The 10 Most Badass Sword-and-Sandal Movies, Ranked (2024)

The sword-and-sandal subgenre fuses action, history, and mythology, usually serving up tales of ancient heroes, tyrannical kings, or supernatural monsters. They tend to feature gladiators, chariots, derring-do, and togas. The phrase "sword-and-sandal" was initially coined to dismiss these films, but the subgenre has proven itself to have a lot of longevity, even if it's no longer the mighty juggernaut it once was. It has performed well at the box office for decades and occasionally with critics, too. This success may be repeated with the upcoming Gladiator II, which could be the apotheosis of the sword-and-sandal movie.

Some of these films can be decidedly pulpy and ridiculous, but many are still very entertaining. At their best, sword-and-sandal movies offer a mix of historical intrigue, magical storytelling, and heart-pounding action. The spectacle of massive armies and duels to the death, combined with themes of honor, loyalty, and betrayal, adds an undeniably thrilling aspect that makes them one-of-a-kind when it comes to sheer entertainment value. These are the most badass sword-and-sandal movies, ranked by how memorable they are, how much action they feature, and how thrilling and memorable their setpieces are.

10 'Alexander' (2004)

Directed by Oliver Stone

"Conquer your fear, and I promise you will conquer death." Alexander explores the life of one of history's most iconic conquerors. The film chronicles Alexander the Great's (Colin Farrell) rise to power, beginning with his tutelage under Aristotle (Christopher Plummer) and his eventual ascension as the king of Macedonia. From there, Alexander embarks on an ambitious campaign to conquer Persia and expand his empire to the ends of the known world. The finished product is chaotic and flawed but undeniably ambitious, boasting more than a few memorable scenes.

There are the visceral battle scenes, the close-quarters combat, and intense, emotional confrontations beautifully captured through Rodrigo Prieto's kinetic cinematography. Despite being overly long (and featuring a few shaky performances), Alexander is still enjoyable, especially for those already interested in this period of history. It's pulp, albeit fun and visually impressive pulp. The protagonist was a complicated and larger-than-life figure, meaning that any movie would struggle to do him justice, but Alexander is a commendable attempt.

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9 'Immortals' (2011)

Directed by Tarsem Singh

"Fight for honor. Fight for your future. Fight for immortality." This visually striking riff on Greek mythology features Henry Cavill as the hero Theseus. The crux of the narrative is his quest to stop the brutal King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), who seeks to release the Titans and overthrow the gods. As Hyperion's army lays waste to Greece, Theseus must rise as a champion, guided by Zeus (Luke Evans), to save humanity from destruction.

The movie was helmed by Tarsem Singh, director of the similarly fantastical and gorgeous The Fall. His fingerprints are all over it, from the stylized imagery to the CGI-crafted landscapes and stereoscopic 3-D. As with Alexander, Immortals often stumbles with the plot and characterization but compensates with visual pyrotechnics and thrilling set pieces. The scenes of gods and Titans doing battle, in particular, are sure to please mythology nerds. It makes for one of the 21st-century's more unique takes on the classic sword-and-sandal tropes.

Immortals

R

Fantasy

Action

Where to Watch

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Release Date

November 11, 2011

Cast

Henry Cavill , Stephen Dorff , Luke Evans , Isabel Lucas , Kellan Lutz , Freida Pinto , Mickey Rourke

Runtime

110 minutes

Writers

Vlas Parlapanides , Charley Parlapanides

8 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' (2014)

Directed by Ridley Scott

"Who has been telling you what’s impossible? Only slaves listen to that." Exodus: Gods and Kings is Ridley Scott's epic retelling of the biblical story of Moses (Christian Bale) and his mission to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. The focus is on the complex relationship between Moses and Ramses (Joel Edgerton), once brothers in arms and now enemies, as Moses defies the Egyptian empire.

Scott is a pro at epic filmmaking, which is on display here in the thrilling chariot stunts and gargantuan battle sequences (some feature thousands of extras). The finale at the Red Sea is especially impressive, and the plague scenes are harrowing. That said, the fact that the movie reimagines Moses as an action hero occasionally produces some weird moments, undermining some of the narrative's weight. Exodus: Gods and Kings may not break much new ground, but it's an intense spectacle and arguably turns out better than it should have.

