Customer Reviews

Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons

5 star:		(202)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

THE SERIES

Rome wasn't built in one day, we all know that and its story can't be told over 2 seasons but this is probably the best we're going to have, audio-visually, for a long time to come. This is an interrupted, extremely ambitious and, eventually, unaffordable HBO project meant to illustrate the process though which an up and coming but flawed - expansionist, aristocrat driven, slave labor dependent - republic morphs into an equally or more so flawed, unsustainable empire. [Hmmm... lessons to learn? Anyone? Anyone?]

HBO and the producers of the show should be commended for doing everything in their power to stay as close as artistically possible to the historical record, whatever was available, of the period - and 'Rome' covers Cesar's climb to power and the period shortly thereafter, up to Octavian's triumph and transformation into 'Augustus' - the struggles, the intrigue, the atrocities - and how the events it triggered affected the aristocrats and the plebes, rich and poor, citizens, free men and slaves. The point of view and the storytelling shifts or swings between the history makers - Cesar, his family, Octavian, the aristocrats opposing Cesar - and two more or less ordinary Forrest Gump-like Roman soldiers who find themselves involved with almost everything historians wrote about those years and are also depicted during their more ordinary moments.

'Rome' is a feast to the eye, at least in the Blu-ray version that I'm watching. The colors are vibrant and the details on ornaments, wall graffiti, costumes, makeup are as accurate as they come. I would say almost the same about the sounds of Rome but we know so much less about the music of antiquity... Due to obvious budget constraints, camera angles are almost always narrow, focusing on specific buildings or people with the occasional, probably CGI-produced, panoramic shots. And no large, uber-expensive battle scenes but that's okay because the overall story is told well. I don't believe we ever see more than a few dozen humans on any scene but we should admire the director and the camera people even more for their ability to maintain our suspension of disbelief with the limited means at their disposal. Having some of the scenes shot on location - 'Rome' was made in Italy at the Cinecita studios - makes watching even more enjoyable.



THE BLU-RAY EDITION

The Blu-ray edition excels in every aspect, from packaging to the quality of the actual episodes to the Blu-ray specific extras.

The two season's 22 episodes of about one hour each are delivered on 10 discs. They come inside an amazingly beautiful book-like binding with each disc on its own 2-page presentation/display that consists of one picture on the left page and some details on each of the episodes on that specific disc on the right-side page which also holds the disc. There are additional pages that contain titles or some artwork for a total of 30, thick cardboard, full color pages. It's nice that a cloth bookmark was added to help keep track of where one may be with the viewing. The box the book slides in is color-coordinated with the book covers - dark, weathered dried-blood reddish-brown with gold lettering and accents. Simply amazing.

Each episode is presented in 1080p, 16:9 screen and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround sound for English and German as well as DTS Digital Surround 2.0 for Spanish, French, Castilian and Polish (voice over). Subtitles are available in dozens on languages.

Blu-ray specific extras include the invaluable "All Roads Lead to Rome" - a historian presents the historical fact as the episodes run, a 'must watch' when 'Rome' is viewed the second time around because the abundance of information would make watching it the first time too distracting. Also Blu-ray specific is 'Bloodlines', another interactive guide that shows and helps us understand the connections between the various Roman families.

In addition, 13 of the 22 episodes come with audio commentary alternative sound tracks from the cast and crew - presumably to be listened to on the third watching of the series. There are also a number of the usual 'behind the scenes' and 'how did we make this' featurettes.


MY RATING

Not surprisingly, I will rate 'Rome' as a 5-star. It's not perfect but it doesn't need to be so to earn its stars - Amazon's five stars mean 'I love it' not 'it's perfect'. And I absolutely love it. In fact, I am going through the second watching now - the one with 'All Roads Lead to Rome' turned on - and I love 'Rome' even more.

