Mervyn LeRoy’s Quo Vadis (1951) is gargantuan spectacle. Partly to stem the tide of waning theater attendance caused by the advent of television, but more importantly, to continue to exercise its supremacy as a world leader in movie entertainment, Louis B. Mayer’s dream factory – MGM – acquired the rights to Henryk Sienkiewicz’s sprawling novel of Roman bloodshed and Christian conquest.At the turn of the century Sienkiewicz’s book had sparked a public fervor for ancient civilizations. Indeed, Sienkiewicz – who studied abroad to soak up the Roman Empire’s richly dark heritage – infused his novel with meticulous attention to detail, producing one of the most comprehensive contemporary reflections on Roman antiquity.
And 'large' is precisely the way a Roman film company envisioned their 1913 silent masterpiece of the same name. The movie was so wildly popular that it ran over a year. It was followed by an even more ambitious American version in 1917 that, although popular, did not make back its initial costs.
With the coming of the second World War and Hitler’s fascination with Roman artifacts, the public’s general fascination with this particular part of the historical record fell out of favor; an unhappy circumstance for MGM. They had acquired the rights in 1943.
Quo Vadis was original conceived as a film for Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor. Ultimately, only the former Taylor would weather the various mutations in casting and script that proceeded throughout the 1940s until Mervyn LeRoy assumed the reigns from director John Huston in 1949. However, the post-war period in Hollywood had been particularly unkind to more intimate dramas that had been a primary staple during the first half of the decade.
Hence, Quo Vadis would not only have to be grand in the reigning style of super productions that had once been popular in the 1930s; it needed to be colossal beyond all living expectations. L.B. Mayer, who was battling company politics in a desperate bid to maintain his control over the studio, saw Quo Vadis as one last chance to exercise his vast and highly skilled studio on a project that would be the gold standard bearer for the rest of Hollywood.
The film begins in earnest with the arrival of soldier, Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor) to the gates of Rome after a successful campaign against British forces. Marcus is a crude male animal, whose rough edges begin to smooth out after his first sight of Lygia (Deborah Kerr) – a freed slave and a Christian living in the house of a retired Roman general. From the start, Lygia is physically attracted to Marcus even though she cannot abide the pleasure he derives from recanting his bloodthirsty conquests.
The state is under tyrannical rule from the mentally unstable Nero (Peter Ustinov); whose bastardization of the arts is but one discomfort endured by his council, Petronius (Leo Genn) who also happens to be Marcus’ uncle. Nero has recently murdered his wife and mother to marry Poppaea (Patricia Laffan) – a woman of ill repute and even more ill temper. The film makes much of Poppaea’s destructive influence over men in general and the empire of Rome in particular.
At Petronius’ home, Marcus is introduced to Eunice (Marina Berti); an exotic slave intended as a gift for his sexual pleasure. But Marcus’ heart has already been drawn to Lygia, leaving Eunice to confess her genuine and undying affection for Petronius instead. After exercising a rule of law to take Lygia by force, Marcus is utterly perplexed when Lygia recoils from him in despair.
Lygia is taken to Nero's court and made a concubine. Outwardly remote, Lygia’s assigned lady in waiting, Acte (Rosalie Crutchley) confesses that she too is a Christian in exile. Together with Lygia’s former bodyguard, the towering mountain of flesh – Ursus (Buddy Baer), Acte helps Lygia escape into the night.
The exile is bittersweet; for Lygia cannot return home, but must live obscurely within the hidden community of Christians at the home of philosopher, Paul (Abraham Sofaer). At the palace Nero embarks on a lethal campaign of self destruction. With delusions for a gleaming white city, he orders the Praetorian Guard to torch the old to make way for the new, forcing Rome’s populace to flee into the streets.
The flames draw Lygia out and she is reunited with Marcus. Unfortunately for these lovers, Poppaea has become jealously enamored with Marcus herself. After she convinces Nero to spread the lie that it was the Christians who torched Rome, Poppaea decides that if she cannot possess Marcus for her own she will destroy him. Nero devises a sport out of throwing Christians to the lions. Marcus is imprisoned along with the rest. But having experienced an epiphany he rescues Lygia from the arena. Rome turns against Nero, forcing him to commit suicide.
The action in Quo Vadis plays like grand soap opera; albeit with a religious slant. The screenplay by S.N. Behrman, Sonya Levien and John Lee Mahin suffers from the same mild turgidity that plagued many sword and sandal spectacles from this vintage; apparently incapable of deciding whether to approach the exercise as a human drama or a Biblical melodrama the screenplay attempts to do both, but only occasionally succeeds.
Robert Taylor is long in the tooth as the romantic heartthrob but manages to make the most of his role. Deborah Kerr is quite extraordinary – balancing Lygia’s naiveté with a more profound spirituality. Regrettably, there is NO on screen chemistry between these two celebrated stars - rendering their romance moot and occasionally, even unattractive. Taylor is too boorish, too 'Roman' in his man handling of this delicate flower. Kerr shrinks too much and spends too many close ups casting telling glances in every direction but toward her lover.
The standout performance belongs to Peter Ustinov as Nero; a maniacal and bizarrely tragic historical figure never more skillfully displayed in the movies. Despite Nero’s insatiably monstrous behavior, Ustinov manages to create an underpinning of sympathy for the character. No small feat given that Nero was a demigod of mythic proportions. Leo Genn is the other memorable actor in the movie; devilishly congenial as the arbitrator of good taste. His Patroneus is most readily missed after he is forced to commit suicide or die at Nero's hand.
Ultimately, audiences do not flock to see such a colossal entertainment for its historical accuracies, but for the mind-boggling fun of witnessing gargantuan sets and spectacular costuming. Quo Vadis masterfully delivers on both fronts. Matte artist Peter Ellenshaw takes the film’s already lavish production values and expands them through exceptional use of paintings on glass, achieving a scope and depth that is daunting.
Warner Home Video’s 1080p Blu-Ray of Quo Vadis is the beneficiary of the studio’s patented ‘Ultra-Resolution’ restoration. The usually stellar results however, are not flawless.
The DVD (issued simultaneously as the Blu-ray) exhibited several glaring examples of misaligned Technicolor, producing a jumpy transition between cuts. Whole portions of the orgy at Nero’s palace were out of focus with the color appearing blurry and at times overly contrasted. These oversights all seem to have been corrected on the Blu-ray. But age related artifacts are still present. Nicks, chips and scratches all make their presence known. On the standard DVD, these imperfections are less obvious than on the Blu-Ray.
The standard DVD is spread across two discs. The Blu-Ray compresses the entire 3 hr. plus feature on one disc. Image quality is more refined on the Blu-ray to be sure. Without a doubt, the image is sharper and tighter on Blu-ray. The DTS audio exhibits all the shortcomings of an original mono track remixed to pseudo-stereo using original sound stems. That said, this is an impressive repurposing with interesting spread across all five channels. It won't win any awards for fidelity, but it provides for a unique listening experience never before heard on home video.
Both the Blu-Ray and the DVD come with a comprehensive documentary on the making of the film. There's also a very comprehensive audio commentary that is worth your time and consideration and the original theatrical trailer. Bottom line: Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
4
VIDEO/AUDIO
Blu-Ray 4
DVD 3.5
EXTRAS
2
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