Customer Reviews

Roman City [VHS]

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

 

 

Okay, I showed the first 2/3rds of the film to my high school students, and then they came back during lunch to watch the ending! An animated story line ties together a very good look at the how and why of various important functions and considerations of planning a Roman city. The audio-visual work is high class! Some adults expressed regret that there wasn't more animation! They enjoyed the story telling as well as the students. Make learning fun, add this to your collection!

If cities largely define civilization, Western cities have been defined by the city planners and civic engineers of ancient Rome. As the empire expanded, these engineers planned and built cities throughout three continents that had logic, that had ample water by way of aqueducts, that had water distribution systems, sewers, paved streets with curbs and devices to slow traffic, public baths and public toilets, buildings devoted to culture and entertainment, warehouses, shops, homes and tenements. When the empire fell apart, it took 1,400 years for Western civilization to meet the challenges of urban living which the Romans had met.

Roman City was a PBS production built around David Macaulay's illustrated book, City: A Story of Roman Planning and Engineering. Macaulay is a writer and illustrator who is fascinated by how things work. He also is a first-rate teacher, able to describe and show concepts and techniques so they are understandable and fascinating. Roman City, with Macaulay as narrator, opens up his book with location shots at several ancient Roman cities such as Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia, as well as with illustrations taken from the book and with animation. We get to see why Roman cities were laid out the way they were and how important arches and concrete were. As with the book, the program tells the story of the planning, building and growth of the fictional city of Verbonia in Gaul, beginning with the decision of Caesar Augustus to establish the city in 27 B.C. The cast of characters includes the animations of young Marcus Fabricius (voiced by Derek Jacobi), the engineer charged with designing and building the city; Gaius Verlius (voiced by Brian Blessed), the former general appointed by Caesar to run Verbonia; and Caesar Augustus himself (voiced by Ian McKellan). The story line works up to a point. The device of the fictitious Fabricius and Verlius helps to personalize the problems and decisions. On the other hand, there are side issues -- the conflicts between the Gauls and Romans, the hatred of the Druids, the corruption of officials -- which, in my view, become distractions to the fascination of how things were actually built. A couple of the fictional secondary characters quickly become irritating when they show up for some humor.

On balance, I think this is an hour-long program that fans of engineering and ancient Rome will enjoy. I did. But I'd encourage anyone who gets this to also get a copy of David Macaulay's book. It's excellent throughout with none of the distractions. PBS also did programs based on three other outstanding Macaulay books, Pyramid, Castle and Cathedral.

The DVD presentation looks good. There are no extras.

I am a high school history teacher. I show this video to my students when we discuss the Roman empire. It gives a strong overview of life, politics, and architecture of a Roman city. It is extremely interesting, and my students actually requested to see it again. Macaulay combines the reality of an actual Roman city with a story in animation. This story depicts a time during Roman expansion. This combination works well to show how people lived and issues they faced as Rome built cities across Europe.

This enjoyable, informative documentary covered a wide range of subjects, not just Roman architecture.
Alternating between animated scenarios and live-action documentary, this film is a perfect teaching tool in which children might find real interest.
However, it is not just for children and teachers; adults, too, can learn much from its knowledge.
The animated portion of this documentary focuses primarily on Roman politics and the Roman control of other areas, such as Gaul (France). It also takes a stab at how conquered peoples might have felt, working a story into known facts and history seamlessly.
The live-action documentary segments are also extremely informative, and mainly focus on the ingenius architecture used in ancient Rome.
I would say that both portions of the film have great value for people of all ages. The animation struck me as a great way to make history interesting for students, though.
While I did find David Macaulay's attemtps at humor somewhat gauche, this did not affect the overall quality of the film.
Overall, this great, information-filled documentary can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages, and employs some interesting, effective comprehension techniques. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Roman history and architecture.

I first saw this series on PBS, and was captivated. David Macaulay uses animation, and an easy going, informative narration to tell the story. While some younger viewers {mine} would like to have seen more animation, i felt it was used in the right proportion to convey the story of building a new Roman city. Mr. Macaulay also provides new insights to how these cities were planned and constructed in ways that may surprise how many things they took into consideration {i.e. stepping stones across streets}. A great video that teaches without becoming boring for young viewers.

David Macaulay's video series has to be one of the best introductions to some of the major architectural achievements in the ancient world. Combining animation with live-action shots of historic sites is a stroke of brilliance as both work hand-in-hand to enhance the viewer's comprehension of the architectural, social, and historical importance of the subjects Macaulay describes. David Macaulay, himself, is a wonderful host on this guide through the ancient world. There are four videos in this series: Pyramid, Roman City, Cathedral, and Castle, and I highly recommend them all.

I found this documentary very interesting, and no a bit dry or dull, as one might expect it to be.
This is due in part to the use of animation to further increase viewers' understanding of the Roman City and history. I felt that this aspect of the video might make it more viewable for children.
While it does not delve deeply into Roman history, it does cover as many aspects of the Roman City as can be expected in 60 minutes.
Extremely informative and fun, I would recommend this video to adults and children alike because it lays a fair foundation for understanding ancient Rome. The documentary also does not focus strictly on architecture, but also discusses Rome's control of other areas, such as Gaul, and guesses at the points of view of the conquered through the animated story.
While I did find David Macaulay's attempts at jokes slightly gauche, they did not take away from the overall educational, intriguing quality of the documentary.
While I assume that the animated sections of the film would make it more appealing to teachers and students, I also found that these sections contained educational value as well. Still, I would say that the informative, live-action segments of the film are more useful on the subject.
Overall, this is a great documentary explaining the Roman City in a format people of all ages can enjoy.

The book this is based on is a wonder book - from beginning to end we see how a city is built, how it is run, and how daily life is in a Roman City. Wonderful, fun, good for boys or girls. The DVD tries to put a story in there - and it takes up alot of the time instead of explaining about how the city was built. I want to see them making the roads, designing the sewers, the crowded marketplaces, the busy streets, the water system! And yet we get a story. True, Brian Blessed is one of the voices, and the author does give us a tour of some Roman ruins while explaining how the cities worked but still, the book is better. Kids may still enjoy the DVD, but only if you give it to them BEFORE the book. And I do suggest getting City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction. It is worth it. I suggest getting this DVD if you are interested in Roman history, daily life or just anything Roman.

Brings history to life for middle and high school students as well as myself. It arrived in perfect condition and sooner than promised.

Adding to information covered in David Macaulay's earlier book of the same topic and giving an extensive back story not found there, Roman City travels back to just before the time of Christ and depicts the design and creation of a city in Gaul: modern-day France. The animation here is of a superior quality to past versions of Macaulay's books and the story of the founding of the city, a subversive movement by local Celtic druids, and the plot to take the life of the visiting Caesar Augustus, all of these are new to the film. There is much to be learned from Macaulay's continuing series and this is one more excellent volume in the collection.