Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons
by Adam Davidson, Alan Poul, Alan Taylor, Alik Sakharov, Allen Coulter
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DVD details
Actor: Kenneth Cranham, Kevin McKidd, Lindsay Duncan, Polly Walker, Ray StevensonDirector: Adam Davidson, Alan Poul, Alan Taylor, Alik Sakharov, Allen Coulter
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 1320 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-08-07
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Hbo Home Video
DVD Reviews of Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons
DVD Review: Great Series and Cast
Summary: 5 Stars
Worth viewing both seasons to watch the growth of the primary cast. The roles sustain their depth in the 2nd season as the two heroes of the show examine their own flaws. Just enough "cliff notes fact" to float the outrageous circumstances the writers weave. I applaude the creators for avoiding the "emperor-by-episode" style of I,CLAUDIUS (still the high watermark for Roman History to TV Drama) ROME should have a long life on HBO. All Hail!DVD Review: Were Ancient Romans Any More Bloodthirsty Than We Are?
Summary: 5 Stars
As 21st century citizens of the world, we like to think of ourselves as more enlightened and progressive than civilizations of the past, like the ancient Roman Empire. However, having viewed the HBO production of Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons, I have to offer my opinion that we delude ourselves. If anything, the ancient Romans were simply more honest about their basic depravity than modern humans are prone to be. If we factor in the world wars of the 20th century, Nazi death camps, and the wholesale slaughter of tens of millions of men, women, children and babes in arms during warfare, ancient Romans might admire the refinements in cruelty which 20th and 21st century humans have achieved.
To see how we are no better than the ancient Romans were, watch Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons. Filmed in Rome with Roman extras on the sets, you'll see a magnificent recreation of the Roman Empire as it began its Imperial Age. Remember, as you watch, that we are no better than they were, only more deluded by our false claims of humanitarian progress.
DVD Review: A witty take on Caesar
Summary: 5 Stars
This series is told from the point of view of the rival centurions, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, featured in Ceasar's Gallic Wars. It neatly circumvents the obvious and often-told aspects of the history of this period, and artfully creates a story assuming that the viewer already knows the famous events. Given that no one can possibly best Shakespeare's version of Marc Antony's oration to the people on the subject of Caesar's death, this series cleverly has a plebian giving his critique of Brutus vs. Antony's speech in a very common accent, in a tavern with a bunch of brawling ex-soldiers over beer. And the image of Marc Antony being strigilled while upbraiding Vorenus and attended by a midget dressed and named Cato is hysterically funny beyond belief.
I have rarely seen a historical drama shot with the pace, wit, and insight of this series.
DVD Review: Don't buy from this seller
Summary: 1 Stars
Had caught some episodes of Rome on HBO and wanted to save a few bucks on getting the complete first and second season. Seller stated he had new original box set which I purchased. Some of the discs cut short or skip sections. Defeated the reason I purchased the complete set.DVD Review: Puerile sopa opera
Summary: 1 Stars
Given the recent track record of HBO and with the BBC on board, I expected something a whole lot better. Trite, juvenile, historically dubious and with sex and violence that was formulaic in a time related sense - this is perhaps the worst HBO series I've seen. The incredible coincidences that kept the main characters to the forefront was pure soap opera. For Season Two, it appeared that the screenwriters were given a quota of four letter words as they appeared frequently and gratuitously. As to the acting, hardly patrician and Lindsay Duncan has sunk to new depths. I thought that she was pretty dreadful in A Year in Provence but she outdoes herself here. On a positive note she kept her clothes on.
And the BBC - whatever happend to the traditions of "I Claudius" ?
Waste of time, waste of money
Description of Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons
Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 08/07/2007Family dysfunction. Treachery. Betrayal. Coarse profanity. Brutal violence. Graphic (and sometimes brutal) sex. No, it's not The Sopranos, it's Rome, HBO's madly ambitious series that bloodily splatters the glory of Rome just as savagely as Monty Python and the Holy Grail soiled the good name of Camelot (but with far fewer laughs; very few funny things happen on the way to this forum). Set in 52 B.C. (Before Cable), Rome charts the dramatic shifts in the balance of power between former friends Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham), leader of the Senate, and Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), whose imminent return after eight years to Rome after conquering the Gauls, has the ruling class up in arms. At the heart of Rome is the odd couple friendship between two soldiers who fortuitously become heroes of the people. Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is married, honorable, and steadfast. Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) is an amoral rogue whose philosophy is best summed up, "I kill my enemies, take their gold, and enjoy their women." Among Rome's most compelling subplots is Lucius's strained relationship with his wife, Niobe (Indira Varma), who is surprised to see her husband alive (but not as surprised as he is to find her upon his homecoming with a newborn baby in her arms!) Any viewer befuddlement over Rome's intrigues and machinations, and determining who is hero and who is foe, disappears the minute Golden Globe-nominee Polly Walker appears as Atia, Caesar's formidable niece and a villainess for the ages. In the first hour alone, she offers her already married daughter as a bride to the recently widowed Pompey. Rome is a painstakingly mounted production that earned eight well-deserved Emmy nominations in such categories as costumes, set design, and art direction. Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter) was honored with a Director's Guild Award for the first episode, "The Stolen Eagle." But artistic considerations aside, instantly addicted viewers will agree with Atia, who notes at one point, "I adore the secrecy, the intrigue. It's most thrilling."
Season 2 begins in the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination, and charts the power struggle to fill his sandals between "vulgar beast" Mark Antony (James Purefoy) and "clever boy" Octavian (Simon Woods), who is surprisingly named Caesar's sole heir. The series' most compelling relationship is between fellow soldiers and unlikely friends, the honorable Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus "Violence is the only trade I know" Pullo (Ray Stevenson), who somewhat reverse roles when Vorenus is overcome with grief in the wake of his wife's suicide. Season 2 considerably ups the ante in the rivalry between Atia (an Emmy-worthy Polly Walker), who is Antony's mistress, and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) with attempted poisonings and sickening torture. Another gripping subplot is Vorenus's estrangement from his children, who, at the climax of the season opener are presumed slaughtered, but whose true fate may be even more devastating to the father who cursed them. Rome's second season does not scrimp on the series' sex and violence, in both cases exceedingly brutal. But in this cauldron of treachery and betrayal, words, too, are vicious, as when a defiant Atia ominously tells Octavian's new wife, Livia, "Far better women that you have sworn to [destroy me]. Go look for them now." In writing Rome's epitaph, we come to praise this series, not to bury it. Although two seasons was not enough to establish a Rome empire, it stands as one of HBO's crowning achievements. --Donald Liebenson
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