Rome: Season 1 [Blu-ray]

With over 4,700 reviews, I'm surprised to say the least, that Amazon has requested a review from me. I usually review relatively obscure CD's and books that need reviews, not well-covered HBO series. It's probably that I've read over 200 books on Roman history over the last few years and am in the process of buying my favorites for my home library. Amazon doesn't miss much, so it must be crunching my book buying with my just having watched all of seasons one and two.The thing is, usually you wouldn't ask someone like me who has studied the topic because it would often be the case that I would be pedantic and would pick the thing apart for every minor incorrect historical detail. Well, fortunately I'm not like that and gladly say I really loved the series, which will always be known for its incredibly vital portrayal of life in Rome during the fall of the Republic.This is entertainment, not a history lecture, and it is accomplished and well acted from beginning to end.The first thing they did was to do away with the old type of presentation which would have portrayed only the major historical figures and instead added on fictional characters from the military and lower classes which gives them the opportunity to open up the piece to a much wider view of Roman society than an old fashioned palace-drama ever would. These characters also interact with the big political names in a way that keeps the story very tied together. Of course there's lots of melodramatic encounters and soap operatic scheming and big dose of sex, but that's what keeps it entertaining. Besides, the politics of the Late Republic often boiled over into extreme melodrama with political gangs brawling in the streets and Senators getting chamber pots dumped on their heads. If anything, Rome (the Series) seems a bit restrained at times.The sets, costumes and look of the series is opulent and magnificent. No wonder it cost so much to produce. In addition, it's a history lesson in itself. In days of old, Rome and the Ancient World seemed like an awfully sterile place, where all the buildings were white and all the people wore white too. But research using tools that weren't available in the past discovered that not only were the buildings painted on the inside but on the outside, too; and not just the buildings but the statues as well. Rome was a very colorful place, and that also applied to what people wore. All this is vividly brought to life in this series.Yes, there are historical inaccuracies, events get telescoped and some characters are different than their actual historical selves, but it's all in service of the drama, to keep things clear for the audience and move things along. I'll give one example. The Court of the Ptolomies is shown as Egyptian. Actually, though they ruled Egypt, they were Greeks, descended from Alexander's general, Ptolemy. They ruled Egypt as a conquering upper class and never tried to appear Egyptian. They paid off the Priestly hierarchy handsomely, and they justified their rule to the people. But the Court spoke Greek, dressed in the Greek style and lived the Greek lifestyle of gymnasiums and theater. The only Ptolemy who ever learned Egyptian was Cleopatra (the Ninth) herself. But if they had been presented this way in the show, it would confuse people: are we in Athens? I thought this was Egypt. So being a bit "unhistorical" actually helps things.The one weakness of the writing for me is that I don't think the writers made a case of just how rotten the Roman Republic was. Not only had its system of government become wildly disfunctional, but the whole thing was a corrupt oligarchy that acted more like the Sopranos , with Senators and publicans considering the provinces a source of loot and who weren't above extortion and murder to enrich themselves. (Brutus enriched himself in Cyprus and Cilicia, lending money at very high rates. When one city couldn't pay him back he had the City Council locked up and let some starve to death until he got paid). Americans in particular are brought up to think of Republics as good things and empires evil but in Rome the opposite was the case. I don't think they showed this well enough.A Final Note: It doesn't matter because the family of Augustus is so entertaining, particularly the wicked and scheming Atia. But just for the record, the family lived in the country, and the real Atia was a devoted mother, known for her piety toward the gods, and she probably never visited Rome. Her advice to Augustus was not to get mixed up with that uncle of his, who was nothing but trouble and to stay on the country estate. The Atia of the series was based on a totally different type of Roman Patrician woman, very likely Clodia, a scandalous woman of the previous generation who is thought to have been the Lesbia of Catullus' love poems.

I love HBO’s ‘Rome’ series. Have watched it several times. Will probably watch it again, as it has great replay value.I get where the hardline history buffs have a rough time with some of the historical inaccuracy. I am a lifelong student of ancient Greek history, with over 700 books in my house devoted to ancient Greek history, literature and culture, so I feel your pain.When the movie ‘Troy’ came out, I spent half my time in the theater groaning every time they diverted from the historical record. For example, Achilles did not jump out of the Trojan Horse. He died about a year before the sack of Troy. Hector did not kill Menelaus. Nor did Paris run off with Helen. Not that most moviegoers probably know that, or care, but those details bothered me. It was as if the screenplay writers had not even bothered to read ‘The Iliad.’ Nor is Hollywood about to improve upon a classic that has stood the test of time for 3,000 years.That said, I don’t have the same problem with Rome. I feel similar to the way I felt about the movie ‘Gladiator.’ I know Maximus was a fictional character. I know Marcus Aurelius was not murdered by his son. And I realize by this period of history the Republic was long dead. None of which bothered me. I found it to be an entertaining, fictional account of ancient Rome that borrowed some details from history, like Commodus’ interest in the gladiatorial games. Actually, ‘Gladiator’ might have been even more fascinating if they had thrown in some of Commodus’ antics, such as shooting lions and other wild beasts with a bow from the safety of his imperial box. Or his penchant for killing unarmed enemy soldiers and criminals with a sword during the games. He was one twisted, cowardly emperor, and was ultimately murdered by his own soldiers, not by Maximus.With ‘Rome,’ I love the blending of the historical and the fictional. I don’t care that Atia died 10 years before the start of the story. Polly Walker is simply brilliant. She typifies the corruption that was rampant in Rome at the time, and was so brilliantly depicted in Robert Graves’ series, “I, Claudius.”The same with Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pulo. I realize they were minor characters mentioned briefly by Caesar in his “Gallic Wars,” and I love the way the writers have developed them into full blown characters. While we get to see what is going on in the homes of patricians like Julli and the Juni, the stories of Vorenus and Pulo provide a nice counterpoint, giving us a glimpse into the lives of two plebs. Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson do a wonderful job of portraying a Roman centurion and a legionnaire. What goes on in their lives is no less interesting than what is occurring in the lives of the high and the mighty.Another thing I love about the series is the scenery. You feel like you are walking the streets of Rome with the characters. Whether it’s a CGI shot of the Capitoline HIll from a distance, or whether you’re with Vorenus in his cohort as he fights the Gauls, or you’re with Pulo as he visits a brothel in one of the seedier districts, there is a tremendous sense of realism in every detail. From the starting shots of the Roman calendar, to the graffiti on the walls, to the chickens outside the Senate building, you are literally immersed in the world that was Rome.One of the things that I disagree with among all of the bad reviews of Rome, are all of the prudes who disliked the show simply because of the nudity and sexuality. Where have you people been living? Under a rock? In a monetary or a mosque? I did not get the impression this was done to increase ratings, so much as to mimic the morays of the times. It seems a shame that some people crucify a well-produced series on religious grounds.

