Ancient / Classical History

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Movies Nominated for an Oscar
With Themes of Classics or Ancient History

Dateline: 03/25/01

1929
1935
1936
1952
1954
1957
1960
1961
1964
1971
1982
2001
Over the years since 1929, movies with themes related to Classics and Ancient History have been nominated for Oscars® for Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, Best Costume, Best Supporting Actor, and many other awards, but the number of movies that have actually won these coveted honors is small. The top winners have been Ben Hur, Spartacus, and Cleopatra. Whether twelve-times nominated Gladiator surpasses them remains to be seen.

Here is a table showing the movies with ancient/classical history themes that have won or been nominated of an Oscar®. In the column on the right, the name, director, and cast of the movie is listed. Links provide more information and access to Amazon.com, in case you wish to order the movie.

Year - Categories
Movie
Director - Cast

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1929) 1929
Best Writing, Title Writing

   Other Nominees:
    Private Life of Helen of Troy, The (1927) - Gerald C. Duffy

(http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0018289) Private Life of Helen of Troy, The (1927)

Directed by:
Alexander Korda

Alice Adair ~ Aphrodite
Emilio Borgato ~ Sarpedon
Mario Carillo ~ Ajax
María Corda ~ Helen
Ricardo Cortez ~ Paris
William 'Wild Bill' Elliott ~ Telemachus
Helen Fairweather ~ Athena
George Fawcett ~ Eteoneus
George Kotsonaros ~ Hector
Tom O'Brien ~ Ulysses
Charles Puffy ~ Malapokitoratoreadetos
Constantine Romanoff ~ Aeneas
Bert Sprotte ~ Achilles
Lewis Stone ~ Menelaus
Virginia Thomas ~ Hera
Alice White ~ Adraste

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1935) 1935

Best Picture

   Other Nominees:
   Cleopatra (1934) - Paramount

Best Assistant Director

   Other Nominees:
    Cleopatra (1934) - Cullen Tate

Best Cinematography
  Winner:
    Cleopatra (1934) - Victor Milner

Best Sound, Recording

   Other Nominees:
   Cleopatra (1934) - Franklin Hansen;
Paramount Studio Sound Department

Best Film Editing

   Other Nominees:
    Cleopatra (1934) - Anne Bauchens

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0024991) Cleopatra (1934)
Directed by
Cecil B. DeMille

Claudette Colbert ~ Cleopatra
Warren William ~ Julius Caesar
Henry Wilcoxon ~ Marc Antony
Joseph Schildkraut ~ King Herod
Ian Keith ~ Octavian
Gertrude Michael ~ Calpurnia
C. Aubrey Smith ~ Enobarbus
Irving Pichel ~ Apollodorus
Arthur Hohl ~ Brutus
Edwin Maxwell ~ Casca
Ian Maclaren ~ Cassius
Eleanor Phelps ~ Charmion
Leonard Mudie ~ Pothinos
Grace Durkin ~ Iras
Ferdinand Gottschalk ~ Glabrio

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1936) 1936

Best Picture

   Other Nominees:
   Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1935) - Warner Bros.

Best Assistant Director

   Other Nominees:
   Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1935) - Sherry Shourds

Best Cinematography
  Winner:
    Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1935) - Hal Mohr

Best Film Editing
  Winner:
    Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1935) - Ralph Dawson

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0026714) Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1935)
Directed by
William Dieterle
Max Reinhardt

James Cagney ~ Bottom
Joe E. Brown ~ Flute
Dick Powell ~ Lysander
Mickey Rooney ~ Puck
Victor Jory ~ Oberon
Ian Hunter ~ Theseus
Verree Teasdale ~ Hippolyta
Hobart Cavanaugh ~ Philostrate
Ross Alexander ~ Demetrius
Olivia de Havilland ~ Hermia
Jean Muir ~ Helena
Grant Mitchell ~ Egeus
Frank McHugh ~ Quince
Dewey Robinson ~ Snug
Hugh Herbert ~ Snout

