Epic DVD Collection One: Barabbas / Major Dundee / Waterloo / Julius Caesar / The Duellists [Import]

Barabbas (1961)

This fanciful, yet moving, Bible-based epic portrays the life and times of Barabbas (Anthony Quinn), the thief whose life was spared through the machinations of Pontius Pilate (Arthur Kennedy), who wanted to see Jesus crucified instead. In the years following that fateful moment, Barabbas not only achieves victories as a gladiator but comes to be inspired by the followers of the man put to death in his place. Silvana Mangano, Ernest Borgnine, and Jack Palance co-star. 137 min. C/Rtg: NR

Major Dundee (1965)

Sprawling, character-driven western epic from director Sam Peckinpah featuring Charlton Heston as Major Amos Dundee, a glory-hungry Union officer heading across the Mexican border with a troop of outcasts in search of a tribe of Apache Indians responsible for raiding an Army outpost. Richard Harris, Jim Hutton, James Coburn, Senta Berger, and Warren Oates co-star. Extended cut; 136 min. C/Rtg: PG-13

Julius Caesar (1970)

The lust for power leads to political assassination in Ancient Rome, and in its wake a battle for control puts an empire’s future in jeopardy. Charlton Heston as Marc Antony, Jason Robards as Brutus, and John Gielgud as the doomed title ruler head an all-star cast that also includes Richard Chamberlain, Christopher Lee, and Diana Rigg in this lush rendition of Shakespeare’s drama. 117 min. C/Rtg: G

Waterloo (1970)

Rod Steiger makes a charismatic (if somewhat tall) Napoleon in this lavish Italian/Russian epic directed by Sergei Bondarchuk ("War and Peace"). Famed for its extravagantly mounted battle scenes, this historical drama depicts the French military leader’s attempt to recapture the French throne after escaping from his exile on Elba to his final battle against the allied forces of England and Prussia at Waterloo. Also stars Christopher Plummer, Jack Hawkins, Virginia McKenna, and Orson Welles. 123 min. C/Rtg: G

The Duellists (1977)

Ridley Scott’s gorgeously lensed directorial debut adapts Joseph Conrad’s story of two officers in Napoleon’s army who carry on a fierce and increasingly brutal series of duels that spans two decades. As French officers D’Hubert (Keith Carradine) and Feraud (Harvey Keitel) fight each other to preserve their honor, insight into each man’s quest for personal justice is revealed. With Albert Finney, Cristina Raines. 100 min. C/Rtg: PG