My only issue is that which earned 'Rome' its MA (mature audiences) rating. I am quite frustrated for not being able to watch 'Rome' with my kids in the same room. I know that some would call it 'butchery' but Blu-ray technology should allow for a 'cleaned', PG-13 version that kids could watch too because I can see how watching a show like this, especially with the historical interactive guide turned on, would make some curious enough to actually read more on the topic.

___________________________________________________

FAIR WARNING


Anyone considering watching 'Rome' in a 'family' setting should be aware that the show is rated TV MA and for good reason. 'Rome' attempts to accurately depict the Rome of 2000 years ago where sexual inhibitions were all but absent, most women were viewed as 'property' and slaves were numerous. You WILL see explicit sex, frontal male nudity and covering your kids eyes won't be enough - consider earplugs or frequent use of the 'mute' button because the sounds of sex are even more explicit than the images. Besides engaging in sex largely for amusement, violence was part of the Roman way of life - torture, gladiator and other arena fights, assassinations were common. Well... those were the Romans - love them or hate them.

When I was younger, I used to love watching movies like Spartacus, not so much because they provided particularly great depictions of ancient Rome, but because they were the way anybody get any sense of the grandeur of the Roman empire. In fact, looking back, those films were often quite cheesy. Hollywood stopped making movies about ancient Rome for a long while, until Gladiator came out in 2000. As a movie, Gladiator was awesome and showed a vastly more realistic yet grander Rome than ever before seen in Hollywood. Yet, as history, the movie had its flaws (most notably that it distorted the historical record quite bit). However, I'd despaired that it would be the pinnacle of our ability to visualize Rome.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that HBO did an excellent job at recreating the ancient Roman empire in its miniseries Rome. At first, I was suspicious, worried that Rome would become twisted by HBO, the same creators of Sex and the City. Yet, the series is awesome. In terms of the production quality, it looks and feels like a big budget movie (indeed, the cost of the series eventually doomed it). The acting, visual effects, and soundtrack are exceptional (be sure to get Jeff Beal's soundtrack Rome: Music from the HBO Series).

HBO also took care to portray Rome in a somewhat historically accurate fashion. HBO hired expert historians and consultants for every detail. Unlike most movies about ancient Rome, HBO did not shy away from portraying the less glamorous sides of Rome. In fact, much of the series deals with everyday citizens, from prostitutes to roving gangs. This in turn means that the series includes a lot of explicit sex and violence. While this means the series isn't appropriate for kids or the faint of heart, it does mean that Rome shows Rome as it actually was.

One thing I love about this series is that it deals with the last years of the Roman Republic, one of the most compelling eras in history. Most movies and TV shows shy away from historically important events, but HBO tackles it with gusto. The show manages to remain historically accurate while using actual historical to provide the drama in the show. HBO did a great job finding actors to portray Julius Caesar, Pompey, Mark Antony, Cato, and the rest of the dramatis personae (although I wasn't as pleased with their choices for the Augustus side of the family - see below). At times, you almost feel like you traveled back in a time machine to witness these epic events. If you're interested in this period, I'd recommend Tom Holland's Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic for more depth on events during the period. I only wish the series had been longer rather than only two seasons - it would have great to have seen the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest in 9 AD, or the end of Augustus' reign. However, apparently the budget for the show grew so large that HBO (foolishly) decided to cancel it.

My only criticism of the show is the portrayal of Augustus and his mother, Atia (Polly Walker). Historians don't necessarily have accurate information on the personalities of these figures, and there probably isn't a "definitive" interpretation of their lives. Still, I thought the show took a few too many liberties. While Atia in real life was probably cunning and ambitious, Polly Walker's version of Atia makes her into a psychotic and sadistic woman. In one scene, she even has a torture room and tortures Servilla. There's no historical basis for any of that, and it does seem a bit outlandish. For his part, Augustus as played by Simon Woods seemed a bit too dull and cynical. Again, while I'm sure Augustus must have had excellent political acumen to rise so high, he was also a brilliant administrator and did have a vision for Rome. I just didn't think HBO's depiction of either character stood up well or resembled what I had read in Anthony Everitt's excellent Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor.

