Rome: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]
Rome: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]
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. But now, the city’s foundations are crumbling, eaten away by corruption and excess…And two soldiers unwittingly become entwined in historical events, their fates inexorably tied to the fate of Rome itself. The entire award-winning, critically-acclaimed series will be available as a Blu-ray gift set, just in time for the holiday season.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 transfixed viewers with its lavishly mounted spectacle and human dramas of the historical figures and fictional characters. Set in 52 B.C., 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 episode alone, she offers her already married daughter as a bride to the recently widowed Pompey, and the viewer eagerly awaits to see what (or who) she’ll do next.
Season 2 begins in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination, and charts the power struggle to fill his sandals between “vulgar beast” Mark Antony (James Purefoy) and “clever boy” Octavian (Simon Woods), who is surprisingly named Caesar’s sole heir. The series’ most compelling relationship is between fellow soldiers and unlikely friends, the honorable Lucius Vorenus and Titus “Violence is the only trade I know” Pullo, who somewhat reverse roles when Vorenus is overcome with grief in the wake of his wife’s suicide. Season 2 considerably ups the ante in the rivalry between Atia, who is Antony’s mistress, and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) with attempted poisonings and sickening torture. Another gripping subplot is Vorenus’s estrangement from his children, who, at the climax of the season opener are presumed slaughtered, but whose true fate may be even more devastating to the father who cursed them.
Rome is a painstakingly mounted production that earned well-deserved Emmy nominations in such categories as costumes, set design, and art direction. In writing Rome’s epitaph, we come to praise this series, not to bury it. Although two seasons was not enough to establish a Rome empire, it stands as one of HBO’s crowning achievements. –Donald Liebenson
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Excellent series, not so good packaging
The series is very entertaining. It’s a shame that HBO canceled it after only 2 seasons. I don’t really care for the packaging. It looks nice, like a book, but the sleeves aren’t very protective of the discs and you have to slide them out, risking scratches.
4 Stars Tankjock
WOW..great series in Blu Ray. wow..cant say enough about this Series.
Loved it when I saw it on TV and glad I bought the entire series. Its great in BLU ray..If you like the tv series…U will love these discs.
5 Stars Caesars and the common man
What “Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead” was to “Hamlet,” “Rome” is to “Julius Caesar.” This series is an imaginative retelling of the rise of Julius Caesar and his successor, Octavian. Arguably, this novelization of the period stretches the truth a bit, but the depiction of the overall atmosphere of the age and the life of the ‘average’ Roman, make this an immensely entertaining piece. The series weaves the stories of the Ruling Class and “Joe-6-chalice” from the end of the Gaelic Wars until the defeat of Marc Anthony at the hands of Octavian in a breathlessly new and earthy series of adventures that is far from the usual Hollywood Blood and Sands, and avoids the usual Romans are really upper class British Empire stereotypes. The cast is unusually exceptional and the tale is very well told. At the end, you will bemoan the brevity of only 24 episodes.
A word about this particular release. I had the good fortune to see the original broadcasts and the first DVD release. Seeing it in high definition blue ray is stunning. One can clearly see the richness and careful composition of the cinematographer. It is a vastly improved experience! I enjoyed the special documentation and especially valued the “All Roads Lead to Rome” feature, which would periodically during the viewing add in some interesting historical reference. Its only drawback was its infrequency, and like me, you will wish for more.
5 Stars Utterly Engrossing
With Rome, HBO wonderfully marries the spectacle of the big screen with the intimacy of the small. The series never forgets that Rome may be remembered for its pomp and circumstance, its wars and legendary exploits, but it was its colorful array of morally dubious historical figures who continue to make Rome - and this TV series - so utterly fascinating.
1 Stars Poor picture quality
I am disappointed in pucture quality. I enjoyed Rome when it was on HBO. My plan was to test my new blu-ray player for the first time with Blu-Ray discs. Possibly this is a problem with my Blu-Ray player. They do send a disclaimer with delivery that the seller takes no responsibilty for buyers Blu-Ray player software upgrades. This should be explained before purchase .
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