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7 'Clash of the Titans' (2010)

Directed by Louis Leterrier

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"Release the Kraken!" Sam Worthington leads this one as Perseus, the demigod son of Zeus (Liam Neeson). He's on a mission to defeat the monstrous Kraken and save the city of Argos. Along the way, he faces various mythological creatures, including Medusa (Natalia Vodianova) and giant scorpions, all while battling the gods' wrath. Worthington is joined by a supporting cast of heavy hitters, including Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, and Nicholas Hoult.

Clash of the Titans was a big commercial hit on release but received a lot of critical hate — arguably too much. It's undoubtedly silly but also charming in an off-kilter way. Worthington doesn't quite have the cheap to pull off his leading man role, but his shortcomings are mostly covered up by the movie's fast pace and abundance of memorable creatures. Fans of the original stop-motion movie may disliked the CGI, but Clash of the Titans has aged surprisingly well, making this a movie to return to. It was also among the most successful sword-and-sandal movies, a remarkable feat at a time when the genre's offerings were few and far between.

Clash of the Titans

PG

Adventure

Family

Fantasy

Where to Watch

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Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

June 12, 1981

Cast

Laurence Olivier , Claire Bloom , Maggie Smith , ursula andress , Jack Gwillim , Susan Fleetwood

Runtime

118

Writers

Beverley Cross

6 'Wrath of the Titans' (2012)

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman

"Feel the power of the gods!" Wrath of the Titans picks up where Clash left off, with Perseus once again called to action, this time to stop the vengeful Titan Kronos from rising and destroying the gods. Our hero must journey into the underworld and face Herculean challenges, from Cyclopes to a deadly labyrinth, to save the world from destruction. The film amps up the action and special effects, delivering even more epic battles and encounters with monsters and deities.

Sure, some of the acting is wooden and much of the dialogue sounds ripped from a comic book, but Wrath of the Titans is still solid popcorn entertainment, with improved visuals and superior direction courtesy of Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles, Halo). The film is also a little truer to the actual mythology, even if it still puts a zany spin on its famous characters. When it comes to muscular, fantastical action flicks, Wrath of the Titans is everything one could ask for.

Wrath of the Titans

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Where to Watch

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Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

March 28, 2012

Cast

Sam Worthington , Liam Neeson , Ralph Fiennes , Edgar Ramirez , Toby Kebbell , Rosamund Pike

Runtime

120

Writers

Dan Mazeau , David Leslie Johnson , Greg Berlanti , Beverley Cross

5 'Troy' (2004)

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

"Immortality! Take it! It's yours!" Troy is a retelling of Homer's The Iliad, centering on the events of the Trojan War. The focus is on Achilles (Brad Pitt) as he grapples with his desire for eternal glory while fighting for the Greeks against the city of Troy. Wolfgang Petersen's direction brings a gritty realism to the ancient tale, aided by a committed and introspective performance from Pitt.

The supporting actors are also strong, and many famous faces of the 2000s show up: Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, and Rose Byrne. The performance, however, goes to a star from an earlier decade: Peter O'Toole as Priam, King of Troy. Troy may not rise to the heights of its source material, but it's nevertheless packed to the rafters with grand, finely orchestrated battles. There are intimate, one-on-one duels amidst the mayhem, like the one between Achilles and Hector (Eric Bana).

Troy

R

Drama

Where to Watch

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Not available

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Release Date

May 14, 2004

Cast

Brad Pitt , Eric Bana , Orlando Bloom , Julian Glover , Brian Cox , Nathan Jones , Adoni Maropis , Jacob Smith

Runtime

163 Minutes

Writers

Homer , David Benioff

4 '300' (2006)

Directed by Zack Snyder

"This is Sparta!" Gerard Butler turns in an iconic performance here as King Leonidas, commander of the Spartan force who made a stand against the massive Persian army. The Spartan stand at Thermopylae, although mythologized and exaggerated, makes for one of history's great underdog stories, and Zack Snyder does it justice with this adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel. It's a tale of courage, betrayal, violence, and overwhelming odds.

It's admittedly very simplistic, but there's still so much to enjoy in 300. The gritty, stylized visuals, the blood-soaked battlefields, the vicious and plentiful fight scenes, the memorable one-liners, the balletic carnage, people getting unceremoniously kicked into pits. 300 is a bombastic movie with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer but in a good way. Not for nothing, it was a massive box office smash (despite many harsh reviews) and remains one of the most instantly recognizable action movies of the 2000s.

