MRQE Ranks: Cinema's Best Swords & Sandals Movies

1

Ben-Hur (1959)

Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Martha Scott

Director: William Wyler

Synopsis: This 1959 version of Lew Wallace's best-selling novel, which had already seen screen versions in 1907 and 1926, went on to win 11 Academy Awards. A... [MORE]

3

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman, Ben Davidson

Director: John Milius

Synopsis: John Milius's jingoistic direction and pulpy screenplay fit perfectly into this film version of the Robert E. Howard fantasy story of the sword and... [MORE]

4

Hercules (1997)

Director: John Musker, Ron Clements

Synopsis: Disney's animation team dipped into the rich well of ancient mythology for this musical comedy. The son of Greek gods Zeus (voice of Rip Torn) and ... [MORE]

5

Gladiator (2000)

Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris

Director: Ridley Scott

Writer: David Franzoni

Synopsis: A man robbed of his name and his dignity strives to win them back, and gain the freedom of his people, in this epic historical drama from director ... [MORE]

6

The Ten Commandments (1956)

Cast: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo

Director: Cecil B. DeMille

7

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Cast: Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith, Niall MacGinnis

Director: Don Chaffey

Writer: Beverley Cross, Jan Read

Synopsis: Greek mythology is done up brown by the special-effects expertise of Ray Harryhausen in Jason and the Argonauts. Jason (Todd Armstrong), rightful h... [MORE]

8

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Cast: Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Judi Bowker, Claire Bloom, Maggie Smith

Director: Desmond Davis

Synopsis: The eschewing of modern optical effects techniques in favor of the classic stop-motion animation work of special effects legend Ray Harryhausen was... [MORE]

9

300 (2006)

Cast: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro, Andrew Pleavin, Bonnie Mak

Director: Zack Snyder

Synopsis: Sin City author Frank Miller's sweeping take on the historic Battle of Thermopylae comes to the screen courtesy of Dawn of the Dead director Zack S... [MORE]

10

Cleopatra (1963)

Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Synopsis: In 1963, this colossal and opulent $60 million spectacular was epic in every sense of the word -- an epic investment, an epic in the annals of Holl... [MORE]

11

Quo Vadis (1951)

Cast: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov, Leo Genn, Patricia Laffan

Director: Mervyn LeRoy

12

Troy (2004)

Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, Brian Cox

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Synopsis: Homer's sprawling tale of love and war in ancient Greece comes to the screen in all its grandeur in this epic-scale adventure. In 1193 B.C., Paris,... [MORE]

13

The Robe (1953)

Cast: Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie, Jay Robinson

Director: Henry Koster

Writer: Lloyd C. Douglas

Synopsis: Historically important as the first CinemaScope feature film, 20th Century-Fox's The Robe is fine dramatic entertainment in its own right. Based on... [MORE]

14

Immortals (2011)

Cast: John Hurt, Mickey Rourke, Stephen Dorff, Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto

Director: Tarsem Singh

Synopsis: A brave young stonemason assembles a fierce band of warriors to prevent an evil king from acquiring the artifact that will permit him to rule the w... [MORE]

15

The Scorpion King (2002)

Cast: The Rock, Kelly Hu, Steven Brand, Michael Clarke Duncan, Grant Heslov

Director: Chuck Russell

Synopsis: The Rock has his first starring role in this prequel to The Mummy films, which was developed while The Mummy Returns was still in production. The f... [MORE]

16

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint

Director: Mike Newell

Synopsis: Ubisoft's popular video-game series of the same name gets adapted for the big screen in this sweeping fantasy adventure starring Jake Gyllenhaal an... [MORE]

17

The Last Legion (2007)

Cast: Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai, Peter Mullan, Kevin McKidd

Director: Doug Lefler

Synopsis: Co-adapted by Tom Butterworth and Jez Butterworth from Valerio Massimo Manfredi's best-selling historical adventure novel, Doug Lefler's period epi... [MORE]

18

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Cast: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Flemyng, Gemma Arterton

Director: Louis Leterrier

Synopsis: The 1981 mythological fantasy adventure Clash of the Titans is resurrected in this remake from Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier. Discovered... [MORE]

19

Conan the Destroyer (1984)

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Mako, Tracey Walter

Director: Richard Fleischer

Synopsis: Based on a character created by Robert E. Howard, this fast-paced, occasionally humorous sequel to Conan the Barbarian features the hero (Arnold Sc... [MORE]

20

Alexander (2004)

Cast: Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins

Director: Oliver Stone

Synopsis: The fourth film to chronicle the life of fourth-century B.C. ruler Alexander the Great, Oliver Stone's Alexander stars Colin Farrell as the titular... [MORE]

21

Pathfinder (2007)

Cast: Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood, Clancy Brown, Russell Means, Jay Tavare

Director: Marcus Nispel

Synopsis: The sole survivor of a Viking "dragon" vessel shipwrecked on the eastern shores of the New World 15 years ago provides the only hope for the a Nati... [MORE]

22

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Cast: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Saïd Taghmaoui

Director: Marcus Nispel

Synopsis: When a powerful force of supernatural evil threatens to destroy Hyboria, legendary Cimmerian warrior Conan (Jason Momoa) raises his sword against m... [MORE]

23

The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

Cast: Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer

Director: Anthony Mann

Synopsis: Though Fall of the Roman Empire is now infamous as the epic which destroyed the cinematic "empire" of producer Samuel Bronston, the film is actuall... [MORE]

24

Julius Caesar (1953)

Cast: Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern, Edmond O'Brien

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Synopsis: Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed this exquisite version of William Shakespeare's play. Louis Calhern is Julius Caesar, whose conquests have enabled hi... [MORE]

27

Red Sonja (1985)

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brigitte Nielsen, Sandahl Bergman, Paul Smith, Ernie Reyes Jr.

Director: Richard Fleischer

Synopsis: Brigitte Nielsen appears as warrior woman Sonja, who unites with a couple of other gladiator types (including Arnold Schwarzenegger) to overthrow t... [MORE]

28

The 300 Spartans (1962)

Cast: Richard Egan, Diane Baker, Ralph Richardson, Barry Coe, David Farrar

Director: Rudolph Mate

Synopsis: A colorful action film about the Battle Of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. in which the Spartans defend themselves for a Persian invasion against overwhelm... [MORE]

29

The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)

Cast: Preston Foster, Basil Rathbone, Alan Hale, Louis Calhern, John Wood

Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack

Synopsis: RKO Radio's spectacular production The Last Days of Pompeii utilizes the title but precious little else of the famous Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton hist... [MORE]

31

The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

Cast: Max von Sydow, Telly Savalas, Jose Ferrer, David McCallum, John Wayne

Director: George Stevens

Synopsis: Filmmaker George Stevens chose Monument Valley, Utah for his exterior sequences in The Greatest Story Ever Told, this ($20 million) adaptation of F... [MORE]