Quo Vadis (a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?") is a 1951 American epic film made by MGM in Technicolor. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from the classic novel Quo Vadis (1896) by Henryk Sienkiewicz. The novel had previously been made into an Italian film Quo Vadis (1924). The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography by Robert Surtees and William V. Skall. The title refers to an incident in the apocryphal Acts of Peter; see Quo vadis?.
The film stars Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, and Peter Ustinov, and features Patricia Laffan, Finlay Currie, Felix Aylmer, and Abraham Sofaer. Sophia Loren and Carlo Pedersoli were both cast in the movie as uncredited extras, and Sergio Leone worked on it as an assistant director of the Italian company.
Plot
The action takes place in ancient Rome from AD 64–68, a period after Emperor Claudius' illustrious and powerful reign, during which the new corrupt and destructive Emperor Nero ascends to power and eventually threatens to destroy Rome's previous peaceful order. The main subject is the conflict between Christianity and the corruption of the Roman Empire, especially in the last period of the Julio-Claudian line. The characters and events depicted are a mixture of actual historical figures and situations and fictionalized ones.
Quo vadis? (Classical Latin: [kʷoː waːdis], Ecclesiastical Latin: [kʷoː vadiːs]) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?"
The modern usage of the phrase refers to a Christian tradition regarding Saint Peter. According to the apocryphal Acts of Peter (Vercelli Acts XXXV), Peter is fleeing from likely crucifixion in Rome at the hands of the government, and along the road outside the city he meets the risen Jesus. In the Latin translation, Peter asks Jesus "Quo vadis?", to which he replies, "Romam eo iterum crucifigi" ("I am going to Rome to be crucified again"). Peter thereby gains the courage to continue his ministry and returns to the city, to eventually be martyred by being crucified upside-down. The Church of Domine Quo Vadis in Rome is built where, according to legend, the meeting between Peter and Jesus took place.
In culture
The Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz authored the novel Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero (1895), which in turn has been made into motion pictures several times, including a 1951 version that was nominated for eight Academy Awards. For this epic novel (among others), Sienkiewicz received the 1905 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Quo Vadis is a 2001 Polish film directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz based on the book of the same title by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It was Poland's submission to the 74th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not nominated.
Plot
The central plot in the movie revolves around the love of a Roman patrician, Marcus Vinicius, towards a Christian girl (coming from the territory of modern-day Poland) set against the backdrop of the persecutions against Christians during the reign of Nero.
In the beginning, Lygia, a Christian and hostage of Rome, becomes the object of Vinicius' love but she refuses his advances. Vinicius' friend Petronius tries to manipulate Nero, who has authority over all Roman hostages, to give Lygia to Vinicius, but Lygia is taken into hiding by Christians. Marcus Vinicius decides to find her and force her to be his wife. He goes to a Christian meeting along with Croton, a gladiator, to find her. After following her from the meeting, Marcus tries to take her, but Ursus, a strong man and friend of Lygia, kills Croton. Marcus himself is wounded in the fight, but is taken care of by Lygia and the Christians. Seeing their kindness he begins to convert to Christianity, and Lygia accepts him.
Quo vadis? is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?"
It may also refer to: