I, Claudius
by Herbert Wise
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DVD details
Actor: Derek Jacobi, Eileen Corbett, Emlyn Williams, Flora Robson, Si?n PhillipsDirector: Herbert Wise
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Box set, Color, Full Screen
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Running Time: 740 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-08-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Reviews of I, Claudius
DVD Review: I, Claudius (DVD)
Summary: 5 Stars
I, Claudius
This series is excellent, so that's a fact. After thirty years it is amazing how fresh it still comes across. For anyone too young to recall the original TV airing of this series, this will be fun to share.
The one consideration that I have are this missing bits. The lacunae are most likely not due to the available space since the last of the disks is largely empty. It is either a copyright issue, or a very bad decision on the production company's part. But the missing stories were a great disappointment.
I'm glad to have this in my library and I know that I'll get it out and watch it every few years.
DVD Review: I, Claudius
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought it was an amazing piece of work. Superb. I had seen it on TV when it first ran and loved it. I'm proud to own it now.DVD Review: No close-captioned!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
There is no close-caption in the DVD... if you have hearing problems you will be unlucky.DVD Review: historical
Summary: 5 Stars
I Claudius, is a classic, well acted and great story. If you like history, you will like this, it is a true storyDVD Review: A Great Drama But Not History
Summary: 4 Stars
I, Claudius is a series that I know well from having watched the original broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre and then when it was re-broadcast. Subsequently, I purchased the VHS tapes. The BBC television series was fortunate in having so many great actors (many just starting their careers) and would never have been quite as successful had it not been for the astonishing performance of Derek Jacobi as Claudius. Mr. Jacobi perfectly assumed the physical handicaps of the future emperor and portrayed him as a noble and learned man. The supporting cast was just as remarkable with superb performances by Sian Phillips (as Livia), John Hurt (as Gaius Caligual) and Patrick Stewart (as Sejanus) just to name those that come immediately to mind. The production is also quite good although many of the sets are reused with a lot of frequency and I was surprised to see a bust of the second century emperor Antoninus Pius in Augustus' house.
Having read many of the reviews posted at Amazon I think it is important to stress that as good a drama as I, Claudius is it is historical fiction. I have done a great deal of research and writing about the early Roman emperors my view of I, Claudius as entertainment has altered. It is a great soap opera but very little of it can be said to be fact yet many people take I, Claudius as accurate history of the period when it is at best a third hand reworking of the facts. In translating I, Claudius to the small screen the producers took quite a few liberties with Robert Graves' novels and certainly any gossip reported by Suetonius was taken as fact. A good example in I, Claudius is there scenes where Caligula "accidentally" kills his pregnant sister Drusilla dressed as Zeus fearful that her unborn child will be more powerful than he is. The novel has no such scene and Suetonius merely records that Drusilla died without noting anything sinister about her demise. Yet, I have heard one of the "talking heads" from a History Channel program about Caligula's famous ship on Lake Nemi actually take the I, Claudius version of events as fact.
An accurate port rail of history usually does not make an interesting drama (also it would be time-consuming), and ancient history many times needs to be interpreted to reach any conclusions about what happened. I, Claudius is a great drama but for the most part fictional. So while I highly recommend I, Claudius as a great drama I would also urge those viewers who enjoy knowing the facts to read a few books. I would recommend those by Anthony Barrett, Barabara Levick, Pat Southern and Anthony Everitt.
Description of I, Claudius
Roman history comes alive in this magnificent 13-part series. "I, Claudius" (1976, 668 min.) ranks among the most acclaimed productions in BBC history. Tracing the lives of the last of the Roman emperors, it's an epic of ruthless ambition, shocking debauchery and murderous intrigue set in one of history's most fascinating eras. Bearing witness to the saga is Claudius, whose stutter and limp have marked him a fool--yet whom prophesies have foretold will one day rule Rome. This collector's edition set includes a unique documentary feature, "The Epic That Never Was" (1965, 71 min.), a remarkable behind-the-scenes look at Alexander Korda's ill-fated 1937 screen adaptation of "I, Claudius." Starring Merle Oberon and Charles Laughton, the chronicle of this uncompleted masterpieces is an unforgettable coda to one of the greatest stories ever told.This superbly acted, mordantly funny romp through 70?years or so of Roman history is one of the best-loved miniseries ever made, and deservedly so. Derek Jacobi plays Roman Emperor Claudius, who reflects in old age on his life and his remarkable family, giving us a history lesson that's unlike anything you learned in school.
The story begins in 24?B.C. during the reign of Augustus Caesar, Rome's first emperor, and ends in A.D.?54 with Nero on the throne. In between, I, Claudius details the scheming, murder, madness, and lust that passed for politics in the early years of the Pax Romana. The biggest worm in the Roman apple is Augustus's wife, Livia (the superb Si?n Phillips), whose single-minded pursuit of power shapes the destiny of the Empire. With a carefully planted rumor here and a poisoned fig there, she gradually maneuvers her son, Tiberius, toward the throne, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and treachery that starts Rome on its helter-skelter slide into bloody chaos. Phillips somehow makes us understand this extraordinarily wicked woman. As she ages and her carefully wrought webs begin to unravel, it becomes clear that Livia has been as thoroughly poisoned by her own ambition as her victims were by her carefully prepared meals.
Further acting honors go to George Baker as Tiberius, who resists but eventually succumbs to the destiny forced upon him by his mother, and to John Hurt as a hilarious and absolutely terrifying Caligula. In one breathtakingly tense scene, the mad Emperor performs a dance in drag, then asks Claudius to critique it, perfectly capturing the horror of a world where one wrong word means death, or worse. Jacobi is the perfect Claudius, hiding his intelligence behind a crippling stammer and shuffling around the edges of events--until he finds himself pulled to the very center. His wry comments give shape to the tangled story of his family and help the audience make sense of a dauntingly complex cast of characters.
I, Claudius might seem a little studio-bound to viewers brought up on more recent big-budget costume dramas, but the topnotch cast and the incident-filled plot are more than enough to hold the attention through almost 11?hours of gripping, deliciously wicked Roman follies. This boxed set also includes a documentary entitled "The Epic That Never Was," about Alexander Korda's failed attempt to film I, Claudius in 1937. The film, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Charles Laughton as Claudius and Merle Oberon as Messalina, was abandoned unfinished, and it remains one of Hollywood's great lost movies. --Simon Leake
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