GO: CINEMA: SWORDS, SANDALS AND SAGAS.

Byline: Laura Scott

THE next epic battle of the box office is on. Film buffs are to be treated to rival big screen blockbusters about the life of legendary warlord Alexander the Great.

In one corner is director Oliver Stone's version, Alexander, starring Irish bad boy Colin Farrell, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie.

In the other is Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann's adaptation, with Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson and Leonardo DiCaprio.

But these two big-name, big-budget films - Luhrmann's unnamed remake is rumoured to have a $150 million price tag - won't be alone in their fight for the classical crown because most of Hollywood currently seems to be going into epic overdrive.

Brad Pitt is starring as the heroic warrior Achilles in Wolfgang Petersen's Greek epic Troy, action hero Vin Diesel is to re-enact the tale of Carthaginian general Hannibal who led a siege on Rome, while Mel Gibson is working on his biblical film The Passion.

And if that wasn't enough, the movie brains behind Braveheart are busy trying to lure Tomb Raider star Angelina Jolie to play loopy Russian empress Catherine the Great in the forthcoming Love and Honour.

Closer to home, Cyrus - a biblical epic telling the story of King Cyrus of Persia, who lived 500 years before the birth of Christ, is set to become the most expensive British movie ever. Tipped to involve X-Men star Hugh Jackman and Sir Sean Connery, it has a pounds 50 million budget.

Alex Jovy, the director of Cyrus, isn't fazed by the hefty competition he faces from Hollywood and thinks the current fascination for ancient leaders is enough to support his classic tale of love, sex, war and tragedy, which will require 10,000 extras for its battle scene.

"We are making a film along the lines of Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia. It will appeal to a worldwide audience of young and old and I'm very confident it will be a hit," he said when announcing the project at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

"With a budget like this we can afford a great cast of star names and the production value will match anything Hollywood has to offer."

Matt Mueller, editor of Total Film magazine, thinks our seemingly insatiable appetite for sword and sandal epics was partly triggered three years ago by Ridley Scott's hit film Gladiator which torpedoed Russell Crowe to Oscar-winning fame.

Mueller says: "I think the fact Gladiator was successful definitely means that these films have become very popular but I am surprised it's taken so long, since Gladiator was such a massive hit, for them to appear."

But why are we so drawn to these ancient tales dredged up from the pages of dusty history books when there's so much competition from modern-day action films such as Terminator 3 and The Hulk?

John Walker, editor of Haliwell's film guide, says: "I think they (epics) are attractive for two reasons. Firstly, I think Gladiator was successful because of its novelty value.

"We have not had that sort of film since the Italian sword and sandal epics of the 50s so for a lot of the audience it was something new.

"Plus these epic tales are stories out of copyright so they do not cost anything to buy.

"And the other thing is they are, to an extent, simple stories with clear heroes and villains but all done on a very grand scale."

But it's not just film-makers who have sniffed out the potential dollars in reviving the classics, for television looks set to follow suit with a remake of the cult 60s film about the rebel Roman slave Spartacus on the cards for Sky next year.

Former EastEnders actor Ross Kemp is to play the ruthless Gladiator trainer Chinna, while star of medical drama ER Goran Visnjic is to take on the lead role of Spartacus first played by veteran actor Kirk Douglas.

No doubt it will be a hit but Mueller thinks the classics should be left to the big screen to capture a true epic feel.

"On TV you can probably spend more time telling the story but you are just not going to get that same amazing, epic impact which is why these stories appeal to people and I think that is really quite important in the telling of these tales."

CAPTION(S):

CLASSIC: Diane Kruger will star as Helen of Troy, Brad Pitt (top right) has taken on the role of Achilles and Russell Crowe's Gladiator (bottom right) is the inspiration behind the new epic films