A quick note about the DVDs themselves. They are excellent quality and include hours of bonus materials, including deleted scenes and "making of" featurettes. I found some of the commentary about the interpretation of the characters pretty interesting. IF you or anybody you know loves ancient Roman history, Rome should definitely be on your Christmas list.

To paraphrase the United States recording industry mega hit, Superlatives are not enough.

Roman history, while always fascinating, has always seemed cool and static in North America. HBO, in "Rome", has breathed life into well documented time period. Those who not historically minded, will merely see this as a very well produced HBO drama. Being hstorically minded, I am thrilled that this period of history can see life.

In two seasons, viewers across North America thrilled to the power struggles within the Roman senate played out in venues from Gaul to Rome. Caesar and his men, in battle and out, realized that the power of plebian popularity. The death of Pompeys' wife, Julia, leads to a struggle for wifery, and eventually his death. The power play between Mark Anthony, Casesar, Vorenus, Pompey, Cato, and Brutus is fascinating. Social standing is valued, to the extent of sacrificing personal happiness. Integrity is merely the price of success. Ambition is the currency of Senate success.

The episodes included in the set are:

Stolen Eagle
How Titus Pullo brought down the republic
An Owl in A Thornbush
The Ram Has Touched the Wall
Egeria
Pharsalus
Utica Triumph
The Spoils
Kallends of February
Passover
Son of Hades
These Being the Words
Tortoise and the Hare
Heroes
Phillipi
Death Mask
Necessary Fiction
No God Can Stop A Hungry Man
About Your Father

Dramatically speaking, this is a stellar production with outstanding performances. In reading about Rome, I was fascinated that full size sets were constructed for the series accurate to the period. Full scale models of actual artifacts were used in the production, and that is ambitious. I can imagine that once season 2 was finished, a museum is now well stocked, and even a Roman style theme park is now fully functional.

The bonus features just add more integrity to the series that was overdue, and will be missed.

I cannot say enough about this series. It is unfortunate that more episodes were not produced, but I can imagine that the production cost was prohibitive. Perhaps a Medici period drama might be next...

Tim Lasiuta

Hail Caesar

First off, if you do have the first two season sets of "Rome" on DVD already, no real reason to upgrade. The extras are all the same with no changes and the picture, if a bit sharper, is about the same too.

But if you haven't gotten this series, this is a great way to start. This is Ancient Rome the HBO way, which means amazing detail to history while mixing in contemporary language, scattered with curses, bloody violence and (this is Rome, after all), constant nudity. The story revolves around two soldiers, Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Pullo (Ray Stevenson) who find themselves involved in the dramatic events of Rome. From Julius Ceasar crossing the Rubicon and becoming emperor to meeting Cleopatra, Ceasar's death and the war between Octavius and Rome, the two are in the midst of it all while handling thier own personal dramas. In the first season, Vorenus has no idea his wife had a child with another man while he was at war while Pullo's hard-drinking and violent ways get him into trouble.

The acting is terrific from the two leads, McKidd cool most of the time, which makes his bursts of incredible violence more notable. Pullo is funny as a man who'd go straight through anyone in his parth and sees no trouble killing. Ciaran Hinds gives Caesar a proud air that makes you understand why people were willing to follow him while James Purefoy plays Marc Antony as an arrogant blowhard who still manages to power his way through the ruling class. The best of the cast, however, is easily Polly Walker as the deliciously wicked Atia, a woman willing to do anything (Blackmail, murder and use her body however she wants) to get ahead in Roman society.

The show is wonderfully researched, bringing the era to life like never before and showcases some nice bits of history. The language may be contemporary but the producers do try to show how it really was. Cleopatra, for instance, is attractive but short and hardly the supermodel figure so many movies portray her as while Caesar's assaination is less a careful plot and more a near-disaster. There aren't many actual battle scenes shown due to budget but the fights we get are pretty brutal and bloody like it really was and the show is great illustrating the complex political games of the time.