300

R

Action

Drama

Where to Watch

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Not available

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Release Date

March 9, 2007

Cast

Gerard Butler , Lena Headey , David Wenham , Dominic West

Runtime

117 minutes

Writers

Zack Snyder , Kurt Johnstad , Michael B. Gordon

3 'Spartacus' (1960)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

"I am Spartacus!" This classic features Kirk Douglas as the title character, a slave-turned-gladiator who leads a massive rebellion against the Roman Empire. Spartacus rises from inauspicious beginnings to gladiatorial glory, becoming a symbol of resistance against oppression. It's an unusually smart and masterful costume epic, with Stanley Kubrick giving a darker and modern to tropes popularized by Cecile B. DeMille.

The director was just 30 years old at the time but handled this big project with a veteran's skill, evident in the massive battle sequences that required 8000 soldiers from the Spanish infantry. Kubrick also draws fantastic performances from the cast. Douglas is great, as are wonderful supporting players Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, and an Oscar-winning Peter Ustinov in a career-best performance. For all these reasons, Spartacus was instantly iconic; its influence is most evident in the scene where dozens of men claim to be Spartacus, an idea that has since been copied and parodied ad nauseam.

Spartacus

PG-13

Biography

Adventure

Drama

Where to Watch

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Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

October 6, 1960

Cast

Kirk Douglas , Laurence Olivier , Jean Simmons , Charles Laughton , Peter Ustinov , John Gavin , Nina Foch , John Ireland

Runtime

197 Minutes

Writers

Dalton Trumbo , Howard Fast , Peter Ustinov

2 'Ben-Hur' (1959)

Directed by William Wyler

"May God grant me vengeance! I will pray that you live until I return." Ahead of its time in terms of spectacle filmmaking, this epic tale of betrayal, revenge, and redemption was a box office juggernaut (second only to Gone with the Wind at the time) and a titan of '50s cinema. Ben-Hur centers on a Jewish prince (Charlton Heston) who is betrayed by his Roman friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) and sold into slavery. From there, Ben-Hur eventually becomes a chariot-racing champion while plotting his vengeance.

Ben-Hur is a true mammoth of a movie, clocking in at 212 minutes and bursting at the seams with elaborate sets and meticulously choreographed stuns. The climactic chariot race alone ensures its place in movie history, but Ben-Hur also succeeds on a narrative level, offering a larger-than-life tale of Biblical proportions, literally. The characters are complex and compelling, with plenty of genuinely moving moments between them that touch on larger, universal themes.

Ben-Hur

G

Action

Adventure

Drama

History

Where to Watch

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Not available

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Release Date

November 18, 1959

Cast

Charlton Heston , Jack Hawkins , Haya Harareet , Stephen Boyd , Hugh Griffith , Martha Scott

Runtime

212 minutes

Writers

Lew Wallace , Karl Tunberg , Maxwell Anderson , S.N. Behrman , Christopher Fry , Gore Vidal

1 'Gladiator' (2000)

Directed by Ridley Scott

"Are you not entertained?" When it comes to the best sword-and-sandals movies, it's hard to top this Ridley Scott gem about Maximus (Russell Crowe), a Roman general betrayed by the corrupt Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and forced into slavery. Seeking revenge for the murder of his family, Maximus rises through the ranks of gladiators, earning fame and power as he fights for his life in the Colosseum.

There are strong parallels with Spartacus, but Gladiator exceeds that movie in terms of its scale and visual style. It was simply ahead of its time with its lavish but not over-the-top imagery. The primary inspiration for the film's look came from the painting Pollice Verso, which, according to Scott, portrays the Roman Empire "in all its glory and wickedness." The narrative is likewise engaging throughout, and the characters linger in the mind. As a result, the surprisingly quotable Gladiator triumphed at the box office and won a slew of awards, revitalizing the sword-and-sandal genre and epitomizing it.

Gladiator

R

Action

Adventure

Drama

Where to Watch

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Release Date

May 5, 2000

Cast

Russell Crowe , Joaquin Phoenix , Connie Nielsen , Oliver Reed , Richard Harris , Derek Jacobi , Djimon Hounsou , David Schofield , John Shrapnel , Tomas Arana , Ralf Moeller , Spencer Treat Clark , David Hemmings , Tommy Flanagan , Sven-Ole Thorsen , Omid Djalili , Nicholas McGaughey , Chris Kell , Tony Curran , Mark Lewis , John Quinn , Alun Raglan , David Bailie , Chick Allan , David J. Nicholls , Al Hunter Ashton , Billy Dowd , Giannina Facio , Giorgio Cantarini

Runtime

155 minutes

Writers

David Franzoni , John Logan , William Nicholson

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