Last Days of Pompeii

UPC: 053939725124

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Suitable for Children]

Summary: RKO Radio's spectacular production The Last Days of Pompeii utilizes the title but precious little else of the famous Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton historical novel (at least the film admits as much in the opening credits). Preston S. Foster stars as Marcus, a happy-go-lucky Ancient Roman blacksmith who is plunged into the depths of despair when his wife and child are killed by a hit-and-run chariot. Undergoing a radical personality change, Marcus becomes obsessed with money and prestige, and to achieve these he becomes a mighty gladiator. While on a visit to Judea, Marcus takes orphaned boy Flavius (David Holt) under his wing and also spends some time with governor Pontius Pilate (Basil Rathbone), who is presently preoccupied with the execution of a subversive young rabbi named Jesus Christ. Witnessing Christ's march to Calvary, Marcus is moved by His plight, but does nothing to help the man and indeed dismisses the whole notion of Christianity as superstitious nonsense. Years later, an ageing Marcus takes up residence in a lavish villa in the resort town of Pompeii, while his grown-up foster son, Flavius (now played by John Wood), gets involved in the burgeoning Christian movement. Arrested by the authorities, Flavius and his fellow Christians are sentenced to death in the arena, much to the dismay of Marcus. Still, it takes the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii for Marcus to undergo his long-overdue religious awakening, and in the moments before he himself is engulfed by lava he arranges the escape of Flavius and the young man's sweetheart, Clodia (Dorothy Wilson). The climactic volcanic holocaust is a triumph of special effects, but that was to be expected from the production team of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, the same folks responsible for King Kong. Though Preston S. Foster delivers one of his finest performances in The Last Days of Pompeii, the film's acting honors go to Basil Rathbone as Pilate, who transforms from a swaggering young skeptic to a conscience-stricken old man. On its original release, the film lost 237,000 dollars, but in the long run made a profit via periodic reissues. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Historical Film

Features: cc

Last Days of Pompeii

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/22/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 96 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Last Days of Pompeii
0. Scene Selections
1. Credits [1:28]
2. Man of Peace [3:58]
3. A Silver Piece [2:11]
4. Desperate for Money [3:21]
5. Too Late [2:58]
6. All That Matters [3:17]
7. Another Son [3:40]
8. Purchasing a Tutor [2:46]
9. Too Careful [2:40]
10. Where the Money Is [4:19]
11. Wise Woman's Prophecy [3:31]
12. Meeting Pontius Pilate [5:59]
13. His Army [3:48]
14. The Healer [3:08]
15. Washed Hands [4:47]
16. Act of Rejection (1) [2:06]
17. Gift of Steel [3:35]
18. Runaway Slaves [5:03]
19. Old Friends [5:15]
20. Act of Rejection (2) [4:04]
21. Trapped [1:45]
22. On With the Games [4:18]
23. Order in the Slaves [3:31]
24. Arena of Death [2:15]
25. Vesuvius Erupts [3:18]
26. Hearing the Mercy Plea [3:34]
27. Father's Sacrifice [3:18]
28. Reunion [1:11]
29. Cast List [:50]

Craig Butler

The last moments of The Last Days of Pompeii are thrilling, but the road getting there is long and bumpy. Pompeii is one of those "historical" epics that plays fast and loose with history -- such as moving the destruction of the title city ahead by three or four decades. That wouldn't matter so much if the story surrounding the history were better, but Pompeii feels like a warmed-over Ben-Hur rehash. While the lead character of Marcus could be potentially interesting, saddled as he is with some unattractive traits (e.g., greed, vengeance, etc.), the screenwriters don't really delve deeply -- or with sufficient originality -- into the character. They do somewhat better with Pontius Pilate, helped no doubt by Basil Rathbone's sly performance, but the rest of the characters are mostly made of cardboard. There are one or two action sequences before the climax that also provide diversion, but for the most part Pompeii's screenplay just marks time with filler. When the climactic destruction arrives, Willis O'Brien's special effects make the viewer sit up and take notice. O'Brien's work is not as seamless as modern CGI, but it's still enormously effective. As Marcus, Preston S. Foster goes through the motions with all the right feelings but without any flair or charisma. Rathbone steals any scene he is in, and Louis Calhern has a few decent moments. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ward Bond  Actor 
Zeffie Tilbury  Actor 
Edwin Maxwell  Actor 
John Davidson  Actor 
Edward Van Sloan  Actor 
Frank Conroy  Actor 
Wryley Birch  Actor 
Gloria Shea  Actor 
Merian C. Cooper  Producer 
Boris Ingster  Screenwriter 
Ruth Rose  Screenwriter 
Ernest B. Schoedsack  Director 
Roy Webb  Composer (Music Score) 
Preston S. Foster  Actor 
Basil Rathbone  Actor 
David Holt  Actor 
Alan Hale  Actor 
John Wood  Actor 
Louis Calhern  Actor 
Dorothy Wilson  Actor 
William V. Mong  Actor 
Henry Kolker  Actor 

Country: USA