The other day, I watched Constantine and the Cross (Costantino il Grande), a 1962 Italian screen version of the story of Constantine...Hmm...what to say about it? As you might guess from the era, it's similar in some ways to the overdubbed, dime-a-dozen sword & sandal films about Hercules etc., but it does stand out as somewhat better. The quality of the DVD was not particularly high, and there was the requisite "In Hoc Signo Vinces" moment--very much a traditionalist, pro-Constantine version of the story...No labarum that I saw, though.
Pro-Constantine: For example, the plot accepts as fact the idea that Maximian tried to kill Constantine but was forestalled by the substitution of someone else in Constantine's bed--after which Maximian killed himself--rather than some more nefarious / ruthless construction of the rising leader's actions...
Not exactly the historical Constantine overall...but not pure fantasy either. Some bending of history for dramatic purposes: Constantine's first contact with Christians apparently is when he asks one of the Christians on trial some questions...and it turns out that the Christian in question is really his mother! Eusebius, by contrast, reports that Constantine converted Helena to Christianity--but of course, Eusebius definitely has a dog in the fight...
From Philip Sawyer's online review of the movie--an excerpt:
As Italian epics go, this is diverting and occasionally thought-provoking. Some scenes are impressive, mainly because of the widescreen framing, but the direction by Lionello De Felice can only be described as serviceable. The sets are quite spectacular, and I would not be surprised if most of them were real historical locations rather than studio creations. The staging of the battle scenes is fairly ordinary and as a result not very exciting.
The script is relatively free of melodramatics as compared to similar American films of the time, and thankfully does not push the religious elements strongly.
And a conclusion:
A reasonably interesting epic from the early 1960s, this might be worth a rental if you are not deterred by poor quality prints.
great review.. where did you get the first version?
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great post! Constantine's first contact with Christians apparently is when he asks one of the Christians on trial some questions
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