Customer Reviews

Empires - The Roman Empire in the First Century

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Unfortunately, television history tends to overlook and oversimplify events. That is what happens with "The Roman Empire in the First Century." The writers have managed to make the dramatic events that shaped Rome appear boring, and are treated with little care for facts in many cases. The emperor Nero is hardly explored as to his personality (the greatest detail given over to the murder of his mother)and Claudius is skirted over as if his only purpose was to place Nero in the succession.

Granted, it is difficult to put 100 years of such important events into a four hour program but I find it difficult to understand how such a pivotal year as 69 CE is reduced to a footnote with the empire going with little pause from Nero to Vespasian! It is as if Galba, Otho and Vitellius had never existed let alone been emperors of the Roman Empire. The program focuses on the views of Seneca and Pliny the Younger but does not provide much about their motives for cooperating with tyrants or much on their backgrounds. We are informed that Seneca was exiled at the whim of a tyrant (Claudius) but not told that he was probably involved in a conspiracy with Claudius's niece, Julia. Similarly, Pliny prospered under Domitian but after he was assassinated he turned to blackening his character.

The experts who are interviewed for the program are certainly qualified to discuss their subjects but I have always wondered why someone like Barbara Levick, who as the author of biographies of Claudius and Vespasian, (or especially Michael Grant)would be invaluable. Sygorney Weaver, a great actress, reads the script at a monotonous pace.

In short, if you want to understand The Roman Empire in the first century, buy books at Amazon and not this video.

I couldn't help but notice the negative attention surrounding this video. I saw this on PBS and eventually got a copy for myself. It is one of my favorite documentaries on Rome at present.
The Hail Caesar collection, by A&E, had always been my favorite but after seeing this PBS series several times I came to have a greater appreciation for it. The narration may seem monotone but I find it blends well with the atmosphere of the film. A documentary relies on images, and stills very heavily and this one is no different. It is because of this fact that the slow and methodical tone Ms. Weaver uses allows you to slip back into the past and enjoy a perspective that may be different than you'd expect.
I am a student of Roman history and I think that what PBS created here is excellent. And especially since they are writing for a broad audience and not just specialized historians who already know all of the events covered in the documentary.
Given the fact that this is put on PUBLIC television and it is not a required coure for Roman History I believe it deserves at least 4 stars. I give it 5 because of the harsh criticism it has received to this point.
I recommend this video/DVD to anyone with an interest in history, politics, poetry or just simple novel story telling. It is a fun journey that can be enjoyed many times over. I have personally seen it in its entirety at least 6 times.

I watched this on PBS. This could have been much, much better than it was. The documentary was at its best when reading from contemporary texts like the letters of Ovid or Pliny. It was at its worst during the narration. Sigourney Weaver narrated in a slow, utterly unvarying monotone, as though reading her lines for the first time and trying not to mispronounce any of the words. It is hard to blame her, since the script that she read from sounded like it was lifted directly from an uninspired junior-high history textbook. It would have been so much better had the narration consisted of reading at length from Tacitus or Suetonius, both of which exist in extremely entertaining English translations.

The pictures were good, and the selections from Ovid, Pliny, and Seneca were very fine. The title is a little deceptive, as it covers the period only to the death of Vespasian, the year 79, other than a brief mention of the ascension of Trajan. This wasn't bad, but really could have been much better.

This must be the worst viedo documentry of Roman history ever produced. Sigournery Weaver was the worst possible choice for narrator. Just read the comments below. The emperors are all villified. I can't believe the producres included a comment by one historian who compared Augustus' conquest of Egypt to Hitler's conquest of France! There is no attempt to understand Roman culture other than a superficial glance. The Romans are continually compared to fascists, and that is completely anachronistic. The video may get some praise for including the wily Ovid, the writer of satirical sexual escapades. But then Sigourney Weaver accuses Augustus of suppressing free speech, as if Augustus was a bloodthirsty tyrant.

Purchase the Greeks instead, a series also produced by PBS but far superior. The cinematography is magnificant, the music is superb, and history is explored with more objectivity. It is also voiced over by Liam Neeson of Schindler's list fame and Star Wars:1.

The Roman Empire was truly an amazing political, economic and social entity. A wide variety of cultures and tribes were conquered and absorbed into the Empire. From the dark skinned North Africans to the blonde and fair-skinned people of Northern Europe to the swarthy inhabitants of Judea, they all brought their cultural heritage, religious beliefs and history into the Empire. Slavery was a fundamental part of the functioning of the Roman Empire, as the majority of people were slaves of one form or another. However, as is pointed out on this video, the slavery was not based on skin color, but on your history and social condition. If you were part of the aristocracy and were loyal to the Empire, then skin color was irrelevant. No political entity then or since has been able to command such loyalty from so diverse a population.
As the Empire generally ceased to expand and began the process of consolidation, many problems appeared. In a relatively short time, the Empire had expanded from the leg and boot of Italy to encompass nearly all the Mediterranean coastline and most of Europe. This led to severe political and social problems that took decades to resolve. Once an Emperor ascended the throne, the twin problems of succession and how to remove a mad tyrant were the most serious issues. The Emperor's word was law, yet that word could be used to cause the deaths of political rivals. At the end, assassination was the only means where an insane Emperor could be removed from his position.
This video is a superb recapitulation of that most dynamic of times. The imagery and narration answer many of the questions as to how the Empire was able to weather the first storms of political instability. Inherent in that stability was the first rumblings of a major new religion created from the life of a humble Jewish martyr. If you are interested in the history of the Roman Empire in the first century of the Christian Era, then this is the natural and best place to begin.

