--- product_id: 14932426 title: "Quo Vadis VHS" brand: "robert taylordeborah kerranthony mannmervyn leroy" price: "AED 78" currency: AED in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.ae/products/14932426-quo-vadis-vhs store_origin: AE region: United Arab Emirates --- # Quo Vadis VHS **Brand:** robert taylordeborah kerranthony mannmervyn leroy **Price:** AED 78 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Quo Vadis VHS by robert taylordeborah kerranthony mannmervyn leroy - **How much does it cost?** AED 78 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ae](https://www.desertcart.ae/products/14932426-quo-vadis-vhs) ## Best For - robert taylordeborah kerranthony mannmervyn leroy enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted robert taylordeborah kerranthony mannmervyn leroy brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Quo Vadis VHS ## Images ![Quo Vadis VHS - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/5150P316S9L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sparkling Wit and a Brilliant Production *by G***L on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 25, 2005* I checked this movie out of the library, watched it once, and immediately ordered my own copy. Like _All About Eve_, _Bringing Up Baby_, _Casablanca_ and _Double Indemnity_, this is a film I will be watching over and over. Excellent actors, consummate attention to historical detail, lavish sets, fine choreography and beautiful costuming all add to the viewing pleasure.Yes, you'll be watching a fabulous spectacle depicting the plight of early Christians during the reign of the Emperor Nero. But it is the script of _Quo Vadis_ that makes the film rank high in my list of perfect movies. Clever and multi-layered, the dialogue encourages us to explore our own attitudes towards madness, faith, and sense of duty by listening in on the conversations of such varied characters as the Apostles Peter and Paul, a cast-off mistress of Nero, a Roman Senator and a Greek soothsayer.But, ultimately, the lion's share (oops, couldn't help that little pun!) of the cast is involved in a discovery of what it is to love and be loved. We encounter a slave desperately in love with her indifferent master; an emperor who longs for the approval of his people, even while despising them; a young foreigner torn between her earthly love for a handsome Roman officer and her spiritual longing for the Word of God; a slave who will kill to protect his mistress even though he believes killing is a sin; and an advisor to the Emperor who finds that he must ultimately cast off his role of peacemaker and nursemaid to Nero if he is ever to gain self-respect.The dialogue is antique without being precious, literate without being pretentious. It does not feel at all self-conscious, as I have found to be the case with some costume dramas. It is not an impediment to enjoying the story; it is an enhancement.Even the most polished script, however, will flounder without actors of the proper calibre and everyone in the cast is more than equal to the task at hand. To my mind, however, Peter Ustinov's performance as the petulant, insecure, outrageous Emperor Nero is nothing short of astonishing. Alarmingly manic one moment, Nero segues into a most royal, self-pitying sulk in a couple of breaths. Ustinov makes it believable, portraying the Emperor as a spoiled and frightened child who can react one moment with pure instinct and, the next, justify inexcusable crimes with clever and convoluted argument.Nero, who rationalizes "a man's acts may be cruel when he himself is not cruel," will eventually burn Rome and kill scores of innocents in the arena. But throughout the first half of the movie, his worst tendencies are held in check by his friend and advisor Petronious, a nobleman who describes himself as "indestructible." Petronious, portrayed with masterful irony by Leo Genn, relies on his quick wits in order to stay alive and prosper in the reign of a madman, and takes a certain pride in his ability to keep Nero under control.Nero is always watching Petronius, seeing how he will react, trying to second-guess him. Petronius is the only person whose opinion Nero cares about, because he is the only one who is not a total sycophant. As a matter of fact, Petronius at times goes out of his way to say the total opposite of what would be politically expedient to say, then, amazingly, turn his comment around to prove that he is being loyal to Nero by being honest and plainspoken. For example, when Nero complains about how much he hates the people, that he wishes they had but a single head that he might chop it off, Petronius doesn't shame him or tell him he's crazy as a bedbug. That would hardly be effective. Instead, Petronius reminds Nero that the mob is necessary, for a ruler needs subjects and an artist needs an audience.Unfortunately for Rome, Nero has decided sing about a burning city, and he has come to the conclusion that he must experience the real thing in order to interpret it. Also unfortunately for Rome, Petronius, who has previously complained of never being able to discover "an honest warmth in any woman," has been surprised by the love of his beautiful slave Eunice and is therefore distracted. There is no-one to talk Nero down, no-one to turn his immediate impulses into something less destructive. And when the stunned Petronius hears the news that Rome is aflame, he comments ironically, "Now, indeed, Nero has his place in history."Indeed, Petronius is able to keep his sense of the ironic until he witnesses the terrified Romans fleeing in desperation into the hitherto forbidden neighbourhoods of the wealthy. Nero exclaims in disgust, "Is it possible that human beings can produce such a sound?""Yes," relies Petronius, doubtless speaking for himself as well as the terrified mob, "when they have been driven too far." And, when Nero eyes the nobleman askance, it is clear that Petronius has lost major brownie points by going too far himself. Sensing a hated rival's almost instantaneous loss of status, Nero's empress suggests that perhaps Petronius himself is one of the despised Christians. To Nero's point-blank question, Petronius responds levelly, "I am not. I have heard that the Christians teach you to love your neighbour. And, as I see what men are, I cannot for the life of me love my fellow men."After the destruction