Posts: 835
Threads: 72
Joined: Oct 2005
Reputation:
0
I just finished reading "I' Claudius" and the sequel "Claudius the god".
I thoroughly enjoyed them both and recommend them highly. It was hard to keep in mind I was reading fiction and not the notes of Claudius himself.
Very well written and a real page turner. I know some liberties were taken with some things but over all I loved it and am sorry to have finished them. (Now I'd like to see the BBC series).
Andy Booker
Gaivs Antonivs Satvrninvs
Andronikos of Athens
Posts: 4,483
Threads: 634
Joined: Aug 2005
Reputation:
0
Quote:I know some liberties were taken with some things but over all I loved it and am sorry to have finished them. (Now I'd like to see the BBC series).
Graves is actually very, very close to the sources. The only thing he does is: to state as fact what is merely suggested by the ancients. Even strange details (Julia having intercourse on the rostra) are in the sources (Seneca).
Jona Lendering
Relevance is the enemy of history
My website
Posts: 1,779
Threads: 187
Joined: Jul 2003
Reputation:
0
I Claudius is the best!
The TV series is a favorite around our house and we usually watch once a year or so as the mood strikes us.
Great cast and great performances.
Let us know your reactions to watching it.
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
Posts: 1,966
Threads: 79
Joined: Apr 2005
Reputation:
22
Quote:Even strange details (Julia having intercourse on the rostra) are in the sources (Seneca).
_________________
But not shown in the TV series! :wink:
I have just bought the series on DVD , well worth it. The acting by all concerned is superb. The Graves translation of Suetonius is still available as the Penguin edition.
Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
Posts: 8,090
Threads: 505
Joined: Jan 2005
Reputation:
0
I remember working 16+ hour shifts on an intense job many years ago, and using an episode of I Claudius to switch off and wind down each night.
I still can't get my head around Brian Blessed as Augustus, though :wink:
TARBICvS/Jim Bowers
A A A DESEDO DESEDO!
Posts: 7,668
Threads: 117
Joined: Apr 2005
Reputation:
0
Quote:I still can't get my head around Brian Blessed as Augustus, though
But can you get a round Deepeeka helmet around your head?? That's the question!
I'm planning to get the DVD, too. Amazon has it, so it's a done deal.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
Posts: 1,079
Threads: 42
Joined: Jan 2007
Reputation:
0
Fantastic on DVD, and one of those dramas you can watch over and over without really getting bored.
I cannot get my head around the fact that Captain Jean Luc Picard and Sejanus are one in the same hock:
Sulla Felix
AKA Barry Coomber
Moderator
COH I BATAVORVM MCRPF
Posts: 1,779
Threads: 187
Joined: Jul 2003
Reputation:
0
Quote:Fantastic on DVD, and oe of those dramas you can watch over and over without really getting bored.
I cannot get my head around the fact that Captain Jean Luc Picard and Sejanus are one in the same hock:
Or the fact that he once had hair! hock: hock:
As for Brian Blessed...even though it may not be accurate, it is how I would like to think Augustus was.
Then again how about John Hurt as "Little Boots"? -- what a performance.
Graham is quite right -- the series is well worth the purchase price. I have had copies on betamax, laser disc, and now DVD. (Boy--does that list date me. :oops: )
:wink:
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
Posts: 2,366
Threads: 187
Joined: Jun 2004
Reputation:
0
Quote:I cannot get my head around the fact that Captain Jean Luc Picard and Sejanus are one in the same
Patrick Stewart is ageless hock:
Looks exactly the same :lol:
Quote:Or the fact that he once had hair!
You mean hairpiece/Wig/rug//toupee/weave ? :wink:
I've had the boxed DVD set for 5 years and I enjoy it immensely. The only complaint I have about it is the quality of the video. It wasn't remastered - it just looks like a dvd with recorded video.
And mine runs 669 minutes long. I just found that [size=150:fp9ejt9d]this one [/size]runs 740 minutes long ! What's up with that ? Is there lost footage or did they just add extra features ? Anyone know ?
~Theo
Jaime
Posts: 1,966
Threads: 79
Joined: Apr 2005
Reputation:
22
Hi Jaime
Mine has an even shorter running length than your version and that is the 5 disc version available here in the UK. This includes two documentaries, one on the making of the series, the other the unfinished film vesrion starring Charles Laughton, plus deleted scenes from the series. So I do not know what extras are available on the one for sale which appears to be a special edition set.
My old VHS version has a similar running time to my DVD and that was just the series. So I am wondering if the DVD running time given on the box is the series only minus the extras. In which case the ebay version could be the same as I have. Perhaps someone who has the ebay version can help out.
Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
Posts: 1,779
Threads: 187
Joined: Jul 2003
Reputation:
0
My old laser disc edition of "I Claudius" has an aprox running time of 663 minutes. (They do not give an exact running time bless their hearts.)
I know that the DVD includes a docu about the aborted feature film of "I Claudius" with Charles Laughton as Claudius, however I doubt it runs as long as an hour... Perhaps the 740 minutes is a mistake. :?
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
Posts: 20
Threads: 3
Joined: Apr 2007
Reputation:
0
Oh! I had no idea there was a series as well, I shall have to look out for it.
I finished reading I,Claudius a few months ago, very interesting! It's hard not to believe that it is actually Claudius writing it. I did not have much knowledge about Emperor Claudius other than what Suetonius wrote... but strangely enough now after reading the book I have begun to refer to him (at least in my head) as "Uncle Claudius" lol!
Looking forward to getting my hands on Claudius the god
-Pearl Sachiko R.
"Fight for your opinions, but do not believe that they contain the whole truth, or the only truth" - Charles A. Dana.
Posts: 227
Threads: 30
Joined: Aug 2004
Reputation:
0
Well, i read first Suetonius, and it was funny to read latter I Claudius; it was like reading the same story but with a little more of humor.
Posts: 2,237
Threads: 275
Joined: Feb 2001
Reputation:
33
Quote:I cannot get my head around the fact that Captain Jean Luc Picard and Sejanus are one in the same hock:
If you think that's bad, Manimal (Simon MacCorkindale) turns up in one episode!
Since we're all comparing sizes, mine claims to be 648 mins, has 5 DVDs, and is BBCDVD 1085 (dated to 2002).
Probably the best DVD I have (although it is a close-run thing with Battle of Britain...).
Mike Bishop
You know my method. It is founded upon the observance of trifles
Blogging, tweeting, and mapping Hadrian\'s Wall... because it\'s there
Posts: 1,966
Threads: 79
Joined: Apr 2005
Reputation:
22
Quote:If you think that's bad, Manimal (Simon MacCorkindale) turns up in one episode!
Or Macro who became Gimli via shouting Indeee! (John Rhys-Davies)
Quote:Probably the best DVD I have (although it is a close-run thing with Battle of Britain...).
So when you are in your plane are you trusting in radar and praying to God or more accurately the other way around?
Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
|