Season two does suffer a bit as it was midway through production the producers learned they would only get 10 episodes and no third season. Thus, the stories feel more rushed as they try to fit in as much as they can. They do a good job with the battle over Antony and Cleopatra (which is far less than the epic romance most think) and bring it to as good a conclusion as they can. Through it all, the epic bromance between the two leads pulls you in as you get sucked into their lives, through thick and thin and care for their final fates.

The extras are good as there are multiple audio commentaries and features on putting the show together, as well as recreating the time. The best bonus is "All Roads Lead to Rome," a great subtitle guide that explains many of the references, historical notes and more on the time, showing the amazing research that went into it all and you see how true to life it is.

It may have been short-lived but the series remains one of HBO's best efforts ever. Brilliantly acted and wonderful in detail, the show is a must-have for any history or drama buff to see in all its wild glory.

Brilliant series that is hard to believe was made for TV, even if it is HBO. Top notch production featuring excellent writing, performances, cinematography, action etc. The gold box special at 60 bucks for both seasons 1 and 2, is a steal considering other sites are selling this set in excess of twice that. Lots of worthwhile extras. And to all those fans complaining about the initial high price.., Blame HBO for overpricing their stuff, not Amazon.com. Grab this set before the price goes back up.

When I was younger, I used to love watching movies like Spartacus, not so much because they provided particularly great depictions of ancient Rome, but because they were the way anybody get any sense of the grandeur of the Roman empire. In fact, looking back, those films were often quite cheesy. Hollywood stopped making movies about ancient Rome for a long while, until Gladiator came out in 2000. As a movie, Gladiator was awesome and showed a vastly more realistic yet grander Rome than ever before seen in Hollywood. Yet, as history, the movie had its flaws (most notably that it distorted the historical record quite bit). However, I'd despaired that it would be the pinnacle of our ability to visualize Rome.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that HBO did an excellent job at recreating the ancient Roman empire in its miniseries Rome. At first, I was suspicious, worried that Rome would become twisted by HBO, the same creators of Sex and the City. Yet, the series is awesome. In terms of the production quality, it looks and feels like a big budget movie (indeed, the cost of the series eventually doomed it). The acting, visual effects, and soundtrack are exceptional (be sure to get Jeff Beal's soundtrack Rome: Music from the HBO Series).

HBO also took care to portray Rome in a somewhat historically accurate fashion. HBO hired expert historians and consultants for every detail. Unlike most movies about ancient Rome, HBO did not shy away from portraying the less glamorous sides of Rome. In fact, much of the series deals with everyday citizens, from prostitutes to roving gangs. This in turn means that the series includes a lot of explicit sex and violence. While this means the series isn't appropriate for kids or the faint of heart, it does mean that Rome shows Rome as it actually was.

One thing I love about this series is that it deals with the last years of the Roman Republic, one of the most compelling eras in history. Most movies and TV shows shy away from historically important events, but HBO tackles it with gusto. The show manages to remain historically accurate while using actual historical to provide the drama in the show. HBO did a great job finding actors to portray Julius Caesar, Pompey, Mark Antony, Cato, and the rest of the dramatis personae (although I wasn't as pleased with their choices for the Augustus side of the family - see below). At times, you almost feel like you traveled back in a time machine to witness these epic events. If you're interested in this period, I'd recommend Tom Holland's Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic for more depth on events during the period. I only wish the series had been longer rather than only two seasons - it would have great to have seen the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest in 9 AD, or the end of Augustus' reign. However, apparently the budget for the show grew so large that HBO (foolishly) decided to cancel it.