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1952) 1952

Best Picture

   Other Nominees:
   Quo Vadis? (1951) - Sam Zimbalist

Best Supporting Actor

   Other Nominees:
   Quo Vadis? (1951) - Leo Genn
Quo Vadis? (1951) - Peter Ustinov

Best Writing, Story and Screenplay

   Other Nominees:
   David and Bathsheba (1951) - Philip Dunne

Best Writing, Story and Screenplay

   Other Nominees:
   David and Bathsheba (1951) - Philip Dunne

Best Cinematography

   Other Nominees:
    David and Bathsheba (1951) - Leon Shamroy
    Quo Vadis? (1951) - Robert Surtees; William V. Skall

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color

   Other Nominees:
    David and Bathsheba (1951) - Lyle R. Wheeler; George W. Davis;
Thomas Little; Paul S. Fox
    Quo Vadis? (1951) - William A. Horning;
Cedric Gibbons; Edward C. Carfagno; Hugh Hunt

Best Costume Design, Color

   Other Nominees:
    David and Bathsheba (1951) - Charles Le Maire; Edward Stevenson
    Quo Vadis? (1951) - Herschel McCoy

Best Film Editing

   Other Nominees:
   Quo Vadis? (1951) - Ralph E. Winters

Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

   Other Nominees:
    David and Bathsheba (1951) - Alfred Newman
    Quo Vadis? (1951) - Miklós Rózsa

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0043455) David and Bathsheba (1951)
Directed by
Henry King


Gregory Peck ~ King David
Susan Hayward ~ Bathsheba
James Robertson Justice ~ Abishai
rest of cast listed alphabetically
Gilbert Barnett ~ Absolom
John Burton ~ Priest
Francis X. Bushman ~ King Saul
Cyril Delevanti
Lumsden Hare ~ Old Shepherd
Holmes Herbert ~ Jesse
Dennis Hoey ~ Joab
Teddy Infuhr ~ Jonathan
Raymond Massey ~ The Prophet Nathan
Jayne Meadows ~ Michal
Kieron Moore ~ Uriah
Paula Morgan ~ Adultress
Paul Newlan ~ Samuel
Leo B. Pessin ~ David as a boy
Allan Stone ~ Ammon
John Sutton ~ Ira
Walter Talun ~ Goliath
Gwen Verdon ~ Specialty dancer
George Zucco ~ Egyptian Ambassador

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0043949) Quo Vadis? Directed by
Mervyn LeRoy

Robert Taylor ~ Marcus Vinicius
Deborah Kerr ~ Lygia
Leo Genn ~ Petronius
Peter Ustinov ~ Nero
Patricia Laffan ~ Poppaea
Finlay Currie ~ Peter
Abraham Sofaer ~ Paul
Marina Berti ~ Eunice
Buddy Baer ~ Ursus
Felix Aylmer ~ Plautius
Nora Swinburne ~ Pomponia
Ralph Truman ~ Tigellinus
Norman Wooland ~ Nerva
Peter Miles ~ Nazarius
Geoffrey Dunn ~ Terpnos

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1954) 1954

Best Picture

   Other Nominees:
    Julius Caesar (1953) - John Houseman
    Robe, The (1953) - Frank Ross

Best Actor

   Other Nominees:
    Julius Caesar (1953) - Marlon Brando
    Robe, The (1953) - Richard Burton

Best Cinematography

   Other Nominees:
   Julius Caesar (1953) - Joseph Ruttenberg

Best Cinematography

   Other Nominees:
   Robe, The (1953) - Leon Shamroy

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
  Winner:
    Robe, The (1953) - Lyle R. Wheeler;
George W. Davis;
Walter M. Scott; Paul S. Fox

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White
  Winner:
    Julius Caesar (1953) - Cedric Gibbons;
Edward C. Carfagno; Edwin B. Willis; Hugh Hunt

Best Costume Design, Color
  Winner:
    Robe, The (1953) - Charles Le Maire;
Emile Santiago

Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

   Other Nominees:
   Julius Caesar (1953) - Miklós Rózsa

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0045943) Julius Caesar (1953)
Directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Marlon Brando ~ Marc Antony
James Mason ~ Brutus
John Gielgud ~ Cassius
Louis Calhern ~ Julius Caesar
Edmond O'Brien ~ Casca
Greer Garson ~ Calpurnia
Deborah Kerr ~ Portia
George Macready ~ Marullus
Michael Pate ~ Flavius
Richard Hale (II) ~ Soothsayer
Alan Napier ~ Cicero
John Hoyt ~ Decius Brutus
Tom Powers ~ Metellus Cimber
William Cottrell (II) ~ Cinna
Jack Raine ~ Trebonius

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0046247) Robe, The (1953)
Directed by
Henry Koster

Richard Burton ~ Marcellus Gallio
Jean Simmons ~ Diana
Victor Mature ~ Demetrius
Michael Rennie ~ Peter
Jay Robinson ~ Caligula
Dean Jagger ~ Justus
Torin Thatcher ~ Senator Gallio
Richard Boone ~ Pontius Pilate
Betta St. John ~ Miriam
Jeff Morrow ~ Paulus
Ernest Thesiger ~ Emperor Tiberius
Dawn Addams ~ Junia
Leon Askin ~ Abidor
Michael Ansara ~ Judas
Nicolas Koster ~ Jonathan

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1957) 1957

Best Picture

   Other Nominees:
   Ten Commandments, The (1956) - Cecil B. DeMille

Best Cinematography

   Other Nominees:
   Ten Commandments, The (1956) - Loyal Griggs

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color

   Other Nominees:
   Ten Commandments, The (1956) - Hal Pereira;
Walter H. Tyler;
Albert Nozaki;
Sam Comer;
Ray Moyer

Best Costume Design, Color

   Other Nominees:
   Ten Commandments, The (1956) - Edith Head;
Ralph Jester;
John Jensen

Best Sound, Recording

   Other Nominees:
   Ten Commandments, The (1956) - Loren L. Ryder (Paramount SSD)

Best Film Editing

   Other Nominees:
   Ten Commandments, The (1956) - Anne Bauchens

Best Effects, Special Effects
  Winner:
    Ten Commandments, The (1956) - John P. Fulton

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0049833) Ten Commandments, The (1956)
Directed by
Cecil B. DeMille


Charlton Heston ~ Moses
Yul Brynner ~ Pharaoh Rameses
Anne Baxter ~ Nefretiri
Edward G. Robinson ~ Dathan
Yvonne De Carlo ~ Sephora
Debra Paget ~ Lilia
John Derek ~ Joshua
Cedric Hardwicke ~ Sethi
Nina Foch ~ Bithiah
Martha Scott ~ Yochabel
Judith Anderson ~ Memnet
Vincent Price ~ Baka
John Carradine ~ Aaron
Olive Deering ~ Miriam
Douglass Dumbrille ~ Jannes

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1960) 1960

Best Picture
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - Sam Zimbalist

Best Actor
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - Charlton Heston

Best Supporting Actor
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - Hugh Griffith

Best Director
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - William Wyler

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

   Other Nominees:
   Ben-Hur (1959) - Karl Tunberg

Best Cinematography
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - Robert Surtees

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - William A. Horning;
Edward C. Carfagno; Hugh Hunt

Best Costume Design, Color
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - Elizabeth Haffenden
Best Sound
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - Franklin Milton
(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer SSD)

Best Film Editing
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - Ralph E. Winters;
John D. Dunning
Best Effects, Special Effects
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - A. Arnold Gillespie (visual);
Robert MacDonald (III) (visual);
Milo B. Lory (audible)

Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
  Winner:
    Ben-Hur (1959) - Miklós Rózsa

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0052618) Ben-Hur (1959)
Directed by
William Wyler

