Customer Reviews

The History Channel Presents Rome - Engineering an Empire

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I rented this video for my 7th grade son. It was interesting to see how things were accomplished by the Romans. It talked about the Roman Emperors during that time, but the engineering feats that they accomplished really kept my son's attention and helped him gain more understanding. I would highly recommend this for any 7th grader in addition to their textbook. Parents, be aware there are a couple sexual references, but shown as a historical educating perspective.

I used this video with my high school mythology class. Most classes are not impressed with Roman mythology since it is borrowed from the Greeks. After seeing this video, they leave with a new respect for the Roman Empire. With their engineering marvels, the Romans were too busy to come up with a good mythology.

My boyfriend and I watched this video before going to Rome last October. It did a wonderful job introducing us to the overall timeline of Roman emperors and their architectural accomplishments. While it may not be 100% historically accurate, the very minor misrepresentations do not take away from the excellent introduction to Roman history. Since we were using it only as an introduction to Rome, all we needed were the major facts and timeline.
If you're traveling to Rome in the near future I'd HIGHLY suggest you watch this video (which you may be able to catch for free on cable TV). It was a beautiful experience to walk through the city and point at a building and say "Aren't those the markets that Damascus built for Trajan?"
The video is slightly dry and long, but it's definitely worth the time to watch.

This was nothing but a disappointment. I watched it with my kid because I thought it would be educational. The title and description give the impression that this is about the engineering feats of the Romans. Instead, it was mostly a sensationalized pseudo-history of the Roman Empire emphasizing as much blood and gore as possible. This DVD is prime evidence of how low the History Channel is willing to go. The actual engineering feats are quickly brushed over, giving almost no details at all. Instead, the emphasis is on bloody violence, such as the stabbing of Caesar, gladiatorial gore, and Nero's murder of his mother. When they showed Nero slitting his own throat and then did a retake of it, I turned it off. If I could have given this a negative rating, I would have. Whatever you do, don't watch it with little kids.

I don't own the DVD, but I'm watching the show on the History Channel as I write this. It certainly has its share of interesting tidbits, especially when discussing Roman engineering and architecture. Unfortunately, it clearly values sensationalism over accuracy in retelling the history - for example, it states that Nero was the prime suspect for starting the Great Fire of Rome, retelling the story about him playing the lyre ("fiddling") while Rome burned. However, the most reliable Roman historian, Tacitus, who was alive during the fire and who generally was anti-Nero, informs us that Nero wasn't even in Rome when the Great Fire started (and even praises his reactions to the fire); as this wouldn't fit in with the overly simplistic portrait the show paints of Nero, though, it is not mentioned. When a show makes mistakes such as these, common knowledge among Roman historians and easily researched, it is difficult to trust any of the history it relates. Most of the commentary by experts is fairly basic, with little that is particularly insightful or thought-provoking.

To sum up, the program is fairly strong when covering the specific engineering feats, but unreliable whenever it moves to Roman history and culture.

This video is an excellent way to get students engaged in learning about history. My classes have been enthralled with all the intrigue and engineering feats explained in this video. Yes, it is bloody. Yes, it does sensationalize history. However, this video makes history entertaining and fascinating. I would not recommend it for young children, but middle school students learn about Rome in 6th and 7th grade, so this video is perfect as a companion to textbook learning.

Well worth the money. Informative and very entertaining. I've lost count of how many of my friends have wanted to watch this DVD.

This is a great documentary for both the historian, and for the everyday person interested in history. The digital recreations of the buildings/monuments in their full glory is stunning and truly captures their majestic qualities. Great production overall.

Fascinating documentary on some of the greatest monuments and works of engineering ever created. Great history lesson for any interested in engineering, architecture of classical history.

I always show this video to my Art Appreciation classes. It helps them to place the images from their textbook in a historical context. The video brings the emperors to life.