When this program was produced, it was ahead of its time, even for HBO. It featured a lavish set, high quality production standards and great writing. It was cancelled after just two seasons because HBO decided it was too expensive to produce. So, that was that.The stupid thing about that decision was that fact that this show is awesome. I have watched the two seasons a couple of times and it never get old. I totally recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.

Great fun and hopefully a realistic look at Roman Life. Sex, Violence, Passion and humour.

Very good state!

Rome is my favourite place in the world, and this series brings the history of the period of Julius Caesar and Octavian gloriously to life! The attention to detail, the music, the amazing characterization, the exciting cliff-hanger endings to almost every episode! I even love the amazing opening credits! This series makes history so compelling and so easy to follow (I realize that liberties were taken). My special favourite among the cast is Polly Walker as Atia, head of a charmingly dysfunctional family. She is perfect as an aristocratic lady who is both shameless and ruthless (and has some great comic moments).HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

La série « Rome » marque un profond renouveau dans le monde de la mini-série historique télévisée.Ses épisodes racontent l'agonie de la République romaine dans une période qui va du passage du Rubicon par César (-49) à l'avènement de l'empire, suite à la victoire d'Octavien sur Marc Antoine (-29). La série, et c'est sa force, raconte cette grande histoire directement au travers des agissements des protagonistes historiques (César, Pompée, Caton, Cicéron, Cléopâtre, Marc-Antoine, Brutus, Cassius, Octavien, Agrippa), tout en en proposant une seconde lecture via le destin d'hommes du peuple : le centurion Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) et le légionnaire Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson), de la XIIIe légion Gemina (celle qui franchit le Rubicon avec César). De ces deux hommes on ne connait que les 10 lignes que César à écrit à leur sujet dans « La guerre des Gaules », et l'intelligence du scénario est de les utiliser, avec leur famille et les Romains de la plèbe en général, en contre-point de ceux qui dirigent la République finissante depuis le Sénat. Les femmes, jouent également un rôle important dans l'intrigue, que ce soit celles de l'aristocratie (Atia la nièce de César, Servilia la mère de Brutus, Livie la femme d'Octavien et bien entendu Cléopâtre) ou du peuple (Niobé la femme de Vorenus, Eirene, l'esclave dont Pullo est amoureux).Les 12 épisodes de la saison 1 sont absolument prodigieux. Si dans les détails, la série prend quelques libertés avec l'histoire, elle évite tout anachronisme dans les mœurs et les mentalités et permet de se projeter de manière très convaincante dans un monde dont les valeurs sont finalement radicalement différentes de celles du notre. Dans cette Rome antique, conservatrice et patriotique, alors en train de mettre le monde à ses pieds tout en réglant ses problèmes internes (la lutte en populares et optimates), le personnage de Titus Pullo s'avère être central en traçant discrètement les limites entre le bien et le mal. Tant dans les scènes de batailles (épisode 1 ou 7), que dans cellles de la vie politique ou de la vie privée, la reconstitution minutieuse des lieux et des tenues transportent le spectateur deux mille ans en arrière. Quelques scènes constituent des moments d'anthologie : le combat de Pullo, condamné à affronter des gladiateurs et qui reçoit le soutien des vétérans de la « Treizième » ou encore l'assassinat de César. Les personnages d'Antoine (le génial James Putefoy) et de Cicéron son particulièrement bien utilisés. La rivalité d'Atia et de Servilia atteint également des sommets. Un grand moment de télévision !On notera la belle qualité des coffrets « en dur » qui nous sont proposés ainsi que l'option intéressante offertes dans les bonus d'insérer des commentaires historiques dans l'un des modes de visionnage des épisodes.

A travers les vies de deux légionnaires, Titus Pullo et le centurion Lucius Vorenus, on côtoie à la fois les puissants (César, Marc-Antoine, Octave, les sénateurs) leur famille et les petites gens, la plèbe, la racaille, les bas-fonds de Rome. De fait, c'est bien plus passionnant que le peplum traditionnel. La saison 1 regroupe les années qui vont de la chute de Vercingétorix, la guerre civile entre César et Pompée, Cléopâtre et César et hélas, l'assassinat de César au Sénat. La scène est magistrale. A voir, absolument. Une des meilleures séries historiques que j'aie jamais vue et j'en ai vu beaucoup.