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Ben Hur- "After his boyhood friend Messala's (Stephen Boyd) fanatic loyalty to Rome makes him a powerful enemy, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is found guilty of an attempted murder he did not commit. His family is banished and he is enslaved on a warship. Through his ferocity in a raging sea battle, he is able to escape and become a horse trainer. To exact his revenge, Ben-Hur decides to compete against Messala in the Roman chariot races. They race, locked in a battle to the death. Barely surviving, Ben-Hur forsakes the sword for Christ and finally finds redemption.." (Amazon.com. review) | ||||||
| Gladiator -Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge. (imdb.com description) |  |
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I, Claudius - "The mini-series follows the history of the Roman Empire, from approximately the death of Marcellus (24/23 BC) to Claudius' own death in 54 AD. As Claudius narrates his life, we witness Augustus' attempts to find an heir, often foiled by his wife Livia who wants her son Tiberius to become emperor. We also see the conspiracy of Sejanus, the infamous reign of Caligula, and Claudius' own troubled period of rule." (imdb.com) | ||||||
| Spartacus - "The rebellious Thracian Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes. Meanwhile, in Rome, the slave revolt has become a deciding factor in the power struggle between two senators: the republican Gracchus and the militarist Crassus, each of whom sees the fortunes of the rebellion as the key to his own rise to power or humiliating defeat. As the two statesmen attempt to aid, hinder and manipulate the rebels for their own benefit, Spartacus and his followers press on toward freedom." (imdb.com) |  |
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The Agony and the Ecstasy - "1965 portrait of the relationship between Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) and Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison), who commissioned the artist to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Based on a novel by Irving Stone." (Amazon.com.) | ||||||
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Under the Tuscan Sun- "After a brutal divorce, Frances (Diane Lane) is persuaded by her friend Patti (Sandra Oh) to take a tour of Italy-where, on a whim that she hopes will rescue her from her desperate unhappiness, she buys a rundown villa and sets out to renovate it. Along the way, she gets advice from a former Fellini actress, meets a scrumptious Italian lover, and helps support Patti after her own relationship derails." (Amazon.com.) | |||||
| Roman Holiday - Audrey Hepburn's first starring role in this film where she plays a European princess. She slips away from her bodyguards and has endless fun in Rome, aided by a news reporter (Gregory Peck). Great scenery and a fun film. |  |
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Room with a View- "adapted from the novel by E.M. Forster, it's a comedy of the heart, a passionate romance and a study of repression within the British class system of manners and mores. Young Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) is prevented from accepting the loving advances of a free-spirited suitor (Julian Sands), who fears that she will follow through with her engagement to a priggish intellectual (Daniel Day-Lewis) whose capacity for passion is virtually nonexistent. During and after a trip to Italy with her protective companion (Maggie Smith), Lucy gradually gets in touch with her true emotions. (Amazon.com. | |||||
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| Summertime -" An American spinster's dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsome-but married-Italian man while vacationing in Venice." Starring Katherine Hepburn. (Amazon.com.) | ||||||
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Death in Venice - "Abroad on a rest holiday, composer Gustav Aschenbach (Dick Bogarde) is to all the world reserved and civilized. But when he glimpses someone who inspires him to give way to a secret passion, it foreshadows his doom." Based on the Thomas Mann novel. (Amazon.com.) | |||||
Trip group leaders
Mrs. Ashbridge
Mrs. Esposito
Mr. Hand
Ms. Thornber
Mr. Wekar
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