Rome: The Complete First Season
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Movie Reviews of Rome: The Complete First Season
Movie Review: Across the Rubicon
Summary: 5 Stars
Two powers go to war in the middle of an ever-growing empire. On one hand you have the supporters of the "senate" that are protected by Pompeii Magnus. On the other hand you have Julius Ceasar, fresh from his wars with the Gauls, now turning his sights on something more. In the process you have troops crossing the Rubicon, Rome switching hands between different types of dictators, little acts of treason that turn into big acts of war, and so many other bouts. also amongst these things are the lives of others that range from nobles to soldiers to commoners and even slaves, and the things that drive them.
It is an amazing feat, Rome, expensive enough to finally do itself in but beautiful enough to enchant audiences for two glorious seasons.
When I watched Rome, I was astounded by what it brought to its viewers. Not only did you have strong characters battling for the lifeblood of an empire but you also had other people battling for small pieces of the human puzzle. A soldier seeing his wife for the first time in ages, trying to understand love. Another soldier i the debt of the first, becoming a friend while also walking through the ranks. Marc Anthony and his command, gold and the way the treasury of Rome would be used, lost, and regained, love found tied to a cart, and so many other things. JHonestly, there is so much to contend with here that a review doesn't do it all justice. Put the sets into play as well as the lingo, the curses and the symbolism of the day, and you have yourself a show that really outdid itself.
HBO really knows how to make something that counts.
If you missed out on Rome, the DVD sets are a great thing to acquire. Not only will they make the mind happy but, in some ways, they do Rome justice. They speak of everday life, of the way Rome was, of the madness and the mayhem, and of the glory they saw in themselves. It is all educationally vast, brutal, and sometimes more than one bargains for. Personally, I loved it and wished I could have had more.
Isn't that the way of all good things?
Movie Review: Like a Roman Mirror to our faces
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a geat production. As other reviews have noted, the actors and acting are first rate, the production values are superb, and the soundtrack alarmingly lifelike at times. So if you love eye candy, great sound, incredible drama, and wonderful sets and costumes, by all means buy it. I salute all the talents and crafts that came together to create it. On a decent home theater with a well-calibrated plasma or other monitor, this will truly knock your socks off.
What I find most amazing, on a fourth viewing (second of the DVD set), is that it is like a Roman mirror, which as is shown and explained were made of polished, hammered metal. They were not totally reflective nor polished, nor were they smooth, so everything was a reflected sufficiently to comprehend, but also blurred and distorted. In many ways, modern Western culture is still a concious reflection of Roman history, as a look at most of our entertainment and sports, and our legal system will confirm.
Simultaneously, Roman culture of this period is so alien as to become almost like a dream where the familiar (violence, sex, laws, individual lust for power or glory, family loyalty) become bizarrely twisted. Religious devotion becomes a desperate attempt to understand which God may have the jurisdiction over a particular situation and how that God can be momentarily appeased. Compassion and caring become weakness (and folly). Reaction to crime is not gauged on the event, but inspires shock or revulsion based on differences in status (free, high status, slave, barbarian) between the perpetrator and the victim. The happiness of children or other members is sacrificed without compunction to ambitions to improve family or individual status.
It is far more wonderful and terrifying than anything Hollywood ever "knocked off" about Rome, and can keep you awake at night thinking about similarities and differences between then and now.
If I had seen this in my teens, I would have majored in Ancient History.
Movie Review: Beautiful, Intense, Thought-Provoking
Summary: 5 Stars
I can hardly say enough good things about the HBO series Rome. The popular conception of ancient Rome paints everything in black and white--we tend to think of the city as being pristine, classical, monochromatic. HBO digs into the dirt that must have existed under that image, presenting us with a gritty, colorful, realistic look at a world we already thought we knew.
The first season relates events well-known to anyone who's studied ancient history: Caesar's rise to power and assassination. Yet woven into this is the story of two regular soldiers from Caesar's thirteenth legion. Admittedly, their uncanny ability to be right in the middle of every major historical event sometimes stretches credibility, even to the point that Caesar must remark that they are "Fortune's pets." Still, it's easy to forgive that tiny stretch as we enjoy their amazing story of adventure, heartbreak, political intrigue, and ultimate brotherhood. The climax of their story arc, which is too good to give away in a review, brings chills to me whenever I think about it.
