"Empire" (2005) TV mini-series

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Directors:

John Gray
Kim Manners

Writers:

Sara B. Cooper (writer)
Chip Johannessen (writer)

Release Date:

28 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History

Plot:

Epic four-hour series about the rise of Octavius who succeeds Julius Caesar and tangles with Marc Anthony for control of the Roman empire and finally went on to become the emperor Augustus.

Plot Keywords:

Julius Caesar | Roman Empire | Assassination | Emperor | Betrayal

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Santiago Cabrera	...	Octavius
Vincent Regan	...	Marc Antony
Emily Blunt	...	Camane
James Frain	...	Brutus
Jonathan Cake	...	Tyrannus
Christopher Egan	...	Agrippa (2005) (2005) (as Chris Egan)
Michael Maloney	...	Cassius
Fiona Shaw	...	Fulvia
Colm Feore	...	Caesar
Michael Byrne	...	Cicero
Orla Brady	...	Atia
Trudie Styler	...	Servilia
Graham McTavish	...	General Rapax
Dennis Haysbert	...	Magonius
Amanda Root	...	Noella

Runtime:

360 min (including commercials) (6 parts) | Finland:236 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | USA:TV-14 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Storyline Entertainment

Trivia:

Real swords were used in close-up shots for authenticity. This risky decision resulted in Jonathan Cake being cut during filming for the first episode. The cut became infected and Cake required hospital treatment.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the final battle between Antony's and Octavius's armies, Tyranus removes two silver emblems from his chest to denounce Antony and fight for Octavius. In the next shot, they are there again. Later, they disappear once more.

Quotes:

Cicero: He names his nephew.
Camane: Octavius.
Cicero: He's just a boy.
Camane: So was Caesar once.
Cicero: Caesar was a boy, yes. But not every boy is a Caesar.

Movie Connections:

Version of Imperium: Augustus (2003) (TV)

hoped more...

Well folks, last two nights I saw This mini series on Spain TV, as I am a beloved of everything related to Ancient History, specially on media (movies, series, documentaries). Recently also in Spain was shown another big historical series, BHO's Rome, I liked it very much, and I was hoping something in the same way. But this series, Empire, really I disliked, the way it was played and most of all the history, quite inaccurate. Some items of the history (Tyrant, for example) does not fit very well, and remembers too much Tom Scott's Gladiator (even the music was very similar in that way), another parts of the history were underestimated or even cut out. I mean the last of the Antonio's and the final fight between Octavio and Antonio, the Accio Battle and other episodes (Cleopatra affair). In deed the plot was sometimes incomplete, sometimes inappropriate. In the other hand, the players, the actors, have taken part in different ways; stand out Agripa, maybe Tyrant, sometimes Caesar, sometimes Ciceron, but the rest in my opinion sometimes overplayed (Antonio), sometimes had a poor acting (Octavio). Really hoped more