Augustus was the big man. He ruled with an iron fist. The majority of his successors were failures. There is a story in the second chapter that is very interesting. It is the story of Sejanus. He was a political gangster who wielded power during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. I love to hear the stories of political intrigues during ancient history. The first chapter is good, but too much about some poet. Who cares about ancient poetry, I want more blood and guts stories. Another great story is of a General named Germanicus. He was like JFK. This dvd is worth a watch for sure if you like roman history.

This PBS-produced documentary, which surveys Rome in the First Century, runs 219 minutes in four parts. It is so calm, so respectful, so stately and so dull that it made me wonder if they really were talking about Rome.

The tales of the emperors, of course, range from greatness to pederasty, from the building of an intercontinental transportation system to wretched excess, from mutual murder to becoming gods. Rome also is the story of great poets, writers, historians, and builders. The documentary spends a lot of time reminding us of this with quotes read by actors with generically well-bred voices.

Even more important and interesting is why the Romans were able to create such an empire. What was the force behind a crummy little village on the Tiber winding up owning everything from England to Egypt? And who was responsible for the most impressive set of officer's uniforms until the Nazis?

Rome is the story not just of emperors and poets, but also of engineers and soldiers, of a great civil service and a slave economy, of an empire-wide free-trade zone and a universal set of laws. Rome might nail you to a cross, but in general if you didn't say bad things about the emperor-god you could believe in any other gods that took your fancy. Said Edward Gibbon, "The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman World, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful. And thus toleration produced not only mutual indulgence, but even religious concord."

Little of this practical cynicism and do-the-job-right energy comes through in this documentary.

I have a great admiration for Sigourney Weaver as an actress, but her narration is simply too emotionless and too earnest. Does she have any more interest in first century Rome than most of us do? Probably not. She was hired to read the author's narration and she does with placid professionalism. The actors selected to voice the words of Ovid, Tacitus and the rest of the dead Romans bring even less moxie to the enterprise. Their voices are smooth, professional and uninteresting.

This documentary is well intentioned, probably more so than is good for it. If you must watch it for the facts, I'd advise that first you watch I, Claudius for the energy.

I love the PBS EMPIRE series... but this one just bored me to death. Something about it that I cannot put my finger on just came off so badly. Perhaps it was Sigourney's delivery, perhaps it was that periodic stupid "Circus Music", perhaps it was the same stupid footage over and over again... I just don't know. In whata we know was a bustling world of people... this thing felt so lonely and bereft of visual stimulation or charts. I thought it would be enthralling. The subject is so broad and could pack way more of a punch than say a documentary on one man like Napoleon... yet "Napoleon" in the Empire series is superbly done. It's almost as if they have no top quality control over this "Empire" series... very hit and miss.

Hate to say it, but I've seen "The Greeks", "Martin Luther", Napoleon", "Islam", "Peter & Paul"... and "ROME" is the worst one. What a shame. It had more potential to be better than any of them.

I think all I have to go is the MEDICI, EGYPT, JAPAN and SOLOMON... but I cannot imagine they will disappoint to the same degree as this one.

This was a casting error. Sigourney Weaver is an excellent actress. However, she does not have the strong voice needed to carry the weight of this empire. Although Roman women had a great deal of behind-the-scenes power, it was the men who physically built, protected, and maintained its existence. Somehow this is lost in the feminine voice. Liam Neeson was a superb choice to narrate "The Greeks." What happened?

i was REALLY looking forward to see this video.
i had downloaded somewhere,what i first believed to be an audiobook about The Roman Empire.Then to my exitement i found out that it was the audio track from this DVD.
I ordered it,and i was sadely dissapointed.
The video i imagined in my head,when listening to the audio track was FAR from reality.
The video part i made without drama,without action...without actors/acting in the true sense.Just more like "background" video.It truly did NOT add upp to the marvelous audio part.
Its not that i am saying "Do NOT buy this DVD" its more like saying dont look,just listen. Because the Audio track is perfect.From Sigourney Weaver's cool and sensitive telling,to the actors playing the part as the storry about the Roman Empire,unfolds.
So 2 Stars for the Video part. 5 Stars for the Audio