"Soon enough, it’s chaos in the arena, with people being thrown in the pit and left to the mercy of the contestants, the male gladiators entering the fight, and a bunch of Roman soldiers showing up to try to put down the uprising."
From what I can see, this film, with some tweaking of the script, could have very easily been played for laughs, a la Monty Python's "Life of Brian" and the Roman section of Mel Brooks' "History Of The World, Part 1." I can imagine Livia taking the pro-side of a "What have the Romans ever done for us?" argument, and Brooks was a master of chaotic climaxes like the one here.
"Soon enough, it’s chaos in the arena, with people being thrown in the pit and left to the mercy of the contestants, the male gladiators entering the fight, and a bunch of Roman soldiers showing up to try to put down the uprising."
From what I can see, this film, with some tweaking of the script, could have very easily been played for laughs, a la Monty Python's "Life of Brian" and the Roman section of Mel Brooks' "History Of The World, Part 1." I can imagine Livia taking the pro-side of a "What have the Romans ever done for us?" argument, and Brooks was a master of chaotic climaxes like the one here.