Richard Warwick

Rome, AD 303. Emperor Diocletian demotes his favourite, Sebastian, from captain of the palace guard to the rank of common soldier and banishes him to a remote coastal outpost where his fellow soldiers, weakened by their desires, turn to homosexual activities to satisfy their needs. Sebastian becomes the target of lust for the officer Severus, but repeatedly rejects the man's advances. Castigated for his Christian faith, he is tortured, humiliated and ultimately killed.

Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), in his film debut, is the nonchalant and serene Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's dark classic. Palme d'Or winner at Cannes 1969.