Amazon.com: 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
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Product Description: (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.Running Time: 720 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 026359284823 Manufacturer No: 92848
A Touch of Class! As a professional Roman historian, I can safely say that this series is as accurate historically as it is tasteful, a fact that the average viewer might recognize if the reasonably accomplished British actors had not lent this dubious enterprise a spurious veneer of class.
Vulgarisation of Roman history--where's Shakespeare when you need him? What if Shakespeare was given the $100 million or so budget this production had? Compare Rome to Shakepeare's Julius Caesar. Which is higher quality? Now at first you might say it's not a fair comparison, as Rome seems primarily intended to sell ad time to dumb couch potatoes (if you fall into the defence of the show the producers would give--but is that really a valid defence?). However, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar also was intended to draw an audience and sell tickets.
If you wanted to learn about Roman history, you'd arguably be better off not to watch Rome the TV series, as it is full of incredible historical inaccuracies.
In discussing Rome the TV series I have to mention, as do many others, the gratuitous sex and violence, taken to higher levels in this production.
Perhaps the biggest disgrace is on the BBC as co-producers of Rome. We know the BBC knows how to do better.
As much as I wanted to this show to succeed, at the end, I was bitterly disappointed and therefore will not watch another HBO series. You say why didn't I stop watching after the first episode? To give it a fair go, and in naïve hope I stuck with it for the entire first season. Perhaps a failing on my part, or a mistake by HBO for claiming this was more than a vulgarisation of Roman history and therefore attracting the interest of people interested in quality shows.
I am also very disappointed with the apparent values of this show. For example, for Titus Pullo to get away with brutally murdering the man Eirene was planning to marry (and several other murders, including of a leading Roman citizen) by being ultimately freed from legal punishment and then Eirene agreeing to marry him all within apparently a few weeks of the murders is absolutely disgusting. What sort of message does that send?
Rome, Season One This was an amazing series. The only problem I had was that when I ordered both seasons which your site stated both were IN STOCK, you sent season two about one week before season one. I had never seen the series but had it recommended to me by a friend. So even thouh I had season two I really couldn't watch season two until I received season one to watch first. But other than that, both seasons arrived in excellent condition and this is one of the best series made for television that I have ever watched.
Rome rocks I love this series - so much detail in costumes, sets, hair design, the moving graffiti on the walls in the title sequence. I have traveled to Rome and this series so brought it alive to me. The story is riveting and the acting is great. I really enjoy this one!
A Must See for Entertainment and Historical Value Minute details of historical value were fully researched for this series. It's also wonderfully entertaining.
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