THE REAL ROMAN ARMY vrs. the renactments

[Tarbicus]

I think its unfortunate that Hollywood never did anything like Seven Samurai, which proves the film industry can do things right if they want to.

'The Maginificent Seven' was a remake of 'The Seven Samurai'.

but we could not even carry soap or toothpast beacuse the smell would linger

I don't think Roman soldiers used those anyway, but given the popularity of the baths the Romans were obviously very conscious of cleanliness.

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

quote]but we could not even carry soap or toothpast beacuse the smell would linger[/quote]
I don't think Roman soldiers used those anyway, but given the popularity of the baths the Romans were obviously very conscious of cleanliness.[/quote]

I have been, obvious, referring to field conditions. Not normal garrison duties, in which bathing was an option. Combat duty is by nature very dirty and unpleasant. Even the most scrupulous of Romans would be a bit unpleasant to be around after a few days in the field.

R. Izard

[hoplite14gr]

Accuretly presented Ralf!
And If I may add nor Hollywood nor modern Reenacting can re-enact
"after battle shock". I am sure there are members here who understand exactly what I mean.
Good point Travis, no Roman veteran would enter a tavern withoud "quick scanning" it first!
Kind regards

[Chuck Russell]

I think its unfortunate that Hollywood never did anything like Seven Samurai, which proves the film industry can do things right if they want to.

'The Maginificent Seven' was a remake of 'The Seven Samurai'.

pishposh, NO compairison heheheheh

[Woadwarrior]

i cant seem to find any good reenacter sites, most of them are blocked, and alll the movies have media player and i only have quicktime

did the ROME sereis display dailiy life in the city of rome accuratly?
and besides the inaccurate military tactics in gladiator, why isnt the soldier accurate the only makeup they had is mud. and being on campaign for years, and had only ancient methods of cleaning your armor i think that u would look like the ones in gladiator right?

did romans have different color legions, i mean not just the traditional red, did they use blue green or purple.??

anyway i need more reenacter sites, is there a place online where u filmed a mock battle???

ha

[Narukami]

Hollywood is constantly re-making the Seven Samurai.

Besides The Magnificent Seven (and it's many sequels and TV spin offs)

There was:

Battle Beyond The Stars -- Screenplay by John Sayles and starring, among others, Robert Vaughan who was also in Magnificent 7.

A Bug's Life -- This is essentially 7 Samurai Disney/Pixar style.

No doubt someone is working on yet another remake right now.

Kurosawa was a fanatic for detail and accuracy. He was offered the job of director for the mini-series Shogun but passed -- not authentic enough.

Would that such a director approached a film about Rome with the same attitude and skill.

Perhaps some day we will be so lucky.

Narukami

[Carlton Bach]

did the ROME sereis display dailiy life in the city of rome accuratly?

Of course not. But for what it could afford, and what the average TV audoience will accept, it did a pretty decent job.

and besides the inaccurate military tactics in gladiator, why isnt the soldier accurate the only makeup they had is mud. and being on campaign for years, and had only ancient methods of cleaning your armor i think that u would look like the ones in gladiator right?

Hard to say, but probably not. The first thing you have to remember is that the Romans liked colourful and shiny. You are right that they wouldn't have had the opportunity to do all the spit-and-polish stuff on campaign, but there is no reason to assume they wallowed in the mud, either. There was a fashion in the 70s and 80s to depict history in muted earth tones and dirt, but that can be taken too far. After a few days' dfield march, Roman soldiers probably didn't smell too well, and acquired some stains and rents in their tunics. And that's that. The comparisonm with modern soldiers only works to an extent because of the fundamentsally different conditions they lived under. Modern combat is a 24/7 activity. A moment's inattention can kill you, and you remain forever within the enemy's reach by sniper, artillery or mine. There is no lull, no letup, no time to take care of even the most basic comforts. Roman soldiers, on the other hand, knew when combat was to be expected and when it wasn't. So once the tents had been set up and the sentries posted, food cooking over the fires, do you really think they wouldn't have taken the time to get clean? Not modern-day clean, with fresh clothing, deodorant and hot showers, but clean.

I can't see any organisation as large as a legion on the move not creating, willy-nilly, periods of 'empty' time.

[Woadwarrior]

sorry, i keep making this a discussion
but how come rome hbo didnt dispal the city correctly?
what was it more busier?

[Woadwarrior]

are the color of these shields accurate?

http://imdb.com/gallery/ss/0172495/Ss/0 ... ey=0172495

[Carlton Bach]

are the color of these shields accurate?

http://imdb.com/gallery/ss/0172495/Ss/0 ... ey=0172495

How would we know?

