The Brits have made a sort of franchise in depicting Roman and Russian imperial epics. There's something about a posh public school accent that fits a bright white purple trimmed toga. Roman slaves and Russian serfs all sound somehow more believable speaking in Cockney or Cornish.
Spartacus was a partial exception, with Lord Olivier working around Bernie Schwartz's (I mean Tony Curtis') Bronx grind. The Soviet version of War and Peace mentioned in this article really is a spectacle and well worth watching if for no other reason than this actress.
