EFL Movie Study Guide for:
The Robe
Story: A Roman officer (Richard
Burton) “wins” Jesus’ robe by gambling under the cross. Soon, it seems
that the robe is making him crazy. A woman’s love can’t cure his inner
pain, but his slave seems to have found a solution. As the soldier sets
out to destroy the robe, he discovers the truth behind its strange power.
This classic epic is especially popular at Easter time. (1953; 2.25 hrs; 2
Oscars plus 2 nominations; drama)
Setting: First century Rome, Capri
and Palestine [巴勒斯坦]
Note: In the first century, Rome
ruled the western world. Many of the people they conquered had been
enslaved, and those fortunate enough to live in Rome lived in great luxury
(at the expense of those elsewhere). The film says that, by this time,
"there are more slaves in Rome than citizens," so there was always fear
that the slaves would join together and revolt against their Roman
masters. Furthermore, a Roman describes Palestine like this: "It is the
worst pest-hole in the Roman Empire; home of a stiff-necked, riotous
people, always on the verge of rebellion. For an officer to be sent there
is like a death sentence."
A few terms
(vocabulary)::
crucifixion: to kill someone by nailing or
tying his hands and feet to a wooden cross as a cruel form of public
punishment (common in Roman times)
dagger: a small knife, often hidden in your
clothes or kept handy on your belt
execution: to kill someone with the
authority of a ruler, government, gang leader, etc.
gladiators: slaves who were trained and then
forced to fight to the death to entertain an audience
looter: someone who steals things in a time
of disaster or disorder (such as right after a flood or during a war)
mad: in this film, mad means crazy (not
angry); "During the journey a guiding star became my one link with sanity;
I'm mad."
merchant: a business man; someone who buys
and sells things to make money
nails: [钉子] small pieces of metal, hammered
into wood (etc) to join things together (also see crucifixion)
sedition: words or actions intended to bring
about rebellion against government authority
sorcery/sorcerer: magic or one who uses
magic (such as to "cast a spell" or curse others); magicians, witches,
sorcerers, etc. have almost always been feared as evil people, whether the
things they do bring bad results or good results (such as healing people
of sickness)
superstition: [迷信] irrational but strong
belief in magic, good/bad luck, omens, etc.
traitor/treason: someone who acts in a
disloyal way, especially if disloyal to his government or other leaders
(which is called treason)
tribute: after a country was conquered, it
sent tribute (gold or precious things) to the new government every year to
prove that they were still loyal
People and proper nouns:
Caligula: the son of Roman Emperor Tiberius
Caesar; Caligula is known as a violent leader and he was probably mentally
ill (in this movie, we see him both before and after his father died)
Capri: an island in the Mediterranean Sea
that was a second home for Tiberius Caesar (and Diana)
Centurion: a middle-level leader in the
Roman army (under officers, but over the enlisted soldiers)
Demetrius: Marcellus' slave; he was strong
willed and ran away from his master while they were in Palestine
Diana: she loves Marcellus and is a ward of
Tiberius Caesar (a ward is like an adopted daughter—a young person who is
under someone else's protection)
Jerusalem: [耶路撒冷] the ancient capital of
Israel; this is the place where Jesus was executed
Justus: an elderly weaver [织布家] in Cana of
Galilee (northern Palestine), who is a kind, community leader
Marcellus: the main character in this film;
he is a Roman officer (Tribune) and the son of an important senator
(government official)
Messiah: In this movie, a Roman officer
offers this description: "The Jews' king, savior, redeemer, Son of their
God…and general troublemaker"; to many Jews and Christians, the Messiah
(or "Christ" in Greek) is one sent from God to restore God's rule on earth
by first saving people from sin and then being their king
Miriam: a singer who has a very pleasant
personality, even though she is crippled (can't walk)
Palestine: a part of the middle-east; at the
time shown in this film, and for over a thousand years before that, this
was the home of the Jewish people (the Romans forced Jews out in AD 70,
and Jews did not win the right to return until the UN granted part of this
land to Jews as a homeland in 1947)
Passover: a major, annual Jewish festival
that commemorates (celebrates) the time when millions of Jews were
released from slavery in Egypt (a great movie about this is called The Ten
Commandments)
Pontius Pilate: the Roman governor of
Palestine, who lived in Jerusalem (1st century)
Simon Peter (the Big Fisherman): the
disciple [门徒] considered to be the first leader of Jesus' followers after
he died
Tiberius Caesar: the elderly Roman Emperor
at the time Jesus was killed (1st century)
Tribune: an elected and respected Roman
official; sometimes Tribunes also served as leaders in the Roman army
Sentences & dialog from the movie
(edited):
1. Demetrius: "Why was he betrayed by
one he loved and trusted?"
Judas: "Because men
are weak; because they are cursed with envy and cowardice. Because they
can dream of Truth but cannot live with it. So they doubt. Why must men
betray themselves with doubts?"
2. Miriam: "He asked us to build our lives
on love; to build a new world."
Marcellus: "Worlds are
built on force. Power is all that counts."
Miriam: "Perhaps we have
something better than power. We have hope."
3. Marcellus: "I lost my wits when I put on
the robe."
Doctor: "The clue to this
man's sanity is… in the robe that bewitched him."
Caesar: "Go, find the
robe and destroy it, and for Rome, seek out the followers of this dead
magician. I want names of every man and woman who subscribed to this
treason."
4. Caesar: "…miracles, disciples, slaves
running away, Roman legionnaires fraternizing with the natives… [These are
big problems, but] the real danger is man's desire to be free."
5. Marcellus: "A man is not cheated when
he's satisfied with a price."
Justus: "But you weren't
the real loser. They were only cheating themselves."
6. Miriam's song (notice the use of old
English words like "spake" for spoke and "ye" for you): "…we came unto the
sepulcher [坟墓] and found the stone rolled away… and a voice spake to us
saying 'why seek ye the living among the dead?'"
Discussion
1. From the way his family lived, how would
you describe their financial situation? If you had a lot of money, what
would you do with it?
2. Look at dialog 1 above. In every century
and in every culture, people betray and disappoint other people. Why?
3. Look at dialog 2. What is more important
for the progress of civilization: love, power or hope? Power has built
many of history's great civilizations, but like Rome they never last. Why
not?
4. Caligula calls a group: "A secret party
of seditionists; the riffraff [痞子] of the plebeian class
[人民]; a party of
conspirators [阴谋家]." Who is he talking about, and do you agree with this
description?
5. Look at dialog 5. What does it mean to
"be cheated"? If a shopkeeper gives you too much change when you buy
something, do you keep it or tell her about the error? In the movie (when
the people accepted too much money from a stupid merchant), who was being
cheated (do you agree with Justus)? Explain. What are some ways that
people "cheat themselves"?
6. At the end, Diana made a difficult
choice. Tell us about a difficult choice you had to make, and tell us
where you found the strength to make it.
