A.D. (1985)

This 8 hour film traces the rise of Christianity in Jerusalem and Rome while concurrently examining the corruption of Rome through four of its emperors: the paranoid Tiberius (James Mason), the mad Caligula (John McEnery), the timid Claudius (Richard Kiley) and the devious Nero (Anthony Andrews). Based on the novel KINGDOM OF THE WICKED by Anthony Burgess (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) who co-wrote the screenplay and directed by Stuart Cooper. As long as the film concentrates on the machinations of Roman politics, it remains an engrossing tale but the Christian sequences are insufferable especially those involving Peter (Denis Quilley) and Paul (Philip Sayer). The acting varies from awful (Neil Dickson) to very good (Chris Humphreys). The massive cast includes Ava Gardner, Susan Sarandon, Ian McShane, John Houseman, Colleen Dewhurst, Jack Warden, Richard Roundtree, Fernando Rey, Millie Perkins, Jennifer O'Neill, Ben Vereen, Anthony Zerbe, David Hedison, Amanda Pays, Diane Venora, Akosua Busia and Michael Wilding Jr. as Jesus.