Joey... do you like movies about gladiators?

Such an innocent question with such an innocuous tone, right?  Well, regardless of what you might think of Captain Oveur's intentions, I've found, lately, that I've been buying (and subsequently watching) a lot of movies that take place during the height of the Roman Empire.  It all started with Rome.

I've blogged about it before.   Rome appeared for two Seasons on HBO, and was incredibly fascinating.  Between episodes in the first season, the wife and I watched Spartacus (starring Kirk Douglas).  Of course, the events in Spartacus precede the series Rome, but having seen it added an interesting dimension to the show.

I recently received (today in fact) two more films in the same vein.  Ben Hur, starring one of the all-time greats Charlton Heston, and Julius Caesar, the 1970 adaptation of William Shakespeare's play (also starring Charlton Heston).