![all posters](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w140/files/images/film/posters/163/024/163024017_dd6a05.jpg)
Directed by:
Peter R. HuntScreenplay:
Carmen CulverCinematography:
Jack CardiffComposer:
Trevor JonesCast:
Nicholas Clay, Duncan Regehr, Lesley-Anne Down, Olivia Hussey, Linda Purl, Anthony Quayle, Catriona MacColl, Marilù Tolo, Francesca Romana Coluzzi (more)Plots(1)
This fictionalized account of the city of Pompeii and its epic destruction, based on the 1834 novel, is a fascinating look at the historical city circa the birth of Christianity and the culture of those who lived in the Roman Empire of the time. This mini-series is filled with a rich cast of characters who depict the clashes of class, politics, sex, and religion in Pompeii - thought by some to have been catalysts for the city's destruction. Ned Beatty (Deliverance) stars as the wealthy merchant Diomed, whose ambition is to climb beyond his status through politics and a well-made match for his daughter. Lesley-Anne Down (TV's Dallas and North and South) is Chloe, a prostitute with a young child, who is one of the growing congregation of Christians following the priest Olinthus (Brian Blessed, Hamlet) in his secret masses, hidden from the persecuting Romans and their magistrate, Quintus (Anthony Quayle, The Guns of Navarone). Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet) plays Ione, the priestess of the temple whose beauty attracts both the cunningly evil Arbaces (Franco Nero, Camelot) and the just Athenian, Glaucus (Nicholas Clay, Excalibur). Ernest Borgnine plays Marcus - a former slave and gladiator - who trains and provides wise counsel to the men who must kill or be killed, including Lydon (Duncan Regehr, TV's The Blue and the Gray), who yearns to be free and purchase freedom for his father and Nydia (Linda Purl, TV's Matlock), a beautiful blind slave girl. Not to be overlooked is Laurence Olivier himself, who portrays the broken, embittered Gaius, who overlooks Pompeii at a Zeusian distance and alone knows its secret evils. The characters are intertwined in this soap opera of love, violence, religiosity and ambition - but the tale is as absorbing as it is momentous. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Nicholas Clay](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/396/396099_239555.jpg)
Nicholas Clay
UK
Best series:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984) (series)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
Taggart (1983) (series)
![Duncan Regehr](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/572/158572989_7a75c0.jpg)
Duncan Regehr
Canada
Best series:
V (1984) (series)
The Blue and the Gray (1982) (series)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985) (series)
![Lesley-Anne Down](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270919_c96ce1.jpg)
Lesley-Anne Down
UK
Best series:
North and South (1985) (series)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
The Nanny (1993) (series)
![Olivia Hussey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/886/164886240_f0ec6f.jpg)
Olivia Hussey
Argentina
Best series:
Boy Meets World (1993) (series)
Pinky and the Brain (1995) (series)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
![Linda Purl](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270765_a5225e.jpg)
Linda Purl
USA
Best series:
Homeland (2011) (series)
The Office (2005) (series)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985) (series)
![Anthony Quayle](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270241_095f08.jpg)
Anthony Quayle
UK
Best series:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Tales of the Unexpected (1979) (series)
Masada (1981) (series)
![Catriona MacColl](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/974/165974226_374590.jpg)
Catriona MacColl
UK
Best series:
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
Caïn (2012) (series)
Dempsey & Makepeace (1985) (series)
![Marilù Tolo](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/362/362154_40584c.jpg)
Marilù Tolo
Italy
Best series:
Marco Polo (1982) (series)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
Door Into Darkness (1973) (series)
![Francesca Romana Coluzzi](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272533_9fbbe7.jpg)
Francesca Romana Coluzzi
Albania
Best series:
Rome (2005) (series)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
Barry Stokes
Best series:
Space: 1999 (1975) (series)
The Professionals (1977) (series)
UFO (1970) (series)
![Ned Beatty](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/267/267403_eacd77.jpg)
Ned Beatty
USA
Best series:
M*A*S*H (1972) (series)
Road to Avonlea (1990) (series)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985) (series)
![Stephen Greif](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/274/274989_322c85.jpg)
Stephen Greif
UK
Best series:
The Crown (2016) (series)
The Persuaders! (1971) (series)
The Alienist (2018) (series)
![Brian Blessed](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/268/268917_6831e6.jpg)
Brian Blessed
UK
Best series:
I, Claudius (1976) (series)
Blackadder (1983) (series)
Gumball (2011) (series)
![Ernest Borgnine](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/363/164363776_c9544a.png)
Ernest Borgnine
USA
Best series:
The Simpsons (1989) (series)
SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) (series)
Pinky and the Brain (1995) (series)
![Franco Nero](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/618/164618380_badc95.jpg)
Franco Nero
Italy
Best series:
Wagner (1983) (series)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) (series)
![Laurence Olivier](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/653/164653386_e9c43e.jpg)
Laurence Olivier
UK
Best series:
Brideshead Revisited (1981) (series)
Wagner (1983) (series)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
![Malcolm Jamieson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/185/159185802_c783f0.jpg)
Malcolm Jamieson
Best series:
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
![Peter Cellier](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/477/161477694_5090ac.jpg)
Peter Cellier
UK
Best series:
Yes, Prime Minister (1986) (series)
Yes, Minister (1980) (series)
Keeping Up Appearances (1990) (series)
![Benedict Taylor](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/279/279274_3fc1cb.jpg)
Benedict Taylor
UK
Best series:
Wallander (2008) (series)
Unforgotten (2015) (series)
The Far Pavilions (1984) (series)
Gerry Sundquist
UK
Best series:
Space: 1999 (1975) (series)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
The Bill (1984) (series)