Imperium: Augustus (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Roger Young

Writer (WGA):

Eric Lerner (written by)

Release Date:

30 November 2003 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

Tagline:

History will bear the mark of his rule.

Plot:

Caesar Augustus (O'Toole) tells of how he became the emperor to his reluctant daughter, Julia (Belvedere) following the death of her husband Agrippa (Duken).

Plot Keywords:

Daughter | Enemy | Ancient Rome | Roman Empire | Marriage Of Convenience

Cast

Peter O'Toole	...	Augustus Caesar
Charlotte Rampling	...	Livia Drusilla
Vittoria Belvedere	...	Julia Caesaris
Benjamin Sadler	...	Gaius Octavius / Young Augustus
Ken Duken	...	Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Russell Barr	...	Gaius Maecenas
Juan Diego Botto	...	Iullus Antonius
Martina Stella	...	Young Livia
Valeria D'Obici	...	Atia
Michele Bevilacqua	...	Tiberius
Riccardo De Torrebruna	...	Decimus
Giampiero Judica	...	Scipio
Vanni Materassi	...	Musa
Elena Ballesteros	...	Octavia
Gérard Klein	...	Julius Caesar (as Gerard Klein)

Also Known As:

Augustus (Australia) (DVD box title) (USA) (video title)
Augustus - El primer emperador (Spain) (DVD title)
Augustus: The First Emperor (UK) (DVD title)
Imperium: Augusto (Italy)
Mein Vater, der Kaiser (Germany)
Mi padre, el emperador (Spain)
My Father the Emperor (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some war violence.

Runtime:

200 min | Argentina:180 min | USA:178 min | UK:177 min (cut) | Spain:161 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Germany | Italy | Spain | Austria | France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15 (DVD release) | UK:12 (cut UK version) | UK:15 (uncut) | USA:R (DVD and VHS) | Spain:13 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Company:

EOS Entertainment

Trivia:

As part of the contract deal, the British and Italian companies hired actors and actresses from each of the countries that put money into the making of the film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The legions in the founding of the Second Triumvirate are going into battle but not carrying their standards. Roman legions *always* carried their standards.

Quotes:

Livia: You don't believe the rumours, do you?
Augustus: No, Livia. Even you aren't *that* cruel.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Empire" (2005)

Refreshingly not in formulaic Hollywood style.

This movie's historical accuracy was matched by it's overall quality of performance and filming. Peter O'Toole is an extremely talented actor and the rest of the cast, though unknown to me, did an equally fine job. The sets and costuming were impressively accurate as were the battle scenes and no one threw a single sword! Truly, a gem which I discovered quite by chance and sincerely recommend to anyone sick of attempts at historical movies that get butchered by film-makers that haven't got a clue and are just worried about making these historical figures into comic book super heroes. A must-see for the serious history buff.