Research Guides: IDS 101: Greece and Rome in the Movies: Finding Streaming Videos

Online and Streaming Videos

The Oracle of Delphi (1903)

A rich Egyptian goes to the temple and leaves a generous offering, then he closes the doors of the sacred place and goes away. By Georges Méliès.
L'ile de Calypso ou Le Géant Polyphème / Ulysses (1905)

Ulysses, stranded on the island of Calypso, fights the the most famous of the giant Cyclopes. By Georges Méliès.
Justinian's Human Torches 548 A.D. (1907)

Emperor Justinian is hosting a party, and, for the entertainment of his court, he has three victims of his choice tied to stakes, which are then set on fire. By Georges Méliès.
L'orgie Romaine ( The Roman Orgy ) (1911)

The dissolute Emperor Heliogabalus dresses as a woman, and looses lions among his guests. By Louis Feuillade.
The Fall of Troy (1911)

Italian silent short film directed by Giovanni Pastrone and Luigi Romano Borgnetto.
L'Odissea (1911)

Giuseppe de Liguoro 's adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey.
Quo Vadis (1912)

An Italian film directed by Enrico Guazzoni, based on the 1896 novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz.
Julius Caesar (1914)

English version of film directed by Enrico Guazzoni
Cabiria (1914)

Silent Italian epic which introduced the prolific Maciste character and was an inspiration to other great silent films like Intolerance and Metropolis.
Intolerance (1916)

Four separate stories are interwoven: the fall of Babylon, the death of Christ, the massacre of the Huguenots, and a contemporary drama
Cleopatra (1917)

Reconstructed trailer for lost film starring Theda Bara, who is on the mural on the Elsinore Theater in Salem, Oregon. Here's a fragment of this lost film.
The Three Ages (1923)

Starring Buster Keaton. At three different periods, Prehistory, Roman times and contemporary California, a man tries to win the heart of a woman.
Stage Fright (1923)

Our Gang must act in the upcoming school play set in ancient Rome, while garbed in an array of silly outfits.
It's a Greek Life (1936)

A cartoon based on Greek Mythology.
Roman Legion-Hare (1955)

After being ordered by Emperor Nero to find a victim to be tossed to the lions, Yosemite Sam tries to capture Bugs Bunny.

Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
A young Cleopatra meets a middle-aged Julius Caesar, who teaches her how to rule Egypt. Based on the play by George Bernard Shaw.
Sebastiane (1976)
Describes the last few days of the life of the Catholic martyr St. Sebastian, in particular his relationship with the Emperor Diocletian in 303 A.D. (In Latin, English subtitles)

Academic Video Online

A database that provides videos with curricular relevance: documentaries, interviews, performances, news programs and newsreels, and more.
Who Were the Greeks?, Episode 1

Video program about Ancient Greeks.
Who Were the Greeks?, Episode 2

Video program about Ancient Greeks.
Spartacus, in Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire

When Roman generals Pompey and Crassus lead their mighty legions of soldiers and mercenaries into the lands surrounding Italy, neither anticipates the turmoil caused by one bold mercenary.
Julius Caesar, in Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire

Julius Caesar attempts to annex Gaul and build his reputation while the empire churns with civil war.
Rome: Part One: From Village to Late Republic: 753 BC to 121 BC

Click on Clips to see sections:
Founding of Rome (5 min)
Etruscan Kings of Rome (4 min 30 sec)
Early Roman Republic (4 min 6 sec)
The Roman Military (5 min 38 sec)
Roman Civil Engineering (5 min 17 sec)
Roman Religion (4 min 29 sec)
Life in Ancient Rome (5 min 32 sec)
The First Punic War (2 min 25 sec)
The Second and Third Punic Wars (5 min 55 sec)
Rome: Part Two: From the Late Republic to the Fall of the Roman Empire: 121 BC to 476 AD

Click on Clips to see sections:
Julius Caesar (6 min 8 sec)
The Rise of Augustus (4 min 5 sec)
Ancient Roman Society (6 min 44 sec)
The Roman Colosseum (3min 57 sec)
Pompeii and Herculaneum (7 min 35 sec)
The Fall of Rome (3 min 48 sec)

Greek and Roman Drama

Antigone by Sophocles (1984)

BBC Studios
Antigone by Sophocles (1972)

Broadway Digital Archive
Antigone by Sophocles (2017)

Actors of Dionysus
Electra by Sophocles (1974)

BBC
Medea by Euripides (2013)
King Oedipus by Sophocles (1972)

BBC
Oedipus the King by Sophocles (2012)

East Productions
Oedipus the KIng by Sophocles (2004)

L.A. Theatre Works

Agamemnon, Part 1 (1983)

The play opens as the Watchman at King Agamemnon's palace sees the beacon that announces the fall of Troy. The chorus of Old Men tell the background to the story of the Trojan War. When Agamemnon returns home after a 10-year absence...
Agamemnon, Part 2 (1983)
Libation Bearers (1983)

The play opens as Orestes, Agamemnon's son, returns from exile. His sister Electra and the Chorus of Trojan Women come to offer libation at the tomb. ..., Orestes and Pylades enter Agamemnon's palace ... Threatened by the Furies, he flees to seek Apollo's help.
Furies (1983)

In this drama which concludes the Oresteia, the goddess Athena is called upon to decide whether Orestes is to be punished ... or whether his life should be spared, thus ending the cycle of bloody retribution.

Oedipus Rex (1957) by William Butler Yeats

The Shakespearean Festival Players, (Stratford, Canada) speaking through Greek masks, present the tragedy of Oedipus...
Medea (1982) by by Robinson Jeffers after Euripedes

Starring Zoe Caldwell, Medea; Judith Anderson, the nurse. Filmed at the Eisenhower Theatre, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Streaming BBC Videos of Shakespearean Plays about the Ancient World

After you click on one of the titles below, click on The BBC Shakespeare Plays bar to find the link to that play:

Antony and Cleopatra (1980)

The story of Antony, the once-heralded leader who becomes stupified with passion and degenerates into a fool, and the multi-faceted Cleopatra.

Julius Caesar (1978)

Shakespeare's dramatization of the successful conspiracy to assassinate the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar

Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1984)

The Prince of Tyre, who is pursued by the vengeance of King Antiochus because he discovered the monarch's incestuous relationship with his daughter.

Timon of Athens (1981)

Details the transformation of a noble Athenian from a reckless spendthrift to a mad misanthrope.

Titus Andronicus (1985)

Shakespeare's tale of Titus, who returns to Rome after a victory against the Goths, bringing as captives their queen Tamora and her sons, one of whom is sacrificed.

The Tragedy of Coriolanus (1984)

A proud Roman general who conquers the Volscians, leads them against Rome in revenge for his banishment..

Troilus and Cressida (1981)

Set during the later years of the Trojan War, this play is about two lovers who mock love.

IDS 101: Greece and Rome in the Movies

Classical Civilization and Cinema-Related Websites

A Fascist Film set in the Classical World

Streaming Videos of Shakespearean Plays about the Ancient World from Digital Theatre Plus

Online and Streaming Videos

Greek and Roman Drama

Streaming BBC Videos of Shakespearean Plays about the Ancient World

Willamette University Libraries