Charlton Heston ~ Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins ~ Quintus Arrius
Haya Harareet ~ Esther
Stephen Boyd ~ Messala
Hugh Griffith ~ Sheik Ilderim
Martha Scott ~ Miriam
Cathy O'Donnell ~ Tirzah
Sam Jaffe ~ Simonides
Finlay Currie ~ Balthasar
Frank Thring ~ Pontius Pilate
Terence Longdon ~ Drusus
George Relph ~ Tiberius
André Morell ~ Sextus

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1961) 1961

Best Supporting Actor
  Winner:
    Spartacus (1960) - Peter Ustinov

Best Cinematography

  Winner:
    Spartacus (1960) - Russell Metty

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
  Winner:
    Spartacus (1960) - Alexander Golitzen;
Eric Orbom ;
Russell A. Gausman; Julia Heron

Best Costume Design, Color
  Winner:
    Spartacus (1960) - Valles;
Bill Thomas

Best Film Editing

   Other Nominees:
    Spartacus (1960) - Robert Lawrence

Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

   Other Nominees:
   Spartacus (1960) - Alex North

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0054331) Spartacus (1960)
Directed by
Stanley Kubrick

Kirk Douglas ~ Spartacus
Laurence Olivier ~ Marcus Licinius Crassus
Jean Simmons ~ Varinia
Charles Laughton ~ Sempronius Gracchus
Peter Ustinov ~ Lentulus Batiatus
John Gavin ~ Caius Julius Caesar
Nina Foch ~ Helena Glabrus
John Ireland ~ Crixus
Herbert Lom ~ Tigranes Levantus
John Dall ~ Marcus Publius Glabrus
Charles McGraw ~ Marcellus
Joanna Barnes ~ Claudia Marius
Harold Stone ~ David
Woody Strode ~ Draba
Peter Brocco ~ Ramon

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1964) 1964

Best Picture

   Other Nominees:
   Cleopatra (1963) - Walter Wanger

Best Actor

   Other Nominees:
   Cleopatra (1963) - Rex Harrison

Best Cinematography
  Winner:
    Cleopatra (1963) - Leon Shamroy

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
  Winner:
    Cleopatra (1963) - John DeCuir ;
Jack Martin Smith;
Hilyard M. Brown;
Herman A. Blumenthal;
Elven Webb;
Maurice Pelling;
Boris Juraga;
Walter M. Scott;
Paul S. Fox;
Ray Moyer

Best Costume Design, Color
  Winner:
    Cleopatra (1963) - Irene Sharaff;
Vittorio Nino Novarese;
Renié
Best Sound

   Other Nominees:
   Cleopatra (1963) - James Corcoran (20th Century-Fox SSD);
Fred Hynes (Todd-AO SSD)

Best Film Editing

   Other Nominees:
   Cleopatra (1963) - Dorothy Spencer
Best Effects, Special Visual Effects
  Winner:
    Cleopatra (1963) - Emil Kosa Jr.
Best Music, Score - Substantially Original

   Other Nominees:
   Cleopatra (1963) - Alex North

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0056937) Cleopatra (1963)

Directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Elizabeth Taylor ~ Cleopatra
Richard Burton ~ Marc Antony
Rex Harrison ~ Julius Caesar
Pamela Brown ~ High Priestess
George Cole ~ Flavius
Hume Cronyn ~ Sosigenes
Cesare Danova ~ Apollodorus
Kenneth Haigh ~ Brutus
Andrew Keir ~ Agrippa
Martin Landau ~ Rufio
Roddy McDowall ~ Caesar Augustus (Octavian)
Robert Stephens ~ Germanicus
Francesca Annis ~ Eiras
Grégoire Aslan ~ Pothinos
Martin Benson ~ Ramos

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1971) 1971
Best Director

   Other Nominees:
   Satyricon (1969) - Federico Fellini

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0064940) Satyricon (1969)
Directed by
Federico Fellini

