Legionary Books, LLC

Film Reviews

On these Review pages I list some of my favorite books and films for those who enjoy entertainment based around Roman and other ancient history. I'm not going to bother trashing on those that I find less than desirable. If you think a book or film is missing from my lists (which are by no means complete), shoot me a line and tell me why you think something should be added.

Reviews on this page: (Links to Amazon.com provided)

Rome (Season I)  (Season II)

300

Gladiator

I, Claudius

Title: Rome (HBO Series)
Format: DVD Series

First off I have to say that I absolutely loved this series, although there are some rather significant historical caveats that I feel must be addressed. What I appreciate is that the creators acknowledged where they deviated from history, and that their intent was to create an accurate "feel" for what life in Rome was like for all social classes. In this regard they excelled; filming in Rome itself and casting actual Romans as extras was genius. One gets to see how the Noble Romans, plebeians, and even slaves lived. I got a real feel as to how the social orders interacted with each other, and just how human life was valued (or in many cases devalued).

The real issue I had with the series is that some characters were well overplayed, while others of great historical significance were either underplayed, or else left out completely. Foremost I thought that Octavian's mother Atia was way overdone and by far the most dramatized. The show's creators even admitted that the woman portrayed in the series bore little, if any, resemblance to the historical Atia Balba. In fact, she was said to be more inspired by Mark Antony's notoriously scheming wife Fulvia, who is completely absent from the series. I also felt that they tried to portray Atia similarly (albeit probably inadvertently) to Livia's portrayal in the Masterpiece Theater series, "I, Claudius." Of course I was then surprised when we do get to see Livia in "Rome," as she comes across as quite meek and unassuming. That aside, my biggest complaint with so much time being devoted to Atia's character, at the expense of others, is the fact that historically Atia Balba died in 43 B.C., just 18 months after Julius Caesar. She had been dead for more than a decade by the time of Octavian's victory over Antony and Cleopatra. On the other hand, Atia's second husband, Lucius Marcius Phillipus was alive and well and in fact played a very important role as one of his stepson's advisors until well after Octavian's rise to Emperor. Phillipus is never mentioned in the series. Of those neglected, I felt the most significant was Marcus Agrippa. The historical Agrippa was a decisive military genius, both on land and sea. His character comes across as rather awkward, and it is only in passing that he was the one who defeated Antony at Actium. There is also no historical basis for his affair with Octavian's sister, Octavia; though it is interesting to note that Agrippa did in fact later marry Octavian's daughter, Julia.

The other issue that may come across as confusing is the perceived time between events, and the lack of aging in most characters. In Series One, Vorenus' eldest daughter is shown to be roughly the same age as Octavian. While actors change to account of Octavian's age, the same actress plays Vorena throughout the series. She is still seen as a young teen at the end of the series, even though she would actually be in her early thirties. Lucius and Vorena the Younger would both be in their twenties; much older than they are shown. Caesarian is also shown to still be a young boy, when historically he was seventeen when Antony and Cleopatra were defeated. Events (particularly in Season Two) give the appearance of taking no more than a few years to complete. Octavian acknowledges his age being nineteen when he petitions for the Consul's chair, and one feels that he's little older at the series' end; when in fact Octavian was thirty-two by the time the Battle of Actium took place. Twenty-one years from the series beginning to end does little to age any of the characters.

Make no mistake, these complaints I have do not take away from the overall "feel" of the story. "Rome" is still one of my all-time favorite series, and I highly recommend it! As an author of historical novels myself, I felt the need to point out where this series dramatized certain characters and events, so that the viewer knows what is real and what is not. Ironically, what is real is often more far-fetched sounding than what is not. The only other thing that was regrettable, though understandable, was the lack of battle scenes. I had hoped to see how this show would recreate the Battle of Actium. However, given the series' already astronomical costs, it is understandable that battles were kept to a minimum. I will say that the ones they did show were probably the most accurate portrayals of legionary close-combat ever shown on film. The battle formations and tactics were correct, to include the "passage-of-lines" where Roman soldiers in subsequent ranks blitz forward to relieve those on the front line every few minutes. Armor and uniforms were also correct for the time period. If one looks closely, you will also see the evolution of legionary armor; throughout most of the series they are accurately shown wearing mail, yet towards the end Octavian's soldiers are depicted wearing the more famous segmented plate armor (commonly referred to as the lorica segmentata). The one tactic I have yet to see though is the "javelin storm" that the Roman legions would unleash just before closing with their enemy; however, I do not know if this was a common tactic during this time frame or if it became more used during the early Empire.

Of interesting note: Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were based on real people; both are mentioned in Caesar's Gallic Commentaries. The difference being that historically both men were First Cohort Centurions, not just Vorenus. Both men were also part of Legion XI, not Legion XIII. The account of Pullo, and subsequently Vorenus, charging the Nervii alone is partially correct. Caesar's account gives the impression that the men were friends who shared a rivalry and tried to outdo each other in individual feats of valor. Their depictions after the Gallic Wars are entirely fictionalized.

In the end, "Rome" is one of, if not the best series ever compiled about the Roman Republic / Empire. I hope that fans of this series will be drawn into reading about the historical personas of those portrayed on film. "Rome" gives the viewer a breathtaking visual foundation with which they can build upon by further reading. On that note, the violence and sexual encounters (of which there are plenty) in this series are extremely graphic, yet one gets the feel that they are this way for authenticity, rather than "shock value." Anyone with even a passing interest in Roman history needs to watch this series.

Title: 300
Format: DVD Movie

This movie can only be described as pure testosterone! Yes the 300 is historical fantasy, so why do I love it so much? Simple, this movie acknowledges what it is from the beginning and doesn't pretend to be a historical movie. That being said, it is actually more accurate than many people realize. Some historians have judged that it is about 70% historically accurate. It is the visuals-which come straight from the comic book it is based on-that one sees where fantasy comes into play.