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Rome - The Complete First Season 
Actors : Ciaran Hinds, Polly Walker, James Purefoy, Lindsay Duncan, Indira Varma
Director : Michael Apted, Allen Coulter, Timothy Van Patten
Studio : HBO Home Video
by HBO Home Video
Brand : Warner Brothers
Release Date : 2006-08-15
Publisher : HBO Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 6
EAN : 0026359284823
UPC : 026359284823
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 333 reviews)
List Price : $59.98
Our Price : $37.89
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Description |
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(HBO Dramatic Series) Four hundred years after the founding of the Republic, Rome is the wealthiest city in the world, a cosmopolitan metropolis of one million people; epicenter of a sprawling empire. The Republic was founded on principles of shared power and fierce personal competition, never allowing one man to seize absolute control. But now, those foundations are crumbling, eaten away by corruption and excess. After eight years of war, two soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo unwittingly become entwined in the historical events of ancient Rome. A serialized drama of love and betrayal, masters and slaves, husbands and wives, ROME chronicles a turbulent era that saw the death of the republic and the birth of an empire. DVD Features:
Featurette
Other
Photo gallery
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Americancivilwar.com |
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Family 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. One eagerly awaits to see what (or who) she'll do next as much as we anticipate her comeuppance in the final episode. 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." --Donald Liebenson Beyond the Series 
The Roman Empire in film and television | 
The Roman Empire in documentaries | 
More HBO DVDs | Stills from Rome (click for larger image) |
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Top Notch Series |
Very good series, worth the cost. I watched the whole series (and the second year) with the interactive comments on; takes a lot longer to watch but I enjoyed it more that way. I'll probably do it that way second time through. All the acting was excellant also.
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Don't be squeamish |
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Yes, it is full of brutal, brutal images. But that is completely overshadowed by the brilliancy of this entire series. It is pretty much perfect in every way but to me, the real strength lies in the way that commonly known ancient history is altered just a bit to include our main characters, Luscious and Voreanus. All the big shot historical figures are there too and along with the big historical events, fuel the story lines. What is unique, ad why this series is so groundbreaking, is that we see how these events affected everyone else in the Empire, right down to the most lowly slave. Our main characters are not famous, just two soldiers who inadvertantly get wrapped up in history. The story is told from thier point of view and they go everywhere from the slums right up to the Senate itself. It is a fantastic series, and highly recommended --after the little ones have gone to bed! |
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Too Much Like A Soap Opera |
After reading all the positive reviews, Rome didn't measure up to my expectations.
Excessive planning, scheming, and dialogue with a lack of action,
makes Rome feel more like a big budget soap opera.
Not bad for a mini-series, but not up to par with movies like
Gladiator, Braveheart, Ben Hur, Kingdom of Heaven, etc.
On a positive note...the casting is much better than most
Hollywood movies of the same genre. Cleopatra is not only cute,
but actually appears to be egyptian.(Unlike Elizabeth Taylor)
Overall not bad, but I don't plan on purchasing Season 2 unless
I find it for a bargain price at a garage sale. |
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Love it! |
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I'm not one to watch most things more than once, this HBO series is an exception. |
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I enjoyed it. |
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3.5 stars. Unlike a lot of reviews here, I didn't have a problem with the sex in this series. I thought it was realistic for the time. I did think the soap opera-ish stuff bordered on overkill-though the history books can and does support such a notion. I found the timeline whacky. Julius Ceasar's motivation elusive. Vorenus and Pollo's mancrush disturbing and the Cleopatra detour confusing. Still, I was reasonable entertained. Go figure. |
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