# The 20 Best Sword-and-Sandal Films of All Time

> From Best Picture-winning arena epics to cult 80s sword-and-sorcery flicks, this lineup spans ancient Rome, Greek myth, and biblical spectacle. Which epic reigns supreme?

*By YPB Team · Published July 20, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-20-best-sword-and-sandal-films-of-all-time*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Ben-Hur** — score 1000/1000
   William Wyler's 1959 epic starring Charlton Heston as a Jewish prince seeking revenge in Roman-occupied Judea.
2. **Gladiator** — score 875/1000
   Ridley Scott's 2000 Best Picture winner starring Russell Crowe as a betrayed Roman general turned arena gladiator.
3. **Centurion** — score 700/1000
   Neil Marshall's 2010 survival thriller following a Roman legion stranded behind Pictish lines.
4. **300: Rise of an Empire** — score 577/1000
   The 2014 sequel expanding the Persian invasion story around the naval commander Themistocles.
5. **The Ten Commandments** — score 576/1000
   Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 biblical epic starring Charlton Heston as Moses.
6. **Quo Vadis** — score 500/1000
   The 1951 epic of Christian persecution under Emperor Nero, starring Robert Taylor.
7. **300** — score 500/1000
   Zack Snyder's stylized 2006 retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, starring Gerard Butler as King Leonidas.
8. **Cleopatra** — score 500/1000
   The lavish 1963 epic starring Elizabeth Taylor as the last pharaoh of Egypt.
9. **Jason and the Argonauts** — score 500/1000
   The 1963 fantasy adventure famed for Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion mythological creatures.
10. **Conan the Barbarian** — score 409/1000
   The 1982 sword-and-sorcery classic that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's film career.
11. **The Fall of the Roman Empire** — score 409/1000
   Anthony Mann's sprawling 1964 epic depicting the empire's decline under Commodus.
12. **The Robe** — score 409/1000
   The 1953 biblical epic, first film released in CinemaScope, following a Roman tribune present at the crucifixion.
13. **Gladiator II** — score 409/1000
   Ridley Scott's 2024 sequel starring Paul Mescal as the exiled grandson of Marcus Aurelius.
14. **Spartacus** — score 409/1000
   Stanley Kubrick's 1960 epic with Kirk Douglas leading a slave revolt against the Roman Republic.
15. **Samson and Delilah** — score 409/1000
   Cecil B. DeMille's 1949 biblical epic starring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr.
16. **Alexander** — score 300/1000
   Oliver Stone's 2004 chronicle of Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia, starring Colin Farrell.
17. **The Odyssey** — score 300/1000
   Christopher Nolan's 2026 epic retelling of Homer's Odyssey, which opened to a record $264 million globally.
18. **Troy** — score 167/1000
   Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 adaptation of the Trojan War with Brad Pitt as Achilles.
19. **The Eagle** — score 167/1000
   The 2011 adventure following a Roman officer searching for his father's lost legion in Scotland.
20. **Clash of the Titans** — score 167/1000
   The 1981 fantasy epic sending Perseus on a mythological quest, featuring Harryhausen's final creature effects.

Tags: movies, adventure, action, classics