I first read the novels "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God" when I was a sophomore in college. I instantly fell in love with them and it sparked my interest in Roman history. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to watch this mini series based on the books shortly thereafter. Eventually, I decided to buy it, and it still remains one of my favorite DVD box sets.
In the mini series there are some minor anachronisms and some events are out of sequence, but it still captures the political intrigue of the imperial family in ancient Rome. I'm not going to go into the story more than this because it gets very complicated and it is very long.
What really made this series stick out was the cast. Sir Derek Jacobi leads the cast as Claudius. Most of the story is told through his eyes as he writes a history of his experiences with the imperial family and some incidents that happened prior to Claudius' birth. Some other cast members include Brian Blessed as Augustus, Sian Phillips as Livia (Augustus' wife, and Claudius' grandmother), George Baker as Tiberius, John Hurt as Caligula, and Patrick Stewart as Sejanus to name a few. Fans of British cinema will be able to pick out even more familiar faces (I can't really go into all of the cast because there are so many excellent actors and actresses in this).
What really makes the story work is the interplay between the characters and the almost constant intrigue that goes on around the Roman political scene. The best part of it is that what happens is for the most part true or at least based on the writings of historians of the time. I recommend this highly to anyone who is interested in learning about Roman history and wants to get their feet wet.
On a somewhat amusing side note, Patrick Stewart (with hair) makes out with Magenta from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
In the mini series there are some minor anachronisms and some events are out of sequence, but it still captures the political intrigue of the imperial family in ancient Rome. I'm not going to go into the story more than this because it gets very complicated and it is very long.
What really made this series stick out was the cast. Sir Derek Jacobi leads the cast as Claudius. Most of the story is told through his eyes as he writes a history of his experiences with the imperial family and some incidents that happened prior to Claudius' birth. Some other cast members include Brian Blessed as Augustus, Sian Phillips as Livia (Augustus' wife, and Claudius' grandmother), George Baker as Tiberius, John Hurt as Caligula, and Patrick Stewart as Sejanus to name a few. Fans of British cinema will be able to pick out even more familiar faces (I can't really go into all of the cast because there are so many excellent actors and actresses in this).
What really makes the story work is the interplay between the characters and the almost constant intrigue that goes on around the Roman political scene. The best part of it is that what happens is for the most part true or at least based on the writings of historians of the time. I recommend this highly to anyone who is interested in learning about Roman history and wants to get their feet wet.
On a somewhat amusing side note, Patrick Stewart (with hair) makes out with Magenta from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."