Whither Quo Vadis? offers an engaging account of how the Roman world and its history are represented in film and the way in which the different adaptations reflect the shifting historical situations and ideological concerns of their own times.

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• Explores five surviving film adaptations – Guazzoni's of 1912; D’Annunzio/Jacoby of 1925; Mervyn LeRoy's of 1951; the Italian TV mini-series of 1985 by Franco Rossi; and Kawalerowicz’s 2001 Polish version
  
• Examines how these different versions interpret, select from, and modify the novel and the ancient sources on which it is based
  
• Offers an exceptionally clear view of how films have presented ancient Rome and how modern conditions determine its reception
  
• Looks at rare and archival material which has not previously received close scholarly attention