My only criticism of the show is the portrayal of Augustus and his mother, Atia (Polly Walker). Historians don't necessarily have accurate information on the personalities of these figures, and there probably isn't a "definitive" interpretation of their lives. Still, I thought the show took a few too many liberties. While Atia in real life was probably cunning and ambitious, Polly Walker's version of Atia makes her into a psychotic and sadistic woman. In one scene, she even has a torture room and tortures Servilla. There's no historical basis for any of that, and it does seem a bit outlandish. For his part, Augustus as played by Simon Woods seemed a bit too dull and cynical. Again, while I'm sure Augustus must have had excellent political acumen to rise so high, he was also a brilliant administrator and did have a vision for Rome. I just didn't think HBO's depiction of either character stood up well or resembled what I had read in Anthony Everitt's excellent Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor.

A quick note about the DVDs themselves. They are excellent quality and include hours of bonus materials, including deleted scenes and "making of" featurettes. I found some of the commentary about the interpretation of the characters pretty interesting. IF you or anybody you know loves ancient Roman history, Rome should definitely be on your Christmas list.

Rome is an excellent show and this current Gold Box deal ($60 for the set)is a fantastic deal. I am a bit fuzzy on the exact history but from what I knew and was able to research, it is pretty accurate if not a bit "sex and sandals." The basic storyline of the two best friends is at the heart of the series and makes it worth watching. This would be an excellent gift for someone who enjoys history or historical dramas.

The ingredients do not necessarily suggest a successful TV-series. There's extreme, relentless, at times mind numbing violence, graphically depicted; barely a single sympathetic character is in sight; there is not the slightest hint of anything humoristic (well, except for Ian McNeices delicious newsreader); and as always actual historical fact is twisted and turned into something that may be suitable for entertainment purposes but rather (over)stretches credulity at times - one wonders why, because it's not as if these people actually were a dull bunch leading uneventful lives. Yet "Rome" is strangely haunting and compelling. Often it does a good job of transporting the viewer to a world unencumbered by Christian sensitivities, particularly in its love of bloodsports, its dealings with slaves, and its relaxed attitude to sex and public nudity. Full frontal male nudity is not eschewed, still the final frontier in film-making. Also, and more importantly, "Rome" conveys the constant sense of tension, intrigue and threat dominating the lives of those in power. Finally, a fairly good job was done of giving a realistic impression of the city itself in those final decades before the birth of Christ. It is, however, weird and rather silly that the characters speak English but throw in occasional Latin. The perfect, smudge-free make-up and excellent teeth also make you wonder (Suetonius describes Octavian's teeth as "few, small and decayed").
Typically, many of the main dramatic historical events are not shown, but only told in flashback. For instance, we do not witness Mark Antony's finest hour, his eulogy at Caesar's funeral, that swayed Roman public opinion against the assassins. Several decisive battles, including that of Actium, are also conveniently skipped.

The story is told from the vantage point of two soldiers, one eventually rising through the ranks, the other only finding a settled existence towards the end. Both are, though in name only, based on historical characters. Gruff and dutiful Lucius Vorenus is haunted by personal tragedy. He struggles with his role as a father and his allegiance to a loosing party, that of Mark Antony; struggles that at one point will land him as the leader of a band of hired assassins. His unlikely friend Titus Pullo leads an aimless existence that never manages to be carefree and that only gains some focus whenever some fighting is to be done. The plot has been constructed around the far-out premise that the whole birth of the Roman Empire pivoted on the actions of these two men, rather than those of Julius Caesar and his ilk. The idea has been woven into the story so tightly and cleverly that it is surprisingly easy to suspend disbelief.

