'Top Roman Historian Rates Famous Movie Scenes'

Dr Simon Elliott, Roman historian, archaeologist and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent, reviews scenes from famous movies set in the ancient world.

Simon reviews the opening battle of Ridley Scott's epic, Gladiator (2000), before commenting on the final climactic showdown between the Roman emperor Commodus and Maximus, played by Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe, in the Colosseum.

He reviews the recreation of the ancient city of Pompeii in the 2014 movie of the same name, as well as the portrayal of the eruption of Vesuvius.

Next, Simon watches two iconic scenes from Ben Hur (1959). You might be surprised to know that 'galley slaves' as portrayed in the film were rarely in fact slaves, particularly on military vessels, where professional oarsmen were used. The famous chariot racing scene in the Roman hippodrome is rated better for accuracy.

Finally, Simon comments on two scenes from The Eagle (2011), starring Channing Tatum. In the first scene, a group of Roman legionaries sallies out from their fort to rescue two captured Roman soldiers. In the second, Marcus Flavius Aqulia finds himself a captive in the far north of Scotland, something Simon believes would be highly unlikely.

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