''Decline of an Empire'' is a 2014 British

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

, produced and directed by Michael Redwood, about the life of

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

. It is one of the last film roles of

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...

, who died before the film was released, and the last film of

Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock Del ...

before he retired. The film originally carried the working title ''Katherine of Alexandria''.

Cast

* Nicole Madjarov as

Katherine of Alexandria Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

as Cornelius Gallus *

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously k ...

as Liberius *

as Rufus * Jack Goddard as

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

Dudley Sutton Dudley Sutton (6 April 1933 – 15 September 2018) was an English actor. Active in radio, stage, film and television, he was arguably best known for his role of Tinker Dill in the BBC Television drama series ''Lovejoy''. Early life Sutton was ...

as Marcellus * Edward Fox as Constantius *

Samantha Beckinsale Samantha-Jane Beckinsale (born 23 July 1966), known professionally as Samantha Beckinsale, and Sam Beckinsale, is a British actress. She played firefighter Kate Stevens in '' London's Burning''. Early life Beckinsale is the only daughter of ac ...

as Vita

Release

The film was due for release in 2014 and was released

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in the United States on 12 August 2014 under the title ''Decline of an Empire''. The film was also released

in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2015 as ''Fall of an Empire: The Story of Katherine of Alexandria''.

Red Rock Entertainment Red Rock Entertainment Ltd was a film investment and production company based at Elstree Film Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire (UK). The company acts as executive producers sourcing investment and finance for film and TV projects. Gary C ...

acted as executive producers.

References

External links

* * 2014 films 2014 biographical drama films 2010s historical drama films British biographical drama films British historical drama films Cultural depictions of Constantine the Great Constantine the Great and Christianity Films about Christianity Films set in ancient Egypt Films set in the 4th century Films set in the Roman Empire 4th century in the Roman Empire 2014 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films {{historic-film-stub