The first season is the more consistent and compelling of the two, dealing with the battle between Julius Caesar and Magnus Pompey. The strife between the families of Caesar and Brutus is exemplified by their two matrons Atia and Servilia, both in their way as vicious and devious a schemer as you're ever likely to see. The development of the relationship between Vorenus and Niobe is believable and quite touching.
The second season then depicts the power struggle between Mark Antony and Gaius Octavian, and introduces the exotic element of Egypt, where Cleopatra's court appears to be some kind of whorehouse and the Queen herself a scantily dressed upmarket prostitute. Halfway through this season the story start to get ragged, and some plotlines hang by a precariously thin thread (the way Vorenus discovers his daughter's betrayal is like something out of an uninspired Miss Marple episode). A Jewish subplot is randomly tacked on and feels like a cumbersome invention to burden the story with irrelevant premonitions of Christ. Furthermore, it doesn't help that a substantial number of the more interesting characters, notably Cicero, Servilia and Brutus, are killed off. The "Xena, Warrior Princess"- act of Gaia in the battle of the Collegia is probably the low point of the series. Fortunately, things are pulled together for the final episodes, where the story is satisfyingly wrapped up and the viewer is indeed left, in Octavian's words, with the sense of having travelled a long road.

History buffs will find ample cause to be annoyed nonetheless. Many events are fabricated, characters are missing (where are Octavia's husband Claudius Marcellus, Atia's husband Lucius Phillippus and Marc Anthony's wife Fulvia?), people weren't really in the places where we see them at the moment we see them there (Caesar wasn't killed in the Senate, Cicero wasn't killed at home), and several details of costume and ritual are anachronistic or invented. Alexandria is shown as some rustic backwater rather than the dazzling metropolis it was.
Characters are sometimes almost insultingly distorted. Cicero wasn't the abject hypocrite and coward he's been made into by the makers of the series. He delivered the Philippics against Antony himself, and was a figure of great power and huge popularity. Atia gets even worse treatment: described by Tacitus as one of the most admired and devout matrons of Rome, who couldn't bear crude language and was deeply serious, she is turned into a foul-mouthed, violent she-devil.
Generally speaking it is a pity that most of the characters are rather flat and stereotyped. It sometime makes it hard to believe when they do change, as when the cynical libertine Mark Antony suddenly waxes philosophical after loosing the battle of Actium. Easily the most complex, fascinating and moving character in the series is that of Brutus, played with consummate skill and total conviction by Tobias Menzies. It is a great pity that the scriptwriters did not retain for him his dignified suicidal death, but instead have him madly confront an entire legion on his own, and die a death mirroring that of Caesar - the symbolism is very trite.
Such concerns may seem academic, but in this TV-dominated age its only too likely that many will think that after watching "Rome" they actually know something of Roman history. Not so - but they will have been splendidly entertained.

As I upgrade my DVD collection to Blu Ray I have not thought to upgrade any of my series. Not Battlestar Galactica, not Smallville, not Supernatural. Now I thought about getting True Blood but just couldn't bite the bullet. However, with Rome soon to be released, that is going to change. Rome is not only a great series but it follows the rise of the Empire in Roman history to the letter. It does it with two fictional characters as the protagonists and interweaves them with the key players in the first and second Triumvirate and in the process makes what was boring in Western Civilization a joy to watch. I heartily recommend this series to anyone who has never seen it and encouraging anyone with a HDTV to make this their first HD series purchase.

This is easily one of the best shows that has been on TV. It's a dramatic, politico-intrigue thriller, and it's pretty accurate to the broader strokes of history (by TV/film period drama standards) -- perhaps though I don't expect the same level of exacting adherence to historical fact as the previous reviewer who complained that Cicero wasn't actually in Rome during an important vote. The acting is superb and the cinematography lives up to the high standards set by other HBO shows.

All the reviewers who gave this box set a low rating for its price: you are not helpful -- The price fluctuates, but the product doesn't change. I agree with what you are saying that it is stupid how these WERE priced more as a boxset than individually, but you should add your comment about the price to the end of your post as a footnote -- and you shouldn't incorporate it into your rating of the ROME series (maybe minus one star if you feel it's a huge ripoff, but make that clear). Any semi-conscious consumer knows $180 is a rip-off, to say nothing of the fact that we all have different price points. All of you are being so unhelpful while being self-righteous/whiny it is ridiculous.