[Burkeman1]

If 5'6" 150 was the average then a Pitt or di Caprio would have been 4'9" weighing in at 90 pounds back in those days.

[Eternal_Bear]

Alexander was considered short for his time, but he was muscular so Di Caprio would have to bulk up. Darius OTOH was a veritable giant at 6 and half feet but he was a coward that ran anytime Alexander got near him. While Alexander did not help himself to Darius' harem, he did help himself to Bagoas who was Darius' boy toy.

[Tokhtamish]

True, Gladiator was a big factor. But Braveheart was another in the resurgence of the historical epic. Still, before anyone pronounces this a trend remember that Four Feathers came and went this summer. Remember all those big budget family musicals that came out after The Sound of Music and flopped ?

Another thing that doomed the old historical epic besides cost. Those old sword and sandal movies were also about putting Gina Lollabrigida and Sophia Loren in not a whole lot of clothing. They were about showing every bit as much flesh as Hollywood could get away with before nudity. That's why they had the chaste Christian maiden. By 1968 it was no longer necessary to spend so much money to show a lot more skin. As an aside, things have come full circle because had Gladiator been made 10 years ago it would have had a naked orgy scene.