[Matthew Amt]

i cant seem to find any good reenacter sites, most of them are blocked, and alll the movies have media player and i only have quicktime

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/

Just for starters! If you can't get into it, you REALLY need to get Net access from somewhere else! It has a huge links page, among other things. The movie I listed should play with Quicktime--that's what I have.

and besides the inaccurate military tactics in gladiator, why isnt the soldier accurate the only makeup they had is mud. and being on campaign for years, and had only ancient methods of cleaning your armor i think that u would look like the ones in gladiator right?

Most campaigns were a matter of weeks, not years. And men would learn very quickly from the veterans how to keep their gear clean. Ancient cleaning methods could be highly effective--I put a mirror shine on a tarnished piece of brass in about 2 minutes using nothing but a damp rag and dust. Ashes from the firepit work great, too, on iron as well as brass. With that and a little oil, it's simply too easy to keep everything rust-free and gleaming nicely.

did romans have different color legions, i mean not just the traditional red, did they use blue green or purple.??

There are several big discussions about this on the board.

are the color of these shields accurate?

That's the same general color scheme that a lot of us use. It is largely guesswork, but we know that red backgrounds and other bright colors were used. The problem with the movie shields is that the colors are kind of muted and dull--they actually seem to show up better in the stills and the DVD than they did on the big screen, as I recall.

But see the shiny brass rim and the nice gleaming boss? THAT is what the rest of their armor should look like!! Even weeks of rust would not turn armor blackish gray, it would be rusty brown with yellow and red spots! I'm never sure if Hollywood is trying to make the armor look like dark leather or dark metal--maybe they aren't sure themselves.

Hey, Travis---I'm bummed out about all the architecture problems!! Guess I just don't know enough of those sorts of details to notice them. But at least they were showing Roman (or Romanesque) buildings, which really are made of white marble even if they were supposed to be painted... (My dad used to work in downtown Washington DC, so white marble is very familiar and comfortable to me!) I did notice that they needed more red tile roofs. We all know too darn much...

Valete,

Matthew

[Magnus]

No! No! I mean on same level as Seven Samurai... not a remake! It boggles the mind. I would kill my self also! PC envioronmentally concious anti-war pot smoking gay cowboys save village of illegal migrant workers with their band and with their musical message during their protest march...

(Ralph Izard)

AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH!!!

Good to see you around Ralph!

[tlclark]

I put a mirror shine on a tarnished piece of brass in about 2 minutes using nothing but a damp rag and dust.

Just don't use garum! Ugh! I tried once. (Well Vietnamese Fish Sauce, but it is as close as you can get)

did romans have different color legions, i mean not just the traditional red, did they use blue green or purple.??

There are several big discussions about this on the board.

"Abandon all hope ye who enter here"

Hey, Travis---I'm bummed out about all the architecture problems!! Guess I just don't know enough of those sorts of details to notice them. But at least they were showing Roman (or Romanesque) buildings, which really are made of white marble even if they were supposed to be painted... (My dad used to work in downtown Washington DC, so white marble is very familiar and comfortable to me!) I did notice that they needed more red tile roofs. We all know too darn much...

I spent weeks in that forum one day. I could walk through it blind-folded. Our prof walked us through it and made us give the names, dates and reigns of every structure. It was like a contest. I won when I alone identified the tabularium as belonging to the reign of Sulla. Very cool moment for a sophmore undergrad.

Augustus brags that he finds rome a city of brick and leaves it a city of marble. In reality most of the marble is only a revetment, slabs held in place by mortar or bronze pins, and most of it is pretty thin. Even the Temple of Mars Ultor in Augustus' forum is mostly brick with marble veneers, but the fire wall, now tha's solid and impressive. Not all tile was red either. There was plenty of yellow, green and blue glazes, as well as lead plates. The lead plating on the pantheon was original up until the last couple of centuries or so.

About knowing too much, I found this out a long time ago. I was studying abroad in Jerusalem, years ago, (egad! 14 years ago!) and one night we all decided to blow off studying for finals and watch Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. Now we had all been studying Near Eastern history for months. We get to the impossible questions and the scabby old man (terry gilliam) on the bridge says....

"What is the Capitol of Assyria?!"

And we all stared at each other and mouthed "Nineveh!" in amazement. I know one of the answers to the impossible questions in the Holy Grail. I've learned WAY too much.

Travis

[tlclark]

No! No! I mean on same level as Seven Samurai... not a remake! It boggles the mind. I would kill my self also! PC envioronmentally concious anti-war pot smoking gay cowboys save village of illegal migrant workers with their band and with their musical message during their protest march...

(Ralph Izard)

Damn! You stole my screenplay!!
:wink:

[Gaius Honorius Felix]

Well i'm pleased to announce that withing a decade there will be a historically concious and accurate roman movie. Who would the director be you might ask, why me of course. I have always wanted to write/direct a movie and this would be my project. Brainstorming ideas for it now... So there should be one in a decade or so.