of Rome, Petronius finds it hard to harbour any affection even for himself. Ashamed that he did not address the frightened citizens and urge them to depose Nero, the Emperor's erstwhile advisor berates himself as nothing more than "an amused cynic, a selfish onlooker."But this amused cynic will ultimately redeem himself, by signing "with humility" a letter which is being sent to General Galba, asking him to return to Rome and depose Nero. Then Petronius calls for his servant Alexander, saying "I will give him the names of those few I love." Petronius has planned a banquet, "an evening of farewell." With his few true friends as witness, Petronius reads aloud a letter he has written to Nero, in which he advises in closing, "Brutalize the people, but do not bore them, as you have bored to death your friend, the late Gaius Petronius." His friends gasp. Petronius assures them, "it is not enough to live well; one must die well," adding, "The Christians say that death is but a transition to a better life. It will be interesting to discover." His physician has slit Petronius' wrist. He will die with honour, escaping execution at the hands of Nero, prompting one of his guests to eulogize, "With you perishes the best of our Roman world."When Nero hears of the death of his former friend, he dissolves in melodramatic weeping. Yet even in his grief, he must perform, shedding tears into his weeping vial (one for Petronius and one for himself) and wailing for his audience, "How I have loved you, Petronius." He opens the letter, eager to read the last words addressed to him by his departed friend. But, as he scans the insulting, honest words, Nero comes to hate Petronius and everything associated with him, including Petronius' nephew Marcus and the Christian girl he loves and, consequently launch what he gloatingly describes as "a spectacle of terror." Nero always has someone else to blame for his misdeeds.But the slaughter of the Christians brings no satisfaction to the Emperor. The Christians sing as they go to their slaughter, inspiring the reluctantly impressed Marcus to snap, "These people know how to die, Nero. You will squeal like a hog." Nero cannot understand how the Christians can sing as they are being killed. After the slaughter, he goes at night into the arena and is appalled to find that they are all smiling.All too soon, Marcus' predictions concerning Nero come true. The Empress has arranged for Ursus, the gigantic servant of Marcus' Lygia, to fight a fierce black bull. The mob turns ugly and the military revolts when the Emperor is foolish enough to give the thumbs-down to the victorious giant. Nero will meet his end dishonourably, and a new ruler will come to power, a sane one who has no need of either scapegoats or audiences.Satisfying from beginning to end, from the first viewing to the twentieth and beyond, _Quo Vadis_ is a treasure. And if you want to appreciate it (and films of its ilk) even more, check out Jon Solomon's _The Ancient World in the Cinema_.A bit of trivia from the web: While a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, Leo Genn was one of the Prosecuting Officers at the British-mounted 1945 Belsen War Crimes trial. Belsen, like the other concentration camps was established to hold what were considered, by the Nazi regime, as undesirable people, ranging from Jews to relatives of famous German citizens who had fled overseas. Notable inmates of Belsen include Marlene Dietrich's sister and the Dutch Jewish girl Anne Frank. Genn was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1945. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ They Don't Make Them Like This Anymore *by M***T on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 5, 2022* This is one of my all-time favorite epic films. Made in 1951, with literally a cast of thousands, Quo Vadis still astounds. This film is from the days when CGI was non-existent. Yet, it's scope and grandeur is stunning even though it is not in widescreen (Quo Vadis was filmed just before the advent of CinemaScope). The film is artfully crafted and filmed with expertly crafted matte shots. Attention to historical detail is precise (costumes, sets, dialogue). Peter Ustinov as the corrupt, vain, and insane Emperor Nero, practically steals the film, but the other cast members, Robert Taylor as Marcus Vinicius, Deborah Kerr as the beautiful Lygia, Leo Genn as the kind, sardonic and cynical Petronius, and, especially, Patricia Laffan as the beautiful but predatory Empress Poppaea, plus many other excellent actors, play their roles perfectly. The Blu-Ray disc arrived promptly in good packaging. I have now watched Quo Vadis four times. It is just an amazing film! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ THE ORIGINAL BLOCKBUSTER - AND BOY IS IT EVER LONG *by D***N on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 8, 2020* So I'm working my way through The Great Courses course A Historian Goes to the Movies: Ancient Rome. The first lesson is about Quo Vadis, so here I am watching this nearly-three hour epic for which the word "blockbuster" was created. According to the course description, Quo Vadis "ushered in the golden age of the so-called 'sword-and-sandal' picture, with its irresistible formula of evil, arrogant Romans versus virtuous, devout Christians."I'm about halfway through the movie. So far, my favorite scene was the one where the the woman our hero has been trying to rape the entire movie suddenly announces that she loves him. It was a different era, let me tell you.Also, there is just way too much religion in this movie. We meet Peter. We meet Paul. We hear lectures of Bible verses. It's all a bit much. I keep waiting for the lions to show up.EDIT: I've finished the movie, at long last! In the second half, you can really see why this was the first blockbuster. So... many... extras... One final observation: apparently, the chariot equivalent of stepping on the gas is whipping and whipping and whipping your horses... so that was fun, especially in the days before "no animals were harmed in the making of this movie". --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ae/products/14932426-quo-vadis-vhs](https://www.desertcart.ae/products/14932426-quo-vadis-vhs) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Arab Emirates* *Store origin: AE* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*