This film does not have a clear central thesis; rather it surveys a huge sweep of Roman history (potentially from the 1st to the 6th century AD, though it is hazy about where its story begins), focusing on two separate topics: the triumph of Christianity and the rise of Constantinople.
The film begins with shots of (unspecified) Roman catacombs and the Colosseum. During the long opening scene the camera looks up into the Colosseum from below the floor of the arena and the sound-track recreates the panic which might have been felt by a luckless Christian being forced into the arena as the lions roar and the crowd applaud. The narrator declares that Rome was a dark and dangerous place for minority groups, and so begins a one-sided and exaggerated account of the Roman persecution of Christians. Until Diocletian is mentioned some ten minutes into the film, the viewer is given no names or dates of emperors who carried out this persecution (although some of the tortures mentioned come from Tacitus's account of Nero's punishment of the Christians in AD 64); rather, they are left with the impression that they were persecuted equally by successive emperors. The reasons given for this persecution are oversimplified, under-explained and rely too much on stereotypes (e.g. 'the pleasure-loving but practical Romans'). We are reassured in the end, however, that in spite of the 'appalling attempts to stifle it', Christianity survived, attracted new converts and eventually spread throughout the Roman Empire (cut to shots of York Minster).
We are next introduced to the emperor Constantine, who paves the way to the second half of the film. Once again, the narrative presents a very simplified account (virtually stripped bare of fact) of Constantine's conversion to Christianity and his establishment of it as Rome's official religion. We are told he was clear-sighted, not only for his faith but also because he understood that the empire was disintegrating and moved its capital to modern-day Istanbul. There follows a curious and not terribly illuminating interlude, where the fortunes of the western half of the empire are sketched in cartoon reconstructions, with mock journalistic headlines coursing across them. We then move to Ravenna and the 5th century AD to look briefly at the emperor Theodoric (and various buildings and mosaics in Ravenna) before returning to Constantinople. The film's discussion of the design and construction of Hagia Sofia is by far its most successful section; it conveys a good sense of the staggering beauty of the building and sums up nicely the symbolic message which it sent out. Discussion of Hagia Sofia also allows the narrator to introduce the film's final and favourite emperor, Justinian. Various of Justinian's qualities are mentioned, his 'tarty' wife is thrown in to add some spice, but the film climaxes with what it sees as his greatest achievement: his decision to re-conquer the western half of the Roman Empire, represented as the triumph of civilisation over barbarians whereby Justinian 'regained the rightful legacy of the heirs of Rome - mastery of the world'.
In sum, the content and structure of the film are more determined by the story the film-makers want to tell than by concerns for accuracy or balance. That does not make it unuseful, however; as suggested above, it offers insights into problems students may face in the reading and writing of historical accounts.
