BBC documentaries

[Robert Vermaat]

Very interesting documentaries coming up on the BBC.<br>
<br>
October 13 (Monday) on BBC 1 - Colosseum: Rome's Arena of Death.<br>
October 20 (Monday) on BBC 1 - Pompeii: The Last Day.<br>
<br>
I'm not sure about the Gladiator episode, but the Pompeii one has been advertised a little sensasional:<br>
"live through what they didn't: the Last Day of Pompeii"!<br>
Generally though, the BBC has been airing good quality stuff in the historical department. Most likely heavily enhanced by computer animations, etc, even if the scientific details should prove lacking, the show will be worth watching.<br>
<br>
I'm not sure about the dates either, because I have seen the Pompeii episode advertised as going first (and remember how they switched several episodes of Time Commanders around lately).<br>
<br>
Anyway, set your VCR!<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
Valerius/Robert <p></p><i></i>

[mcbishop]

These have been done along the lines of the Pyramid docudrama last year where the fictionalised life of an individual is followed through an ancient setting - sort of Walking with Gladiators. Expect bucket loads of CGI and a lot of assumptions taken for granted (just as with WWD). There are books for each of them<br>
<br>
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obi...62-2669435<br>
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obi...62-2669435<br>
<br>
that on the Colosseum being by Peter Connolly (who is a bit of an expert on it, in his own modest way).<br>
<br>
Mike Bishop<br>
(whose myrmillo and retiarius won, but whose hoplomachus lost) <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

For "Colosseum – Rome’s Arena Of Death" see: [url=http://murphsplace.com/gladiator/colosseum.html" target="top]BBC web-site[/url] and [url=http://murphsplace.com/gladiator/colosseum.pdf" target="top]BBC pdf[/url]. <p></p><i></i>

[Gashford]

Hello all<br>
<br>
I woudl give the Colosseum: Rome's Arena of Death the following scores.<br>
9/10 for effort - good all round effort with a few lapses in environment, continuity and effects.<br>
<br>
6/10 for costume - whilst those in civvies looked quite nice (to my untrained eyes) the gladiator equipment was primarily borrowed from gladiator and an auction sell off of Conan equipment. A few pieces shone through though like the material bindings and manica worn by many.<br>
<br>
5/10 for history - it got a little muddled from time to time borrowing bits and pieces from differing times, but I suspect teh sacrifice was made to make the show flow a little more for people.<br>
<br>
All in all a good enough effort and I think a more genuine (for TV anyway) attempt at looking at the lives of the more accomplished gladiators, with the standard seasoning of darth vader looking military and historical comprimise for ease.<br>
<br>
All the best <p>Graham Ashford
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[venicone]

I agree Graham<br>
<br>
Bit confused on why it was should after the 9'oclock watershed tho.<br>
<br>
Would have made a good schools programme Id have throught <p><img src="http://www.ttforumfriends.com/images/forum/co.gif"/><br>
<br>
<br>
<span style="color:red;"><strong>[url=http://pub55.ezboard.com/btalkinghistory" target="top]Talking History Forum[/url]</strong></span></p><i></i>

[Robert Vermaat]

Graham,<br>
<br>
I agree on your grades for effort and history. They did a good job on buildings and scenery, with the exception on colours. Building were white, gravestones were white, grave monuments were white.. I liked the occasional black faces in the crowd, but then I noticed the shoot was done in Tunesia.. That the character spoke Latin only was a nice try but it sounded all a little strained.<br>
Still, a nice result.<br>
Someone enlighten me.... was Titus indeed such a blood-loving basterd?<br>
<br>
I think costume deserved a big fat 4. The armour was awful, big iron helmets from movies from the 50s and 60s. Scuta were too big, too flat, with metal decorations. What WERE those helmets the guards in the arena were wearing??<br>
Very large and deep purple or black mantles - possible, OK, but should all soldiers wear them? Darth Vader look - I agree.<br>
<br>
Same with civvies -all brown drab. Only the rich wore any colour. is that correct? I mean, should there not have been more off-white instead of brown, brown, brown? (N.B: I'M NOT GETTING INTO THE RED/WHITE DISCUSSION HERE!)<br>
<br>
Did anyone notice Rome having such high walls that it looked like a citadel?<br>
<br>
All in all very pleasent, but even with a shipload of Deepeeka stuff it would have looked so much better.<br>
I'd like more of these doccos, anyway. Can't wait for next week - Pompeii.<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
Valerius/Robert <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=vortigernstudies>Vortigern Studies</A> at: 10/14/03 6:22 pm<br></i>

[Anonymous]

In my opinion this documentary is the BBC unworthy. They have showed so much better stuff in the past.<br>
With all the possibilities the many re-enactment groups provide, is it that hard to make something at least close to the real thing? The costumes made me laugh and cry at the same time.<br>
Can someone enlighten me on the burial-scene? I've never heard of Romans being buried in the modern way but without a coffin. In know cremation was the way to do it and later wen the christian ideas became stronger the body was layed to rest in a stone sarcofacus and put in a funeral monument (if they could afford it).<br>
My expectations for the docu on Pompeii next week are very low, but of course I will watch it.<br>
<br>
Greetings to you all,<br>
<br>
Quintilianus <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Hi,<br>
<br>
It reminded me of a Spaggeti Western cast who were given the Sword & Sandle epic dressing up box and let loose !<br>
<br>
I think the beast master deserved what hew got ... I was cheering then !!!<br>
<br>
It was fun though.<br>
<br>
<br>
Conal <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Inhumation without a coffin would have been quite common (perhaps in several senses of the word) in Roman times.<br>
<br>
Their earlier burials (C10th BC) were urn cremations or simple inhumations; from the C8th BC inhumation was the preferred rite. In the late Republic there is good evidence for the disposal of the poor in mass pits at Rome. Cremation became a rite for the rich from the C3rd BC, and became the dominant form (though not exclusive) by the C1st BC. From 50BC or so onwards columbaria (multi-occupant tombs for cremation urns) became common. The split in the C1st/C2nd AD tended to be eastern empire inhumation, western empire cremation, with significant local variations. People would probably tend to cling to the rite of their home area if possible. What nationality was the character in the documentary?<br>
<br>
Wealth might also affect the rite; burning a corpse is actually in many ways more difficult and expensive for the ancients than digging a hole and shoving the corpse in.<br>
<br>
During the C2nd AD the rich started to prefer inhumation again, and the Christians also preferred it to cremation since some views of the resurrection presupposed the existence of some sort of corpse.<br>
<br>
Shaun <p></p><i></i>