Login
Login

Constantine and the Cross

{{Short description|1961 film}}

{{more citations needed|date=May 2019}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Constantine and the Cross

| image = Constantine and the Cross.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Home video cover

| native_name =

| director = Lionello De Felice

| writer =

| screenplay = {{plainlist|* Ennio De Concini

| story = Fulvio Palmieri{{sfn|Kinnard|Crnkovich|2017|p=41}}

| based_on =

| producer = {{plainlist|* Joseph E. Levine

| starring = {{plainlist|* Cornel Wilde

| narrator =

| cinematography = Massimo Dallamano{{sfn|Kinnard|Crnkovich|2017|p=41}}

| editing = {{plainlist|* Mario Serandrei

| music = Mario Nascimbene{{sfn|Kinnard|Crnkovich|2017|p=41}}

| production_companies = {{plainlist|* Jonia Film

  • Jadran Film
  • Beaver Attractions{{sfn|Kinnard|Crnkovich|2017|p=41}}}}

| distributor = Variety Distribution

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1961|1||Italy|}}

| runtime = 120 minutes

| country = {{plainlist|* Italy

  • Yugoslavia{{sfn|Kinnard|Crnkovich|2017|p=41}}}}

| language =

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Constantine and the Cross (Italian: Costantino il grande) is a 1961 historical drama film about the early career of the emperor Constantine, who first legalized and then adopted Christianity in the early 4th century. The fictionalised film only stretches as far into his life as the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312.

It was also known as Constantine the Great or Constantino il Grande - In Hoc Signo Vinces.CONSTANTINE THE GREAT "(Costantino Il Grande - In Hoc Signo Vinces)"

Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 29, Iss. 336, (Jan 1, 1962): 153.

Premise

Constantine wins a battle and is sent to Rome. On the way he and his friend Hadrian are attacked by bandits. Hadrian is nursed back to health by some Christians, including Livia, who falls in love with Hadrian. Constantine discovers the bandits were sent by Maxentius, Constantine's rival for power.

Constantine watches some Christians be eaten by the lions. He jumps into the arena to defend a surviving child, and asks for the other Christians to be set free.

Livia is arrested. Hadrian, who has fallen in love with her, arranges for her to escape from prison. Constantine is blamed, and branded a traitor by the Romans. Constantine leaves his bride to be, Princes Fausta, and learns from his dying father, the Emperor of Gaul, that his mother Helena is a Christian.

Maxentius persecutes Christians and attacks Constantine in Gaul. Constantinus defeats Maxientus and becomes Emperor of Rome alongside Fausta, while Helena blesses them both.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in August 1960, with locations in Yugoslavia and studio work in Rome.This Hose for Exhibition With 36 others

Bristow, Winifred. Picture Show; London (Aug 27, 1960): 3-4. While filming a scene in Rome Cornel Wilde was scratched by a lion.Wilde Scratched by Lion New York Times 1 Sep 1960: 30. Filming was completed by November.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety220-1960-11/page/n214/mode/1up?q=constantine|date=16 November 1960|page=77|title=Rome}}

Release

Constantine and the Cross was released in Italy in January 1961.{{sfn|Kinnard|Crnkovich|2017|p=41}} It was released in the United States in December 1962.{{sfn|Kinnard|Crnkovich|2017|p=41}}

Reception

The New York Times called it "one of those ponderous costumed tabloids that's trampled history to death and turned what's left of its fragments into boring banalities."The Screen: 'Constantine' Tramples History to Death The Cast

By BOSLEY CROWTHER Special to The New York Times 14 Mar 1963: 8.

The Monthly Film Bulletin said "the familiar ingredients of this tired spectacle - lions, fair haired Christian girls, torture chambers, battles, assassination attempts, intrigue - fail to arouse any noticeable excitement in the director or the cast."

The movie was one of Belinda Lee's more widely seen European films.{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|title=A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee|date=September 7, 2020|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/a-tale-of-two-blondes-diana-dors-and-belinda-lee/}}

According to Gary Smith, film historian " The film is memorable for its impressive battle scenes (reused in countless peplum films for years to come) and because of the striking presence of Belinda Lee as Constantine’s wife Fausta."{{cite book|title=Epic films : casts, credits, and commentary on over 350 historical spectacle movies|page=62|url=https://archive.org/details/epicfilmscastscr0000smit/page/62/mode/1up?q=%22joseph+and+his+brethren%22+%22belinda+lee%22|publisher=McFarland|last=Smith|first=Gary A.|year=2004 }}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

=Sources=

  • {{cite book

|last1=Kinnard

|first1=Roy

|last2=Crnkovich

|first2=Tony

|title=Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990

|publisher=McFarland

|isbn=978-1476662916

|year=2017

}}

External links

{{Wikiquote}}

  • {{Internet Archive film|id=PublicDomainJadranPicturesandJoniaPicturesConstantineandtheCross1962|name=Constantine and the Cross}}
  • {{IMDb title|id=0055867|title=Constantine and the Cross}}
  • {{tcmdb title|71455}}
  • [https://www.varietydistribution.it/en/catalogue/costantine-the-great/ Costantine and the Cross] at Variety Distribution
  • [COSTANTINO IL GRANDE - IN HOC SIGNO VINCES
  • [https://letterboxd.com/film/constantine-and-the-cross/ Constantine and the Cross] at Letterbox DVD

{{Authority control}}

Category:1961 films

Category:1960s biographical films

Category:Italian biographical films

Category:Films set in ancient Rome

Category:Films set in the Roman Empire

Category:Films set in the 4th century

Category:Religious epic films

Category:Biographical films about Roman emperors

Category:Films scored by Mario Nascimbene

Category:Sword-and-sandal films

Category:1960s Italian-language films

Category:English-language Italian films

Category:1960s Italian films

Category:Films directed by Lionello De Felice