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HBO\'s "Rome" to present more realistic look at the
#31
Quote:And what sort of Roman would conduct a banquet sitting up at the table, wearing (leather) armour? Barbarians!

Well...I remember a certain Romano-British gentleman by name of Uther Pendragon procreating with Ygraine in full plate armour in John Boorman's movie "Excalibur". Confusedhock:
It actually makes dining in leather armour seem rather...well, practical and sensible... :lol:

I myself was wondering how likely it would be that officers on campaign ate from gold tableware...how realistic is that? (and I mean as in: I really don't know. It's something I might expect from the Achaemenid Great King of Persia, but 1st century BC Romans?).
Andreas Baede
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#32
Quote:I myself was wondering how likely it would be that officers on campaign ate from gold tableware...how realistic is that? (and I mean as in: I really don't know. It's something I might expect from the Achaemenid Great King of Persia, but 1st century BC Romans?).

Ah, but this is Caesar - the man who reputedly took an entire mosaic floor on campaign with him, to be assembled in sections in his tent so as to overawe visiting barbarian dignitaries! He would also, I'm sure, have packed a decent number of proper Roman dining couches as well... (which makes me wonder, in fact, how many wagons, mules, slaves etc would have been needed to lug the furniture and furnishings of the commanding officers about - perhaps something of the sort should be considered when assembling those 'Roman army on the march' diagrams?)

But if this new production has half the panache of 'Excalibur' I'll forgive it everything! :wink:
Nathan Ross
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#33
Give 'em a break. At the time of Caesar's return to Rome the old Curia hadn't yet been restored after the damage it suffered from the fire that followed the rioting at the funeral of Clodius. For several years the Senate met elsewhere. The day Caesar was assassinated the Senate was meeting in the Theater of Pompey on the Campus Martius. This made for the neat dramatic irony of Caesar expiring at the base of Pompey's statue. There were other meeting places: the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, the Temple of Bellona on the Campus Martius, where they met to discuss war and receive foreign envoys, and others. It's conceivable that some of these places featured semicircular seating arrangements. We don't know so we can allow these guys some latitude.
Pecunia non olet
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#34
Quite correct john, yet I doubt (might be happily mistaken) that the designers had your good resons in mind when building this set. :lol:

I thought those Italian leather-love reenactor group were acting as advisors. Those helmets make my eyes bleed.
[Image: ebusitanus35sz.jpg]

Daniel
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#35
Quote:At the time of Caesar's return to Rome the old Curia hadn't yet been restored after the damage it suffered from the fire that followed the rioting at the funeral of Clodius. For several years the Senate met elsewhere. The day Caesar was assassinated the Senate was meeting in the Theater of Pompey on the Campus Martius. This made for the neat dramatic irony of Caesar expiring at the base of Pompey's statue. There were other meeting places: the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, the Temple of Bellona on the Campus Martius, where they met to discuss war and receive foreign envoys, and others. It's conceivable that some of these places featured semicircular seating arrangements. We don't know so we can allow these guys some latitude.

All good points and well made. I was mainly curious, though, as to why the 'senate house' (and I think the scene above is clearly intended to represent such, with the tiers of seats etc) is so often portrayed in this way, when the Curia (in its tetrarchic form, admittedly) stands to this day and is resolutely rectangular. But this is drifting a little off-topic...
Nathan Ross
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#36
I'm sure it's been done for purely cinematic, or rather cinematographic reasons. It's far easier to pan a camera across a semicircular theater of raised seats and get everyone in, showing the senators in their factions shaking fists and shouting one another, than having to deal with corners. In the old Curia Hostilia it is probable that the senators were just seated on benches or folding chairs on the floor, a nightmare to film and still get the impression of the Senate as a whole and in its constituent factions. Chalk this up to dramatic license.
Pecunia non olet
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#37
I see Hollywood still has a law against showing the male wrist....
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
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#38
Now, Matthew, you know perfectly well that the Roman Army awarded armillae as decorations for valor. What we're looking at here is a whole tableful of heroes, each of whom has been awarded two (rather wide) armillae. Hmm, seems I remember from my Army days that the officers did get a lot more decorations than us grunts.
Pecunia non olet
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#39
$100 Million dollars was put into this series making it the most expensive ever Confusedhock: .

Where did all that money go ? :?

Certainly it didn't go to the costuming department or the no-name actors. :lol:
Jaime
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#40
Quote:I see Hollywood still has a law against showing the male wrist....

Especially at dinner. Actually, Roman soldiers always wore thick leather wristbands while eating. Obviously they served the same purpose as the focale - to stop the plates from chafing...

:wink: Nathan
Nathan Ross
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#41
Theodosius:
I'm hoping the money went into the re-creation of Rome itself. No-name actors are a good sign. Bankable stars mean that the majority of the budget went to hiring one or two people and then buying a ton of insurance for them, then most of the rest for advertising, leaving a pittance for the actual production. Put that money up on the screen. Too bad about the military costuming, though. They shoulda asked me. Funny, though, how Hollywood keeps ignoring me.
Pecunia non olet
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#42
Quote:Now, Matthew, you know perfectly well that the Roman Army awarded armillae as decorations for valor. What we're looking at here is a whole tableful of heroes, each of whom has been awarded two (rather wide) armillae.

That would explain why many of the guys in the Senate scene seem to be hiding their forearms in embarrassment. Or maybe they just feel naked without some brass or leather there.

Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
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#43
Quote:Theodosius:
I'm hoping the money went into the re-creation of Rome itself.

Hi John,

You mean the set and stages ? Yes, but they seem to get that part right most of the time. In "Augustus", starring Peter O'Toole, I was very impressed with the exterior sets of Rome in the Forum. Or are you hoping for some CGI enhanced scenes ?

Quote:No-name actors are a good sign. Bankable stars mean that the majority of the budget went to hiring one or two people and then buying a ton of insurance for them

Yes, I agree. Besides, I don't think most top priced (US) actors can act better than no-names anyway. :lol: No loss there. They can (and should) hire classically-trained actors on the cheap, preferably Brits, IMO.

Quote:Hollywood keeps ignoring me.

Hollywood ignores anyone who knows a scintilla about historical Rome :?

BTW, I look forward to reading your Conan book soon. :wink:
Jaime
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#44
Quote:Or are you hoping for some CGI enhanced scenes ?

There most certainly are.
TARBICvS/Jim Bowers
A A A DESEDO DESEDO!
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#45
[url:1bnlnpuu]http://www.hbo.com/rome/video/index.html[/url]

This appears to be worth watching. Nothing like the trash recently shown on ABC.
Titus Licinius Neuraleanus
aka Lee Holeva
Conscribe te militem in legionibus, vide mundum, inveni terras externas, cognosce miros peregrinos, eviscera eos.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.legiotricesima.org">http://www.legiotricesima.org
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