A friend of mine has been trying to remember the name of a movie he
saw quite a few years ago. He describes it as :

"a cheesy movie set in ancient times...it's about some guy that lives
pretty much forever - like the old guy in the green mile - and at the
end of the movie it's revealed he was the roman soldier that speared
christ and was doomed to walk the earth for eternity in
repentance...I've been lookin for it off and on for a year or more...
nobody I talk to remembers it.....but I'm pretty sure the roman
soldier was played by peter o'toole or richard harris or an actor of
their ilk"

I have checked the filmography for Harris and O'Toole, but nothing
rings a bell (according to AllMovieGuide descriptions).

He believes the movie to be from the late 60s, early 70s.

Help! 

David
Athens, Ohio

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Clarification of Question by catfishdave-ga on 27 Aug 2004 21:52 PDT

Well, it's definitely not The Omega Man or Caligula.

Damn, I'm getting frustrated!

newfers

The plot elements of the spear and the doom of immortality sound like
the story of Longinus, who (according to legend) was the soldier whose
spear pierced Christ's side.

I wonder if there is a chance that your friend might be thinking of
"The Robe," in which Richard Burton played a Roman centurion named
Marcellus Gallio who was in charge of the crucifixion of Christ. The
centurion isn't doomed to walk the earth for eternity, though.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0046247/

catfishdave --

It's a long shot because I can't find a reference to the scene you
describe, but could the film possibly be the controversial 1979 film
"Caligula"?

Peter O'Toole was in the film, and one of the main characters in the
film is "Longinus" (played by John Steiner).

Although there are many varied accounts of the identity and fate of
the centurion who, according the Gospel of John, pierced Jesus's body,
it seems to be agreed that he was called "Longinus."  It is unclear
(to me) whether the "Longinus" in the film was depicted as being the
same fellow.

Here is a link to the IMDM entry on the film:
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0080491/

And here is a link to a synopsis of the film:
http://www.caligulathemovie.com/Synopsis.html

As you may know, there were two versions of this movie.  One was a
90-minute R-rated version, and one was a 160-minute pornographic
version.

markj-ga

hmmmm, I truly doubt the movie would be "Caligula". My friend has seen
it fairly recently, so it must be another film.

But I'll run it by him, for sure...

the movie "The Robe" doesn't sound quite right either, but it
certainly shares some similarities.

There are a series of books concerning Casca Longinus (22 books) by
Barry Sadler, perhaps one of these was made into a movie?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0886465737/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_asin/103-0372041-1783068?v=glance

"The Last Man on Earth"

"...After a desparate chase scene through the local armory - he is
killed in a church, on the altar no less, by a spear thrown into his
heart! (the killer's name was no doubt Casca Longinus - he's the Roman
soldier who speared Christ on the cross and later converted to
Christianity"

http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=923&format=movie&theme=guide

You guys have all got me thinking, and I stumbled upon a review of
"The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston (a FAR cry from any of the
classier actors my friend assumed was the star, but that's just my
opinion!)

anyway, in one of the reviews , it is mentioned that there is some
blatant Christ imagery in the final scene, but I can't find a review
that spells out that scene more specifically.

I have sent an email to my friend to see if it indeed is the flick he
remembers, and I will let you know what I find out!

newfers

You know, I don't think it is The Omega Man after all. Damn! But I'll
wait for my friend's response.

newfers

You've said that the movie your friend wants is set in ancient times.
"The Omega Man" is set in the future.

You're right, he did say it was set in ancient times - I forgot about that!

The film that you refer to may be "The Seventh Sign."  I know that
this film is not set completely in "ancient times," but it fits the
plot line that you mentioned.  It was filmed in 1986 (released in
1988) and includes an actor named Jürgen Prochnow who, while not
well-known, is definitely well recognized.  In the film, I believe
that he portrays the Roman soldier who crucified Jesus, and is now
cursed to walk the Earth (which is a twist at the end of the film). 
He "rents" and apartment from a couple (played by a young Demi Moore
and Michael Biehn), and opens seals that seem to commence the
Apocalypse.  Demi Moore's character has many "flashback" dreams of
ancient times, where she sees a man being tortured, and a voice asks,
"Will you die for him?"  The "man" being tortured is Jesus, and the
voice (finally revealed at the climax of the film) is the Roman
soldier, played by Prochnow.

Let me know if this helps!

Some URL's:

http://www.scoopy.com/seventhsign.htm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096073/

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1800116118&cf=info&intl=us

http://www.horrorwatch.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=561