"Rome" (2005) TV series 2005-2007

User Rating:

9.2/10   

Creators:

Bruno Heller
William J. MacDonald
John Milius

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

28 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | Romance | War

Plot:

A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Hand To Hand Combat | Male Nudity | Dictator | Rivalry

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 14 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Kevin McKidd	...	Lucius Vorenus (22 episodes, 2005-2007)
Ray Stevenson	...	Titus Pullo (22 episodes, 2005-2007)
Polly Walker	...	Atia of the Julii (22 episodes, 2005-2007)
Kerry Condon	...	Octavia of the Julii (22 episodes, 2005-2007)
James Purefoy	...	Mark Antony (22 episodes, 2005-2007)
Ian McNeice	...	Newsreader (20 episodes, 2005-2007)
Coral Amiga	...	Vorena the Elder (19 episodes, 2005-2007)
Lindsay Duncan	...	Servilia of the Junii (18 episodes, 2005-2007)
Lidia Biondi	...	Merula (18 episodes, 2005-2007)
Tobias Menzies	...	Marcus Junius Brutus (17 episodes, 2005-2007)
Nicholas Woodeson	...	Posca (17 episodes, 2005-2007)
Indira Varma	...	Niobe (15 episodes, 2005-2007)
David Bamber	...	Marcus Tullius Cicero (15 episodes, 2005-2007)
Chiara Mastalli	...	Eirene (15 episodes, 2005-2007)
Manfredi Aliquo	...	Castor (15 episodes, 2005-2007)
Suzanne Bertish	...	Eleni (14 episodes, 2005-2007)
Max Pirkis	...	Gaius Octavian (13 episodes, 2005-2007)
Lee Boardman	...	Timon (13 episodes, 2005-2007)
Esther Hall	...	Lyde (13 episodes, 2005-2007)
Ciarán Hinds	...	Gaius Julius Caesar (13 episodes, 2005-2007)
Anna Fausta Primiano	...	Vorena the Younger (12 episodes, 2005-2007)
Michael Nardone	...	Mascius (10 episodes, 2005-2007)

Runtime:

UK:90 min (1 episode) | UK:50 min (9 episodes) | 52 min (22 episodes) | Argentina:60 min (12 Episodes)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-15 (DVD) | Australia:MA (some episodes) (cut) | Australia:R (some episodes) | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Australia:R (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 (heavily cut) | Germany:16 (TV rating) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Singapore:M18 (season 1) | UK:18 | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:12 (Season 1 DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 (Season 2 DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 (season 2) | Spain:18 | South Korea:18 | Hungary:16 | New Zealand:R16 (season 2) | Japan:R-15 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

HD Vision Studios

Trivia:

Virtually all extras in the crowd scenes are actual Romans. The producers and directors feel that Italians have a special manner in their walk or carriage which adds to the atmosphere of Ancient Rome.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: During several episodes captive birds are shown. There are Macaws and Amazon parrots from America, and cockatoos from Australia. Since the continents these birds came from were unknown to the Romans, who would not have been able to travel there and bring these animals back to Rome with them.

Quotes:

Niobe: [with admiration while helping Lucius put on his magistrate's toga] Look at you.
Titus Pullo: You look like laundry.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kevin Smith: Sold Out - A Threevening with Kevin Smith (2008) (V)

The Best Yet?

I Claudius was maybe the best miniseries ever. Now, there's Rome, and it's even better.

I agree with another reviewer, that quibbles about historical inaccuracies, such as accents or how old so-and-so should be, are silly pedantry. I've been a Roman history buff ever since my own high school triumvirate of Caesar, Cicero and Virgil, and I say that this historical fiction is both exciting AND quite accurate with the important stuff.

So far, every player has been terrific, in particular Ciarán Hinds as Caesar and Max Pirkis as Octavian. Julius Caesar was perhaps the most complex "great" figure in history. Was he a great populist, trying to champion the people against the Optimates, or was he an ambitious demagogue, who was using the Roman mobs to attain the imperium? Hinds depicts this complexity perfectly, while projecting a steely will that is shared by Caesar's emerging protégé, Octavian. Thanks to Max Pirkis's brilliant portrayal, we can already see the no-nonsense pragmatism, ruthlessness and brilliance that will propel this boy into becoming the greatest despot in history.

And what about that dissolute Mark Anthony? We can already see Actium in his face. And with Atia, I think Livia (as depicted in I Claudius) and Messalina have met their match.

And midst the struggle for mastery of Rome, we see the struggle of more common folk just to make a living. Rome makes the parallel stories of the Optimates and Centurian, now Prefect, Vorenus and Legionnaire Pullo a perfect vehicle for comparing the travails of different classes — their love lives, social lives, how they treated the servants, how they practiced their faiths, how they fought. Seen from these different perspectives (which we did not get with I Claudius), we get a three-dimensional view and, for me, the closest to feeling like one is actually there of any historical fiction ever produced.

And look at the production values. Is it any wonder, when we see who's behind the camera — Michael Apted and John Milius — that we have an immaculately crafted work?

By their commitment to quality of production and integrity of story, HBO and BBC are demonstrating what television can be. This is a wonderful, wonderful series. Anyone with a love of history, drama and spectacle should be devouring it with delight.