Product Details

• Actors: Fredric March, Claudette Colbert, Elissa Landi, Charles Laughton, Ian Keith
• Directors: Cecil B. DeMille
• Writers: Dudley Nichols, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Sidney Buchman, Waldemar Young, Wilson Barrett
• Producers: Cecil B. DeMille
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: March 28, 1995
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303382967
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,054 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Cecil B. DeMille's pre-Hays Code Roman costume drama manages to mix fast-and-loose historical facts with melodrama and titillation. Fredric March plays Marcus Superbus, a Roman soldier and womanizer who jeopardizes his position in Nero's storm troopers by developing a crush on a beautiful Christian girl, Mercia (Elissa Landi). With the Christians keeping their faith far underground, Superbus walks a tightrope between his obligations to the state and his love for Mercia until she and her family are rounded up and hauled off to the arena. The Sign of the Cross is not without its problems; by modern standards, it often seems slow and stagy, and its moralistic message comes across as blunt and heavy-handed. DeMille, however, shrewdly knew how to keep an audience's attention in ways that would have been impossible in subsequent years. Consider Claudette Colbert as the alluring, evil Poppaea, lolling in a bath of asses' milk with her breasts almost completely exposed. Or there's the scene where Marcus tries to get Mercia to loosen up a bit; his idea of a fun time is to take her to an orgy where she's groped by a lesbian during an erotic dance. Then there's Charles Laughton as the decadent Nero, his fey manner abetted by an oiled-up boy-toy at his side in nearly every scene. The climactic scenes at the arena are still violent today, with Christians being gnawed by lions, gladiators knocking each other's brains out, and an Amazon spearing a Pygmy and carrying him around like a kebab! The Sign of the Cross was heavily cut for rerelease in later years but is now available again in its uncut form. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NEW LIFE TO AN OLD FILM, March 3, 2000

By A Customer

I used to watch a truncated version of this film which added a WWII prologue featuring a bomber flying over Rome with a crew making various comments until one of them launches into a story of ancient Rome thus beginning the original movie. Missing were scenes considered too risque by the film's re-release date. It always seemed like a bore, but since its restoration, the film takes on new life. One thing that particularly impresses me is the terror the Christians feel before entering the arena. Throughout the film, their fear of being detected lends a distinct honesty to the movie. So often, in biblical films, we see Christians with no doubts of eternal salvation and thus with head held high and no fear of death. One can have faith and still have fear with it. Courage can not exist without fear. DeMille does an excellent job in presenting this balance. I'm not a particular fan of his movies, but he has no equal in visuals. They are like great romantic oil paintings. This movie is great fun in its restored version.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the roar of the lions, the smell of the crowd, April 6, 2004

By	Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Bizarre and lavish, this 1932 epic is an entertaining curiosity piece. It starts in "Rome...the third night of the Great Fire, 64 A.D.", with Charles Laughton as a flabby, insane Nero, playing a harp and taking delight in the conflagration, with his hatred for Christians the basis for the plot.
It meshes together the faith and determination of a few brave souls with the debauchery of the times and mankind's fascination with the misfortunes of others, culminating in the remarkably well filmed Colosseum scene.
From Claudette Colbert, who plays Poppaea, Nero's wife, bathing in milk (and it was real milk, which started to sour and stink on the second of many days of filming), to the crocodiles on the march, there are depictions of every kind of excess and sensual liberty.

The costuming is skimpy, even to Frederic March's laughable micro-mini outfits, and the dialogue is often silly with some of the hammiest performances on film, but DeMille's talent for orchestrating crowd scenes, and the good/evil theme of the film make for outrageous and sometimes thought-provoking viewing. It's about depravity, courage, and the triumph (if only spiritually) of the underdog, and well worth seeing for the arena sequence alone.
Based on Wilson Barrett's popular 1895 play, the cinematography by Karl Struss (who in his long career also did the '58 cult favorite "The Fly") is brilliant, with many cross images using light/shade and doors. Total running time is 125 minutes.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Last word on Hollywood Golden Age opulence, May 12, 2002

By	Simon Davis - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"The Sign of the Cross" is, I believe, one of the greatest achievements of the 1930's by ultimate showman, the great
Cecil B. DeMille. Far from being the offensive excursion into gore that previous reviewers have mentioned I feel it is a very beautiful excursion into a time long gone by when people lived by the strength of their faith and were prepared to die for it if necessary.

I think Cecil B. DeMille has been grossly neglected by Hollywood as the great producer /director that he is and in this particular effort I feel he has never been better. It is, in my belief, only topped by his effort of 2 years later with "Cleopatra" for great story telling, beautifully realised sets and costumnes and great performances from all involved.

"The Sign of the Cross" tells the rather simple story of young christian girl Elissa Landi who finds herself in the difficult position of loving a Roman prefect Marcus Superby played by the great Fredric March. The story tells of her struggle between her own personal love and the sense of belonging to the oppressed christian community of Nero's Rome.

What trangresses on screen as I have said in my title is really the last word on Roman opulence and excess. Being fascinated by ancient Rome I think this film is excellent in depicting Ancient Rome in all its cruelty and splendour. If you are offended by what it displays I would just say dont look at the video!!

The story of "The Sign of the Cross" was based on a play by Waldeman Young and Sidney Buckman. The attention to detail in this film is marvellous as it is in all of DeMille's efforts. Months of painstacking research on how Ancient Rome and the general population..both Romans and Christians, looked was done. The costumnes are magnificent and are true to the era and the performers are made to look realistically as though they are of this time.

Many memorable moments are displayed in this film from Nero's singing while Rome is in flames to the very brutal, but necessarily realistic, depictions of the torture and killing of the christians in the arena for the Roman populations pleasure. These scenes have produced much comment but they are excellently done and show what did actually did take place in the arenas . Of course no DeMille production would be complete with a bath scene and "The Sign of the Cross" contains the most famous of them all as seen in the Empress Poppaea's asses milk bath. It is both outrageously decadent and historically accurate and a real pleasure on the eye. It really shows Ancient Rome at its most luxurious.

With the introduction of censorhip laws later in the 30's many of the "risque" scenes where cut out of the film when it was prepared for re-release in 1944. They were considered too racy for 1940's viewers. The VHS version has thankfully been totally restored with all the additional scenes returned and the totally unnecessary World War 2 prologue removed. What we see now is the version that 1932 audiences witnessed before censorhip ruined producers free expression on topics that were considered
"unsuitable" at the time.

Special mention must be made of course of the wonderful performers that graced this film. The always excellent Fredric March, in another triumph, delivers an honest and thoughtful performance as Marcus and while Elissa Landi's style of acting at times seems a bit dated she nevertheless brings great integrity to her role as the confused christian girl torn between love and duty to her people. Charles Laughton is suitably over the top as the crazed Emperor Nero and his rather brief role is unforgettably memorable and is, I believe, the model that all subsequent "Neros" used in their playing of the role. Claudette Colbert, one of my favourite actresses, got her breakthrough role playing the seductive and cruel Poppaea. Her all too brief role is in particular very memorable and helped pave the way for her triumph 2 years later as DeMille's Cleopatra . The always underrated Ian Keith also delivers a powerful performance as Nero's evil adviser Tigellinous. Historically he is spot on with how his character is depicted.

All in all it is a wonderful 2 hours of entertainment that never fails to involve me. The closing scenes of the film as the christians prepare to go to their deaths in the arena are very moving and reveal to me yet again that not all DeMille productions lack subtle moments. As an example of superb early 30's film making this production is unsurpassed.