Customer Reviews

A watchable series. - By: Ocelot, 11 Sep 2008
As with most historically-based films & TV shows, this has polarised opinion. Some people are very enthusiastic, others are enthusiastic onlyin their criticism. I suppose it all depends on what one expects from one's entertainment. If you are prepared to let a little exaggeration & embellishment slide, I imagine you will enjoy this series immensely. As a classicist myself I enjoyed this, although that isn't to say I'm about to use it as a historical source, to be studied & given pride of place on any academic course or essay bibliography. Not at all; it is a piece of entertainment based on people & events rootedin reality. Such phrases as 'directorial licence' should, I feel, be kept firmlyin mind.

I felt that this was well directed, sumptuous & well acted. My deduction of a star stems from the fact that I do find extreme violence & sexual scenes disconcerting. These are few & far between, but there is good reason why this bears its age certification. Where the scenes occur they do not spare the viewer's flinches or indeed their blushes. This is very much an adult show (in fact I put off watching it for some time because I thought that it wouldn't be to my tastes, & until I happened to tunein to one episode on television I hadn't realised what I was missing).

In the name of practicality I should say that it is comprised of 12 episodes which I suppose are about an hour or soin length. The first season takes you from the beginning of Julius Caesar's Civil War against Pompey up to the tyrannicide (or not, depending on your views) at the end. It stars Kevin McKidd, Ray Stephenson, Ciaran Hinds, James Purefoy, David Bamber, Kenneth Cranham, Max Pirkis, Tobias Menzies, Polly Walker & Lindsay Duncan (amongst others), each of whom play a character who is well-written & interesting (there are few dull & uninteresting charactersin 'Rome'). The main contextin the series is the Civil War. The DVD extras are fair but the seasoned extras buff may be disappointed.

On the whole this was an extremely watchable showcase of some of the best talent the acting profession can muster (I am truly relieved that we were spared the torture of having to watch Hollywood dolly-birds & overtly masculine ham-actors attempt such a jewel of a subject). There is no accounting for taste, but this does have something for everyone. Providing one isn't fool enough to demand absolute historical accuracy from one's entertainment (and this is a TV serial rather than a documentary) then I imagine you'll enjoy this immensely.

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Gripping and convincing - By: Sophie Masson, 11 Sep 2008
This period--from the rise of Caesar to his assassination--is an absorbing one, with a cast of extraordinary characters, & the series does it proud. 'Rome' is an instantly gripping, absorbing series with a completely convincing recreation of ancient Roman life & manners(and pretty shocking they are, too,in many instances!) The acting is superb, the settings magnificent, the music haunting, & there is no attempt to modernise the attitudes of the time. The portrayal of Roman religion is also done very, very well. This is Rome both familiar & very strange. And yes, it's very graphic,in all sorts of ways, but then, those weren't compassionate or modest times. Very highly recommended.

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A thorougly entertaining series... - By: Gail Parnell, 23 Aug 2008
Rome - something I often bypassedin shops & never really caught much of on TV - still, it intreagued me, & once the price had dropped on Amazon, I thought I would buy the first series & give it a try.

Set against the turbulant times of a failing Roman Republic & of a civil war brewing between Pompey & Ceaser, the first episode opens with Pompey grieving the death of his wife (Ceaser's daughter) through childbirth. Knowing that the final tie between them is broken, Ceaser knows he has to move against Pompey or be trampled altogether.

The series also follows the trials & tribulations of Vorenous a stern, often grim & seemingly straight laced Centurian & brash, foul mouthed, cheery & sex obsessed Titus Pullo. Their actions (Particulary Pullos,) seems to have considerable consequences on the outcomes of events within Rome.

The series is very entertaining, sword fights, much political intreague, plots, sub plots, & twists & turns. The camera work is fantastic, the sets unbelievably good & everything has a rich, authentic feel to it & you can quite believe where all that money went. The performances by the actors are excellent - particulary the hateful Atia who plots & schemes her way through every episodein the series, & Titus Pullo - a very likeable character indeed, for all his moral shortcomings.

Well worth watching - I'll be ordering season 2 off the back of what is a truly excellent first season.

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Think Sopranos meets Gladiator ... and you have 'Rome'. - By: N. Thompson, 29 Jul 2008
A truely exellent televisions series. Well acted, brilliantly written, fantastic production & quite possibly the best peice of historical TV drame that you'll ever see.

Dont let the prudish Mary whitehouse-types turn you off this series. Even if it is a little too graphic for some people, you should still appreciate it none the less. As for historical inaccuracy ... sure, it doesnt totally keep faith with the actual historical events, but when compared to other television & cinematic production on ancient Roman times; Rome is more accurate than others. 'I Claudius' was an excellent series too but 'Rome' is superior & more accurate with history. Anyway, the historical inaccuracies of 'Rome' are soon forgotten due to the brilliant story-telling of this series.

Think Sopranos meets Gladiator ... & you have 'Rome'.

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A Touch of Class - By: F. S. L'hoir, 15 Jul 2008
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.