The Last Days of Pompeii
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Nicholas Clay
Ernest Borgnine
Duncan Regehr
Siobhan Mckenna
Marilu Tolo
Joyce Blair
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
This seven-hour British-Italian adaptation of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1834 epic, set against the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. and previously filmed in 1935, and in 1960 was a vehicle for muscleman Steve Reeves, was trashed by the critics as the campiest of sword and sandal sagas to emerge in years. This despite its reported $19-million price tag, the nobility of its cast that includes Laurence Olivier, Siobhan McKenna and Anthony Quayle, and its rather unspectacular special effects. The central figures are Nicholas Clay as Glaucus, the noble Athenian; Olivia Hussey as the high-born Ione, his love, who is seduced by the Egyptian, Arbaces (Franco Nero), a religious fanatic; Duncan Regehr as Lydon, the champion gladiator; and Linda Purl as the blind slave Nydia, who is torn between Glaucus and Lydon.
Carmen Culver, who wrote the teleplay to "The Thorn Birds", did this adaptation of Lytton's novel, and Jack Cardiff, who photographed such screen classics as "The Red Shoes" and "War and Peace," as well as TV's "Ivanhoe," "Masada" and "The Far Pavillions," was the cinematographer. This miniseries also had the dubious distinction of being scheduled, in a rare network programming ploy, directly opposite another one, "V -- The Final Battle".
Cast
Nicholas Clay
Ernest Borgnine
Duncan Regehr
Siobhan Mckenna
Marilu Tolo
Joyce Blair
Francesca Romana Coluzzi
Gerry Sundquist
George Claydon
Anthony Quayle
Barry Stokes
Malcolm Jamieson
Olivia Hussey
Brian Coucher
Tony Anholt
Brian Blessed
Lesley-anne Down
Brian Coburn
Peter Cellier
Catriona Maccoll
Benedict Taylor
Franco Nero
Linda Purl
Laurence Olivier
Ned Beatty
David Robb
Howard Lang
Michael Quill
Stephen Greif
Crew
Edward Bulwer-lytton
Jack Cardiff
Fred Carter
Roy Charman
Peter Connolly
Carmen Culver
Peter Diamond
Marcus Dods
Michael Ellis
David Gerber
William Hill
Peter Hutchinson
Richard Irving
Trevor Jones
Eddie Knight
Richard Marden
Anthony Mendelson
John Roberts
Wally Schneiderman
Michael Stringer
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Aired in United States May 6, 1984
Aired in United States May 7, 1984
Aired in United States May 8, 1984
3
