Customer Reviews

Legions of Rome [VHS]

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This is a pretty decent documentary on the Roman Legions. It must be noted, however, that the periods covered are in the early days of the Roman Empire. Only about 1/2 of one of the 4 videocassetes is dedicated to the Legions of the post-Republic. That would be "The Roman Invasion Of Britain" tape, which covers the incursion into Britain during the reign of Claudius. Of course, even that was during the early Julio-Claudian dynasty.

The other 3 episodes detail the Gallic wars, the Punic wars and the life of Julius Caesar. It is fitting that they dedicate one entire tape to Caesar, given the fact that 2 of the other 3 deal with him @ great length. The makers did a fine job of expatiating on Caesar's "grand tour" of Gaul, as well as the bloody 2nd Punic War (the war against Hannibal).

However, it seems that they were a bit sloppy with their coverage of the 3rd Punic war. The narrator states that it was Scipio who oversaw the razing of Carthage. This would lead some viewers to believe that it was the same Scipio Africanus who defeated Hannibal (at Zama - 202BC) @ the end of the 2nd Punic war. This is, of course, incorrect. It was Scipio's son, Cornelius Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus (the younger) who was responsible for the destruction of Carthage. This lack of distinction between the one and the other was an unfortunate oversight.

The best of the 4 tapes is undoubtedly the inquiry into the Britain invasions. It is in this episode that they detail the salient tactics, components and organizational practices of the Legions. They survey in depth such formations as the wedge & the tortoise, as well as the distinct units of the Contubernium, Century, Cohort and much more. Also, this documentary has Brian Blessed as a narrator; most famous for his role as the magnanimous Caesar Augustus in the PBS series "I, Claudius."

Overall, this set of documentaries is over-priced for what you get. It is a well-done composite, but not awesome. The back of one of the episodes promises "spectacular battle re-enactments." Well, maybe, so long as you're not expecting them to compete with the battle scenes from the movie "Braveheart." If you want something that will give you more bang for your buck, I would recommend "Rome: Power And Glory." The price is not as steep, + it covers a far greater scope than the present video. However, if, like me, you're an enthusiastic aficianado of classical military history, this is well worth the investment.