Imperial Rejections
Bedecked in flowing robes, his eyes gleaming with hatred and his voice shrill with rage bordering on insanity, Jay Robinson as the Emperor Caligula screams, "Go, both of you, into your kingdom!" Before his whole court, he is pronouncing sentence, execution, on tribune Marcellus Gallio, a Christian, and Gallio's love interest Diana.
This scene, from Henry Koster's 1953 epic The Robe, perhaps more than any other typifies the character of the Roman Emperor in a number of historical films which chose as their subject the Roman Empire. These characters are malicious, maniacal, and heartlessly cruel. This website will explore these figures with the intention of determining why they are who they are. It will attempt to answer the questions of what role do they play, both within the film and for the audience. What do their personalities, physical traits, wardrobe, and interpersonal relationships tell us about who they are and what we, as a 21st century movie going audience, expect to see.