A word about the DVD: One of the great features of the DVD is the "All Roads Lead to Rome" setting. In this mode, factoids about Roman life and history pop onto the screen at appropriate moments in the narrative, sometimes with the option to stop the episode and read more about the background. My wife and I found that we always set the episodes on that mode for our second viewing. (We're just starting on our third viewing. I suspect we'll watch these over and over.) The factoids give information about ancient customs, cuisine, military practice, legal codes, monetary units, religion, and much more. It's like you're getting a History-channel documentary as well as an HBO series.
Oh, and speaking of HBO, did I mention the sex? If you're not sold yet, I'll just mention, there's lots of beautiful people having sex in this show. Yet there's so much plot you can't possibly be accused of watching smut. There's something for everyone.
Movie Review: I LOVE These Characters!
Summary: 5 Stars
Tonight I have just finished the last disc of Rome, Season One... I am here to IMMEDIATELY order Rome, Season Two.
There is no way to overcompliment this series. The best $50 I've ever spent. A story you know so well, but still just hang on every scene. Sets, costumes, details... perfection.
But what just glares is how incredibly well-drawn these characters are. My God... when was the last time you watched something where you could actually NAME a dozen characters? This is that well-writen.
As I said, I just finished watching this Season One set... at this moment, I'd say my favorite character is Octavian. His part is small, but each of the several scenes where he reveals his astonishing ability to comprehend the politics swirling about him is marvelous. I particularly remember the scene where Vorenus and Pullo rescue him, and he explains to them, while explaining himself, EVERYTHING going on around all of them... wonderful writing.
Best sequence, though, is he and Pullo "working together" to discover the facts underlying Vorenius' marriage. How can entertainment be simultaneously abhorrent and charming? I'm reminded of "Clockwork Orange" here.
Of course, I could have equally chosen Pullo, or Antony (Antony ROCKS) or Vorenus (I relate to his broody nature, and, late into it, him losing it and jumping to Pullo's aid, hollering "13!"... was probably my series highlight)... without any doubt, the strength of this series is its characters. Brutus, Cassius, Atia, Servilia, on and on... even the SLAVES are amazing compelling characters! (both Servilia's and Caesar's relationships with their slaves have forced me to a deeper understanding of the term).
At this point, I am so involved with these characters that Season Two can be only a quarter as good as what I just watched, and still satisfy me. I'm just not ready to let these people go.
Bravo, HBO. Thank you for gifting me with the grandeur that is "Rome".
Movie Review: well worth the investment of time and money.
Summary: 5 Stars
In my view HBO is to American audiences what the BBC was to their UK counterparts in the 70's and 80's. Ground-breaking quality.
So it is not surprising that this union of HBO and BBC should have produced such a beautifl offspring, television of the highest caliber.
Rome the 1st season was able to achieve what, in our day of ADD, MTV and reality TV, seems to b e highly improbable and that is a show of substance caliber and humility.
While of a very high production value complete with CGI and eye candy it is also dramatic without being operatic, informative without being dull as well as entertaining but without being frivolous. Which is after all what every tube show presuming to confine you to that sofa for hours at a time should be...in an ideal world.
The cast, which is mostly British, is superb. Perfectly cast, with more of the character in mind than the aesthetics I'm happy to say. Kevin Mckidd and Ciaran Hind deserve special notice.
The sets and costumes are impressive in them selves but the attention to historical is at a level I have never seen before in a period drama not set in the America civil war.
The story of the rise and fall of Julius Caesar is well known through countless dramatizations, but the intricate tapestry of interpersonal relationships and social interactions of what used to be the city of Rome is what makes this version of the story so compelling. To say nothing about Informative, I for one would not want to live there. This is not romanticism this is earthy realism, fleas included.
The DVD (UK version) has behind the scenes featuretts, Audio commentary as well as a feature, which captions historical detail of the times as you are watching ( fab detail for history buffs and multi-taskers). The cup is full in this one so well worth the price.
So, if after this serenade you are still not able to deduce my opinion of this series, let me spell it out...Marvelous!