Martin Potter ~ Encolpio
Hiram Keller ~ Ascilto
Max Born ~ Gitone
Salvo Randone ~ Eumolpo
Mario Romagnoli ~ Trimalcione
Magali Noël ~ Fortunata
Capucine ~ Trifena
Alain Cuny ~ Lica
Fanfulla ~ Vernacchio
Danica La Loggia ~ Scintilla
Giuseppe Sanvitale ~ Abinna
Genius ~ Liberto arricchito
Lucia Bosè ~ La matrona
Joseph Wheeler ~ Il suicida
Hylette Adolphe ~ La schiavetta

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1982) 1982

Best Picture

   Other Nominees:
   Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Frank Marshall

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0082971) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Directed by
Steven Spielberg

Harrison Ford ~ Dr. Henry 'Indiana' Jones, Jr.
Karen Allen ~ Marion Ravenwood
Paul Freeman ~ Rene Belloq
Ronald Lacey ~ Toht
John Rhys-Davies ~ Sallah
Alfred Molina ~ Sapito
Denholm Elliott ~ Marcus Brody
Wolf Kahler ~ Dietrich
Anthony Higgins ~ Gobler
Vic Tablian ~ Barranca/Monkey Man
Don Fellows ~ Colonel Musgrove
William Hootkins ~ Major Eaton
Bill Reimbold ~ Bureaucrat
Fred Sorenson ~ Jock
Patrick Durkin ~ Australian Climber

(http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/2001) 2001

Best Picture
  Winner:
    Gladiator (2000) - Douglas Wick;
David H. Franzoni;
Branko Lustig

Best Actor
in a Leading Role
  Winner:
    Gladiator (2000) - Russell Crowe

Best Actor
in a Supporting Role

   Other Nominees:
   Gladiator (2000) - Joaquin Phoenix

Best Director

   Other Nominees:
   Gladiator (2000) - Ridley Scott

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

   Other Nominees:
   Gladiator (2000) - David H. Franzoni (also story);
John Logan;
William Nicholson

Best Cinematography

   Other Nominees:
   Gladiator (2000) - John Mathieson

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

   Other Nominees:
   Gladiator (2000) - Arthur Max (art director);
Crispian Sallis (set director)

Best Costume Design
  Winner:
    Gladiator (2000) - Janty Yates

Best Sound
  Winner:
    Gladiator (2000) - Scott Millan;
Bob Beemer;
Ken Weston

Best Editing

   Other Nominees:
   Gladiator (2000) - Pietro Scalia

Best Effects, Visual Effects
  Winner:
    Gladiator (2000) - John Nelson ;
Neil Corbould;
Tim Burke;
Rob Harvey

Best Music, Original Score

   Other Nominees:
   Gladiator (2000) - Hans Zimmer

(http://us.imdb.com/Title?0172495) Gladiator (2000)

Directed by
Ridley Scott

Russell Crowe ~ Maximus Decimus Meridius
Joaquin Phoenix ~ Commodus
Connie Nielsen ~ Lucilla
Oliver Reed ~ Proximo
Richard Harris ~ Marcus Aurelius
Derek Jacobi ~ Gracchus
Djimon Hounsou ~ Juba
David Schofield ~ Falco
John Shrapnel ~ Gaius
Tomas Arana ~ Quintus
Ralph Moeller ~ Hagen
Spencer Treat Clark ~ Lucius Verus
David Hemmings ~ Cassius
Tommy Flanagan ~ Cicero
Sven-Ole Thorsen ~ Tigris of Gaul

Also see:
(http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa022500a.htm) Oscar in the Middle Ages Has Gladiator whetted your appetite for historical pictures? Check out some of these earlier Oscar-winners and nominees, set in or near medieval times.

(http://classicfilm.about.com/library/weekly/aa022501a.htm?terms=oscars) Salute to the Oscars - The 73rd Academy Awards
Classic Movies salutes the 73rd Academy Awards with selected links, a poll, a printable ballot, and more.


The URL for this feature is
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa032501a.htm
This feature is copyright © 2001-2003 N.S. Gill.

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