Just saw it on Amazon Prime (although it's likely there on HBO Go/Now and probably On-Demand)
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Spoilers What's on TV?
- Thread starter Huntn
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I've got Prime and am going to crank up HBO Now in May for Game of Thrones, or I may buy it if I can find it cheap. You can start thinking that a series like this will always be available for streaming, but I've seen where titles dissapear.
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Documentary, @Huntn, a documentary.
Mary Beard is a Classics professor at Cambridge (and is clearly fluent in Latin) and she makes terrific, interesting, entertaining TV programmes about Rome and the Roman world for the BBC.
Er, no, I didn't watch the series 'Rome'. (Don't have HBO, but, I have to admit that I am uncomfortable - and frankly, quite disbelieving, until my doubts are overcome - when US TV tries to do history, or, even entertainment loosely based on history, because, very often, they just don't get it right. In fact, very often, they get it completely wrong.)
Was it compatible with known historical facts?
Well, it was a highly entertaining joint HBO- BBC production filmed on sets in Italy. It was so expensive to produce that the plug was pulled after two seasons. It focused on the lives of two soldiers in the midst of historical Rome, figures, events, and includes the fall of Julius Caeser. Described as broadly accurate, some shortcuts and time compressions took place, but the primary focus of the story are these two fictional soldiers. Highly recommended, but I understand you are picky about deviations.
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I saw it and thought it was entertaining. Just watching Arthur at the moment. Not quite sure this one is to factually accurate about the fall of the Romans in Britain either!Well, it was a highly entertaining joint HBO- BBC production filmed on sets in Italy. It was so expensive that the plug was pulled after two seasons. It focused on the lives of two soldiers in the midst of historical Roman figures, events, and includes the fall of Julius Caeser. Described as broadly accurate, some shortcuts and time compressions took place, but the primary focus of the story are these two fictional soldiers. Highly recommended, but I understand you are picky about deviations.
I'll guess you are also a fan of Gladiator, a great movie, deserved Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but my impression is this is mostly/completely a fictional story. Fighting the Germanic barbarians was a great correagraphed battle in its simplicity, a simple flanking exercise.
If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled; for you are in Elysium, and are already dead! (Soldiers laugh)
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Rome is a fantastic romp. It's the crossing of the Rubicon to the death of Tony and Cleo, filtered through the experiences of (initially) regular soldiers
History? You'll recognise everything that happens to the big names, but there's a lot of omission of more marginal figures and less televisual events. The main thing is the compression of time: you'd get the impression that the two series covered five years of history, rather than twenty.
But it's very, very watchable.
EDIT: or what Huntn said in a post I'd somehow managed to miss!
Yes Gladiator is another favourite. As is the 300 and Kingdom of Heaven. Both historical in their own way.I'll guess you are also a fan of Gladiator, a great movie, deserved Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but my impression is this is mostly/completely a fictional story. Fighting the Germanic barbarians was a great correagraphed battle in its simplicity, a simple flanking exercise.
If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled; for you are in Elysium, and are already dead! (Soldiers laugh)
Possibly interesting trivia- I was ready to state that they used Mars the Bringer of War (Holst) as the background music for the battle, until I researched and found: In June 2006, agents representing the estate of composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934) filed a lawsuit claiming that Zimmer plagiarized material from The Planets. Specifically, "The Battle" was believed to plagiarize Holst's "Mars, the bringer of war".[4] The Track "Barbarian Horde" reprises most of these themes.
I'll guess you are also a fan of Gladiator, a great movie, deserved Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but my impression is this is mostly/completely a fictional story. Fighting the Germanic barbarians was a great correagraphed battle in its simplicity, a simple flanking exercise.
If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled; for you are in Elysium, and are already dead! (Soldiers laugh)
Possibly interesting trivia- I was ready to state that they used Mars the Bringer of War (Holst) as the background music for the battle, until I researched and found: In June 2006, agents representing the estate of composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934) filed a lawsuit claiming that Zimmer plagiarized material from The Planets. Specifically, "The Battle" was believed to plagiarize Holst's "Mars, the bringer of war".[4] The Track "Barbarian Horde" reprises most of these themes.
Thanks very much for the recommendations, @Huntn, and @mojolicious; while I have absolutely no argument about entertainment classed as entertainment (set in a factual or fictional historical setting), I find myself getting twitchy when entertainment is passed off as history (and is full of holes where historical facts used to be).
As a spectacle, and as entertainment, Gladiator is enjoyable. As a history lesson, I'm not so sure.
However, going back a long way (and yes, the budget was no great shakes by the bloated standards of today, but what a superlative script, plot and cast!), I remember watching with awe, and worshipful reverence, the superb BBC TV series 'I, Claudius". That was an unmissable slot in the weekly TV schedule. Just brilliant.
(Hint: The stunning cast included John Hurt as Caligula, Brian Blessed as Augustus, Patrick Stewart as Sejanus, Sian Phillips as Livia, and the wonderful Derek Jacobi as Claudius among many others.)
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It was based on the books I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. A superb TV series, - and incidentally, also the very first time I remember coming across the name of Patrick Stewart who played a really slimy and duplicitous Sejanus.
John Hurt was stunning - just jaw-droppingly brilliant - as an insane yet bizarrely commanding Caligula, and Derek Jacobi superlative as the stammering historian that Claudius was.
It is the kind of series that shows you that you don't need special effects, or massive sets, or CGI (though they are nice if you can afford them, but never as more than the equivalent of stage props - essentially there to support, rather than detract from, or distract from, or substitute for - the story), but that a great and enthusiastic first rate classically adept cast, excellent script, and terrific story are a combination that just works so well.
A pity the bells and whistles brigade seem to have largely forgotten this important lesson.
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I'll have to go see where I can find I, Claudius.
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I think the history of Gladiator is more of a historical representation of Rome vs a historical event, a general who became a slave and defied an emperor- did that never happened? When the movie came out I looked for accuracy checks and don't remember finding anything that said this story happened.
I agree that 'I, Claudius' was outstanding! I have it on DVD.
Hmmm, I will have to check this out. It seems worth it!
A long, thoughtfully paced (it allows itself time to develop character and permits the narrative to unfold naturally) beautifully acted, compelling TV drama - to my mind, this is brilliant TV.
I think you would really enjoy it.
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TIME magazine and the BBC regard 'I, Claudius' as one of the best ever TV dramas; apparently, it makes every 'Best 100' list, and the BBC have in their own top twenty of all time; not bad for a drama made in the mid 1970s.
Watching the 5th episode of Ken Burn's 'The National Parks'. I highly recommend this series. http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/
This is something I've been meaning to watch as well. Glad to hear it is good!
This first aired back in Feb 2016, and somehow I missed it.* AMC has started a second run of The Night Manager, a John le Carre story about an arms dealer as a 6 episode mini series this last Tuesday. My machine, did not initially record it because I had it set for "new" episodes only. Remedied that and caught the episode as a re-run. Thumbs up so far. Liking the cast, Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie. Knowing AMC, I think the first episode will be repeated at least once more time before the next episode next Tuesday.
* Update: First airing in UK?
Episode 2, The Night Manager, I'm hooked. Good story, outstanding filming locations in London, Switzerland, and Majorca, Spain. The Fortaleza, Majorca, the villian's liar is cool. Just realized I am watching Loki.
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