblical subjects, gladiators, soldiers, and mythical figures. Most of these characters are seen in the epic film Ben Hur. A great part of this film revolves around notable Roman soldiers and biblical figures. This film is not the only sword and sandal film that uses these characters in their story. These subjects are also used in the movie Quo Vadis. A Roman Epic that follows a Roman general that falls in love with Lygia, a Christian hostage. Throughout this movie there are several biblical characters, St. Peter, St. Paul, Jesus, and there is also mention of several of the Roman gods. The characteristic of sword and sandal movies being big and epic is largely due to their significant characters. A movie cannot be mild and prudent when its aim is to tell of an epic story dealing with God(s), gladiators, or famous Roman soldiers. On the contrary it must be grand, luxurious, and most of all monumental in

Films like Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, and The Three Ages tackled themes of; romance, religion, freedom, and revenge. These themes are universal because many humans can easily understand them. The themes listed can be easily identified in any one of these films. The theme of romance is seen in all of these films. Love is seen in Ben Hur not only towards Jesus but towards his mother and sister. The theme of love was also echoed throughout the Buster Keaton film, The Three Ages. In this film Keaton attempts to prove that the love a man has for a woman has not meaningfully changed throughout time. The film Quo Vadis at its rawest is a love story between a Roman general and a Christian. The theme of religion was seen in Ben Hur, and Quo Vadis, both are films that deal with Christian themes. This is so visible in these films that the hand of god was even shown in Ben Hur (1925) and his presence was alluded to in Quo Vadis with a ray of bright light shining through trees. Freedom (or the lack of) is seen as a theme in both Ben Hur, and Quo Vadis , in the form of slavery and servitude. In Ben Hur he becomes a slave due to an accident, a slip of a brick. He eventually is able to gain his freedom by saving a Roman consul from dying at sea after a shipwreck. In Quo Vadis many of the supporting actors are slaves or captives. Even the main female lead, Lygia is a hostage of Rome. Finally, the theme