Being closer in length to the 1951 Hollywood spectacle (even if it has been some time since I last checked it out: interestingly enough, this was showing on Italian TV just as I was going through the remake!), it is the version of the Henryk Sienkiewicz novel (which was Polish to begin with!) to which this bears the most comparison – that said, it originated as a 274-minute mini-series! I had watched the earlier 1985 TV production (which was broadcast, unbeknownst to me, on Cable TV during Holy Week!) when it emerged, so do not remember it…while the 2 Silent adaptations were very much streamlined affairs. Anyway, having been previously impressed with 3 other Kawalerowicz efforts, namely MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (1961), the likewise sprawling PHARAOH (1966; though watched so far only in its shorter English-dubbed variant, I did recently acquire the full-length cut in its original language) and MADDALENA (1971), I was quite looking forward to catching this.Actually, despite my familiarity with the plot (also because I only came across the Silent versions during this time last year), the 161-minute running-time moved at a fair clip (only slightly dragging its feet during the last act) and gripping one's attention all the way through! Incidentally, I half-expected this to be eroticized and blood-drenched as per the route taken by the ROME (2005) TV series (by which I was so disillusioned that I did not even bother to catch the Second Season!): nudity and violence were employed throughout but this was done discreetly and, for the most part, efficiently (such as having Lygia tied naked to the bull fought and killed by Ursus, evoking Cecil B. De Mille's remarkably similar Roman Empire opus THE SIGN OF THE CROSS {1932}, and the realistically-charred corpses of the Christians recalling Oliver Reed's burning at the stake in Ken Russell's THE DEVILS {1971}).Truth be told, at first I was wary of the too-youthful heroes (Marcus Vinicius and the afore-mentioned Lygia), whereas Petronius was depicted as a bit supercilious, but eventually they grew on me (Lygia in particular bearing a classical beauty that is hard to ignore!). While Nero was fine (his come-uppance, though occurring a long way away from the Palace and does not come by his own {albeit assisted} hands, is well-handled nevertheless) and, perhaps thankfully, far removed from the buffoonish (if star-making and Oscar-nominated) characterization given by Peter Ustinov in the 1951 film, Poppea's was severely undernourished so that the makers did not even deign her of an exit (let alone hope to emulate Patricia Laffan's memorable one, death scene included, in the earlier Hollywood rendition)! As for the 'giant' Ursus, he was nowhere near the size of the formidable Buddy Baer (for this and the reasons mentioned above, the all-important bullfight is not as impressive here!) but the actor concerned still made the best of his significant part. Even so, the most compelling portrayal was that of the shifty Greek (Chilo Chilonides)…whom I do recall from at least one of the Silents but, frankly, not at all when it comes to the Hollywood epic (where he was played by the unfamiliar John Ruddock)! By the way, one thing that irks me in all previous versions of the tale, however, is that while Rome is shown being famously devastated by fire, its re-emergence never is: it simply goes from being there to being decimated to being there again! In this case, however, the titular words – ostensibly spoken by Saint Peter to a ghostly Christ when he meets Him going to Rome while he himself is fleeing – occurs here, effectively, at the very end in a modern-day Rome with the Vatican dome in the background…whereas in, say, the 1951 version, we had gotten a conventional mix of romantic trappings and unwarranted sentimentality at the fade-out!

In my personal opinion this movie is one of the best, if not the best, film's ever made. The story, acting, costumes, film set is great, a true masterpiece work of art, better yet, authentic and factual. Factual was the attack on Christians by the evil...I have voted 10/10 for this movie because not only did I enjoy it, it reminded me of Christian history, once you see it, you'll understand.If you like movies like the brilliant Braveheart movie, Apocalypot, Potop, Gwiazda, Ogniem i Mieczem you are going to love this one too.A true masterpiece that Hollywood will never produce, because fact the facts; Hollywood never produced anything worthwhile of our precious time, just pure filthy, stinky garbage.

I love this movie! The superb story comes from the writer whose books were once described as ready made movie scripts written one hundred years too early. Finally we have a movie that does justice to this breathtaking piece of literature. All the elements of a great story of Shakespearean proportion are here: love, revenge, murder, sacrifice, insanity, along with great actors and beautiful cinematography and on top of it a wonderful, universal message of love, a message we need to hear over and over, and what a great way to deliver it. This movie not only returns a great love story to movie screens but shows impulsive, greedy and egocentric behaviour in all its repulsiveness. It is a great clear lesson in morality, no ambivalence here, cowardly bad guy Nero falls and with him the corrupt and degenerated elites of the Roman Empire. All actors are great, somebody said "too theatrical", yes, this is what acting is about. All actors show depth of the characters they play especially Petronius - Boguslaw Linda, Nero - Michal Bajor and last but not least Chilo- Jerzy Trela. Ligia (Magdalena Mielcarz, journalism student and model) and Marcus Vinicius (Pawel Delag) are simply young and full of natural beauty, Ligia is absolutely stunning in her innocent and luminescent beauty. I love the last scene of the movie, a beautiful tribute to the tireless pilgrim and messenger of love on this planet John Paul II. Make sure you don't miss this movie.

Inevitably, this film begs comparison to the three other recent Polish historical "super-productions", Ogniem i Mieczem, Pan Tadeusz, and Przedwiosnie. Quo Vadis isn't made with quite the elegance and visual grace of Pan Tadeusz, nor is it quite as dynamic and classy as Przedwiosnie, although it is elegant, visually graceful, and dynamic. It shares similarities, unfortunately, with Ogniem i Mieczem as well: at times it reverts to Hollywood-style kitsch, such as with close-ups that take themselves too seriously, and tacky, forced, over-dramatic music. However, these elements are both less frequent and less pronounced than in Ogniem i Mieczem; and - if you allow yourself to ignore them - are overpowered by many positive elements.Boguslaw Linda is great as Petroniusz. This is, I think, one of his best roles for years, and he produces the grace and dignity of a Roman gentleman very well. Michal Bajor's characterisation of the naive, vain Nero, at once contemptible and likeable, was for me one of the nice surprises of the film.The scene where lions tear Christians apart in the circus is shocking and heart-wrenching, and looks almost as realistic as I could imagine is possible. The famous scene where Ursus battles the bull in the circus is, if not as spectacular as the lions, similarly effective.Not a masterpiece, but a very good film. 8/10