Customer Reviews
brian blessed please!! - By: N. Beard, 13 Jun 2008 
I had the original videos for years. Read the books by Robert Graves until the covers fell off. Five stars apart from BB What a ham. He lets his generation down & should never have been included in the cast. The rest of the cast are jewels of their age not so BB Glad to see he is no longer heard of.Up Pompei would have loved him
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The most understated death scene ever? - By: R. Hagues, 03 May 2008 Utterly brilliant with a superb cast & dialogue, brilliant acting & direction, for any Roman empire enthusiasts this is a must. In this series we're spoilt for scenes that have staggeringly good acting, however the one that is (for me) most memorable is the death scene of Augustus whilst Livia is heard talking in the background. I run out of superlatives to describe the brilliance of Brian Blessed's acting ... utterly superb.
An Important Benchmark in Television Drama - Superb - By: David Lusher, 10 Oct 2007 This is a wonderful series covering the scandal & intrigue of Rome's first family from the reign of Augustus through to Nero, as told through the eyes & pen of Claudius. Claudius appears to be a stuttering, lame half-wit, but these apparent weaknesses disguise a keen intellect & an historian's eye for detail. The casting is inspired & the performances are first-class, particularly Derek Jacobi as Claudius, John Hurt as Caligula, & Brian Blessed as Augustus. The series is based on two books by Robert Graves: "I, Claudius" & "Claudius the God" - the script is powerful, intelligent & entertaining. This reallly is spellbinding television & was years ahead of its day when first aired. This series set the standard for alll period pieces that followed & it remains the benchmark for quality television drama today. It turned many virtuallly unknown actors into stars. Highly recommended.
An absolute classic! - By: nycStew, 06 Sep 2007 Superbly acted BBC drama... A wonderful experience. To subtract stars for it not being historicallly accurate is petty beyond belief... Of course it's fiction... It's based on a novel, not an historical text!
The Classic of Classics - By: Morton Macleod, 21 Aug 2007 I remember very well watching the series in 1976 on the 'advice' of my Latin teacher & enjoying it thoroughly. However, to look at it after 30 years is to appreciate at last what alll those wine bores mean by 'maturing with age'!
Tha acting is quite, quite, superb. Standouts are obviously Derek Jacobi, John Hurt & Sian Phillips, but the entire cast seemed to live & breathe their roles. The marvellous Margaret Tyzack as Claudius' aristocratic mother, struggling with the guilt of despising her own son. George Baker as the vile Tiberius, aware that he is descending into degradation & madness yet being unable to stop himself. John Cater as Claudius' only loyal, faithful friend, Narcissus. I could go on.
The BBC has produced some excellent costume drama since, but this is the jewel in its crown. Yes, the sets were a bit wobbly & the make-up a little rubbery, but is it likely that such as ensemble cast, the epitome of British talent, could ever again be brought together on one project?
Not when there's money to be made from property makeovers & wannabe West End stars, alas.
Watch this & walllow in the way it used to be at the Beeb. You won't regret it.
