Commodus
In 1964's The Fall of the Roman Empire. Marcus Aurelius is played by Alec Guinness, and Commodus by Christopher Plummer in this long (three hour) movie. This movie is now seen as a classic; its main deviation from history is the idea that Marcus was planning to disinherit Commodus by adopting a step-son, Livius (Stephen Boyd). Dramatically, this works well, though Boyd was criticised as being rather 'wooden'.The 'Battle of the Four Armies' involved 8,000 soldiers including 1,200 cavalry and was shot on an undulating plain at Manzanares el Real which allowed large numbers of soldiers to be visible over a long distance. The film's reconstruction of the Roman Forum at Las Matas near Madrid, at 400 x 230 meters (1312 x 754 feet) holds the record for the largest outdoor movie set. The various ancient Rome settings covered 55 acres (220,000 m2).