Small Details Fans Noticed In Movies Set In Ancient Time Periods

Shane Fraser
October 7, 2021
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Vote up the details you never noticed before.

Ancient history is not the busiest film genre, but that's to its credit. Many of the movies in that category are extremely famous, like Ben-Hur, Spartacus, Hercules, Gladiator, The Ten Commandments, and 300. Moreover, owing to their placement in specific periods of human history, they're extremely detail-oriented. Details have their own details in ancient history films!

Here are details fans noticed in movies set in ancient time periods.

  • 1
    14 VOTES

    In '300,' The Spartans Use The Persians' Arrows As Firewood

    In '300,' The Spartans Use The Persians' Arrows As Firewood
    Photo: 300 / Warner Bros. Pictures

    What a triumphant use for the weapons that failed to kill you. Shout out to Redditor u/Rixae for pointing this out.

  • 2
    11 VOTES

    In '300,' Child Leonidas Is Played By Director Zack Snyder's Son

    In '300,' Child Leonidas Is Played By Director Zack Snyder's Son
    Photo: 300 / Warner Bros. Pictures

    His name is Eli Snyder and, in addition to playing young Leonidas in 300, he played young Rorschach in Watchmen, which was also directed by his father. 

  • 3
    11 VOTES

    The Beatles' George Harrison Makes A Covert Cameo In 'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (His Company Financed The Movie)

    The Beatles' George Harrison Makes A Covert Cameo In 'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (His Company Financed The Movie)
    Photo: Monty Python's Life of Brian / Cinema International Corporation

    After Life of Brian's original financiers dropped out, George Harrison saved the movie through his company HandMade Films. According to Redditor u/OtherKrab, "Apparently when asked why he had funded the film George Harrisons answer was a simple 'I wanted to see the film.'" Harrison was rewarded with his own character, Mr. Papadopoulos.

  • 4
    10 VOTES

    In 'Gladiator,' Proxima Is Partly Computer Generated Because Oliver Reed Died During Filming

    In 'Gladiator,' Proxima Is Partly Computer Generated Because Oliver Reed Died During Filming
    Photo: Gladiator / DreamWorks Pictures

    As Redditor u/Thatonechippedcup explains, "Oliver Reed (Proximo) died during filming. His face was added by CGI to an extra to complete his character arc for the movie, quite a feat for its time [2000]." Redditor u/phuzebox echoes our thoughts: "To be honest, it was completely seamless, watched that movie numerous times before I found out, never suspecting a thing."

  • 5
    7 VOTES

    In 'The Prince of Egypt,' Moses Never Puts His Sandals Back On After God Asks Him To Remove Them

    In 'The Prince of Egypt,' Moses Never Puts His Sandals Back On After God Asks Him To Remove Them
    Photo: The Prince of Egypt / DreamWorks Pictures

    Just like Moses from The Ten Commandments, Moses from The Prince of Egypt leaves Mount Sinai without his sandals (God makes him remove them for their meeting). The only difference is that the latter Moses stays barefoot for the rest of the film. This little-known detail was pointed out by Redditor u/Prov_12.

  • 6
    6 VOTES

    In 'Hercules,' Hercules Hitting His Head On The Mast Of The Argo Is A Nod To A Greek Myth

    In 'Hercules,' Hercules Hitting His Head On The Mast Of The Argo Is A Nod To A Greek Myth
    Photo: Hercules / Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

    Redditor u/tired_and_stresed said it better than we could:

    For as much as the movie played fast and loose with the original myth... it's sprinkled so many little nods to the breadth of Greek mythology that it's clear that they definitely did their homework when making it.

    In this case, the nod is to "Jason, the captain of the Argo, [who] was killed when the mast hit his head," according to the discoverer of this detail, Redditor u/overhead_albatross.