The Augusta Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 I tried watching it once. The movie has a cool cover, but I couldn't finish it, it was too horrible. I CLAVDIVS was infinately better. ROME too for that matter. Isn't it amazing how we all revere 'I, Claudius', even though many of us disagree with some of its portrayals. I find this fascinating, and perhaps worthy of its own thread at some time. We snipe at films like 'Augustus' and find faults (some of us!) with 'Rome' where the historical facts are plainly wrong - yet 'I'Claudius' was full of inaccuracies: Gaius dying before Julia's banishment; Lucius dying afterwards; Postumus' banishment coming after Varus's defeat in Germany; the revenge against Arminius coming before Augustus' death etc. I still remain a devout fan of 'Claudius' and probably could recite the script! And yet I do not agree with the protrayal by Graves of any one of the charcters, either in the novel or in the adaptation - well, perhaps with the notable exceptions of Antonia and Drusus (I). Are we seduced by the consummate acting? It would be interesting to discuss just why 'Claudius' has remained the yardstick by which all other dramas about Rome are measured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spittle Posted October 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 can you wait a few weeks to discuss it? I'm buying it with my next paycheck. I haven't seen it yet! It will have to be some fantastic television to even approach the excellence of The Caesars, a set of four programmes that are hardly known outside this forum and, i suspect, little known within it! This 300 minutes of black and white telly (from a time when budgets were a fraction of todays) has left me with a fascination for all things Tiberius, a love for all things Claudius, a hatred for all things Caligula and a grudging respect for all things Sejanus. I, Claudius is being repeated on one of the freeview channels (Thursday nights) but I missed the first four episodes and want to watch it from the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julius Ratus Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Despite my history major, I am able to overlook historical inaccuracies if the story is good. Alexander was rather accurate, as far as movies go, but there were few battles and alot of gay love story, so I hated it. I CLAVDIVS was well done and the acting was good, an it was historical enough with few blatant inaccuracies, so I liked it. My problem with the Augustus movie was the bad acting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 I tried watching it once. The movie has a cool cover, but I couldn't finish it, it was too horrible. I CLAVDIVS was infinately better. ROME too for that matter. Isn't it amazing how we all revere 'I, Claudius', even though many of us disagree with some of its portrayals. I find this fascinating, and perhaps worthy of its own thread at some time. We snipe at films like 'Augustus' and find faults (some of us!) with 'Rome' where the historical facts are plainly wrong - yet 'I'Claudius' was full of inaccuracies: Gaius dying before Julia's banishment; Lucius dying afterwards; Postumus' banishment coming after Varus's defeat in Germany; the revenge against Arminius coming before Augustus' death etc. I still remain a devout fan of 'Claudius' and probably could recite the script! And yet I do not agree with the protrayal by Graves of any one of the charcters, either in the novel or in the adaptation - well, perhaps with the notable exceptions of Antonia and Drusus (I). Are we seduced by the consummate acting? It would be interesting to discuss just why 'Claudius' has remained the yardstick by which all other dramas about Rome are measured. Charm. wit and intelligence in script and performance : who cannot forgive a litany of sins for such qualities? So many modern offerings seem to be sincere, dull and PC , like eating dry muesli. I have some dietary advice for you all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9cKGYhuQKQ...ted&search= Forgive me Great Lady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil25 Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 I Claudius undoubtedly has "style". Although it's interesting that the cast appear to have had no idea what they were achieving at first. But someone had a vision that was carried through to the final production. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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