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Quo Vadis?

Play trailer Poster for Quo Vadis? 1951 2h 51m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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84% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Returning from a military campaign abroad, General Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor) discovers that a new religion has taken hold in Rome: Christianity. When Vinicius encounters Lygia (Deborah Kerr), a follower of the strange religion, he quickly becomes smitten and tries to win her affections. Lygia is reluctant due to their differing beliefs. Complicating matters is the crazed Emperor Nero (Peter Ustinov), who blames the Christians for his own burning of Rome, beginning a wave of persecution.
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Quo Vadis?

Critics Reviews

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Bob Thomas Associated Press 07/30/2019
Quo Vadls is the most spectacular film since the days of Ben Hur and Intolerance. But as an epic it does not have the corn of De Mille -- nor the excitement. Go to Full Review
Bosley Crowther New York Times 03/23/2011
2.5/5
It was made, we suspect, for those who like grandeur and noise -- and no punctuation. It will probably be a vast success. Go to Full Review
Time Out 03/23/2011
It does last virtually three hours, and along the way does have stretches of tedium, but LeRoy invests most of it with pace, true spectacle, and not a little imagination. Go to Full Review
Yasser Medina Cinefilia 03/30/2024
7/10
A biblical epic that elevates its melodrama with solid performances and bombastic sets that add value to the uchronic spectacle about the corruption of the Roman empire. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
André Bazin L'Obs (France) 12/07/2021
Conscientious work has been done with the means to do it, but one would look in vain here for the grain of amused madness one would find in a similar film by Cecil B. DeMille. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jonathan I @Isajo Jan 3 Masterful performance from Ustinov as Nero! Like alot of epic movies from this era this movie had scale, beautiful colours and the amount of work that had to be made for this is insane. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug Dec 23 The negative reviewers are right about one thing: the dialogue is too verbose and weighs the movie down. However, the story is good, some of the scenes are truly spectacular, and Peter Ustinov is terrific. I just wish they would have chosen a better lead actor than Robert Taylor. See more Patricia W Apr 20 Awesome on every level. See more Anthony J @jenkinsdraws 02/22/2024 Dated cornball stuff with some hoards-of-extras spectacle thrown in. Robert Taylor plays a Roman general like a wooden American. A long-winded waste of time. except for Ustinov's Nero, who is perfectly played just short for funny. See more Alec B @Alec97 01/10/2024 Peter Ustinov is a great Nero, but like a lot of these epics it is mostly dull and overly melodramatic. See more Alan R 11/18/2023 A watchable movie typical for the blockbuster sword 'n' sandal movies made at the time (1951). I enjoyed especially the sets and costumes and the over-the-top scenes. If made today, Q. V. would be very different: more computer technology and digital scenery. Perhaps lower-key and less cheesy , syrupy emotional scenes. But who knows? One incorrect depiction was the Rome model shown to Nero (excellent performance by Peter Ustinov): the Colosseum and the Pantheon would be built after the reign of that monster "Adolf" Nero-tler. The Colosseum in the late 70s CE, and the Pantheon in its present form during the reign of Hadrian in the 2nd century CE. One more sobering thought: In the 200-300 years following Emperor Constantine's "legalization" of Christianity, more Christians were killed by each other due to internal theological disputes than were slaughtered during the first three centuries of their existence. See more Read all reviews
Quo Vadis?

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Movie Info

Synopsis Returning from a military campaign abroad, General Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor) discovers that a new religion has taken hold in Rome: Christianity. When Vinicius encounters Lygia (Deborah Kerr), a follower of the strange religion, he quickly becomes smitten and tries to win her affections. Lygia is reluctant due to their differing beliefs. Complicating matters is the crazed Emperor Nero (Peter Ustinov), who blames the Christians for his own burning of Rome, beginning a wave of persecution.
Director
Mervyn LeRoy
Producer
Sam Zimbalist
Screenwriter
S.N. Behrman, Sonya Levien, John Lee Mahin, Henryk Sienkiewicz
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 23, 1951, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 11, 2015
Runtime
2h 51m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Academy (1.33:1)
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