In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.

• Samuel Bronston Productions
• Paramount Pictures
• Sophia Loren
• Stephen Boyd
• Alec Guinness
• James Mason
• Christopher Plummer
• Anthony Quayle
• John Ireland
• Omar Sharif