I, Claudius

Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy It
Review: I would love to report that this, one of my favorite British TV series, had been lovingly presented on DVD. Alas, my copy has major technical problems. Both discs one and two have severe breakup of the image and sound. In the case of disc two, the problem was bad enough to lock my DVD player. The only way I could get out of the lock was to unplug the player--I couldn't even turn it off through either the remote or the front panel power button. There are also noticeable, repeated video dropouts throughout. (Incidentally, I have two players, and both had the same problems, so clearly the disc is the source of the difficulties.)

Moreover the navigation is badly designed to the point of irritation. Keep in mind that 12 of the 13 episodes are included on only two discs. Each of the episodes is then divided into chapters. That means for any viewing other than watching straight through a side, you are always negotiating at least two menus, and the instructions for doing so are minimal.

I give one star for the thought of including "The Epic that Never Was," certainly a nice addition. I only wish the rest of the DVD testified to a similar interest in the viewer's pleasure. This program deserves better than this shoddy presentation.

NOTE: The technical problems noted above were corrected in a subsequentrelease of the DVD, although the clumsy interface alluded to remains.

Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: As a young boy, I checked out the I, Claudius series in my local library. You couldn't believe how dissappointed I would become when certain editions were "checked out". This is fantastic. Now the collection lives on 3 DVDs. Derik Jacobi gives a masterful performance of Claudius. Forgive me for not metioning any of the actors by name, because they derserve that, but they all do outstanding jobs in their roles. You will love Augustus, despise Livia, cring at Caligula, and remember Claudius. Oh and that haunting music at the beginning with the snake as the scene opens. Oh the memories are coming back! Bottom Line: Buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Can't Rate It Higher than Five Stars!
Review: I would if I could, though. When the characters meet their invariable (and oftentimes just) ends, you feel as though you'll miss them forever. Forget that the DVD was taken from video -- what, you're going to criticize Casablanca for not being in color? -- one reason no one's been bold enough to do a remake is that I don't think it could be done again. Like a hole-in-one, the cameras had better be rolling the first time. I'm waiting for a sequel centering on the Clinton administration!

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of acting and writing!
Review: If you just picked this series up on DVD because of a whim, you may be rather disappointed by the limited shots, restricted sets, long pauses, sharp quality of BBC video and absolute lack of musical score. These are the first impressions of the uninitiated...oh how quickly we judge the veneer of an object to be its true character. However, just like its main subject Claudius, this series has far more depth of understanding then it first appears. Written from the autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, the Roman emperor between Caligula and Nero, it details the family workings, loves, betrayals and insanities within the Roman monarchy . I, Claudius begins with Augustus and ends with Claudius final breath. An excellent essay on power and its ability to corrupt infinitely, it is a brilliantly written and acted series. Derek Jacobi (Claudius) and the huge cast of familiar British actors really make this a believable drama by taking you in through their skill in emoting. Most amazing is Jacobi's ability to twitch and stammer very convincingly making the viewer believe Claudius is as simple and nieve as his family thinks. Roman history is pretty boring, academic stuff, but because this story deals with the hopes, desires and lusts of real people it lives forever as a magnificent epic on paper as well as through the raster.

Rating:
Summary: Clau, Clau, Claudius DOES speak CLEAR!
Review: It was with great anticipation that I awaited my copy of the DVD version of this wonderful mini-series. My trembling fingers tore at the cellophane covering the slipcase and I reverently snapped the first of three discs out its cover and into my player. At once I was swept back to my younger days in 1976, glued to the television, awaiting those dissonant harsh and metallically evil string tones which announced the arrival of that serpent slithering with deadly menace across the mosaic background. I watched every installment without a break, mesmerized was I. But it was different, crisp, clear, with color that jumps off the screen. Footfalls so audible, the click of the dice, the stab of a dagger, all vivid and real. Excuse my effervesence, but I have awaited this revived version for many years, nursing my beaten old beta copies to death, watching the color fade with each playing, the sound track more muffled and less audible. How refreshing to see it live again in such splendor. So wanting was I that I searched for a laser disc copy but found them too expensive and used. This is an affordable Claudius, one which will stand the test of time. The bonus documentary of the ill-fated screen epic is just the icing on the cake, a look at a good idea that for various reasons couldn't make it to celluloid. However, the BBC version had an ensemble of actors and actresses who surpassed Korda's vision. Claudius is an intimate story, told in minute detail, far to grand and lengthly a story to compress into 2 hours. It deserves all 13, and revels in that time frame. The most excellent cast includes Sian Phillips as the methodically murderous Livia, Brian Blessed as Augustus, noble in ideas but pitifully pedantic and irritatingly obtuse, unaware of all the intrigue and mahem going on around him, John Hurt as the monstrous Caligula (my favorite even above Jay Robinson of "The Robe" and "Demetrius and the Gladiators" fame)along with George Baker (Tiberius), Margaret Tyzack (Antonia), Patrick Stewart (Sejanus) all provide a wonderful tapestry of murder, debauchery, intrigue, nobility and fatality that frames Derek Jacobi and his stellar performance as the stuttering, limping, drooling, observing, waiting, and finally triumphant Claudius.I highly recommend this DVD to everyone who, like myself, re-lives the tempestuous lives of the first four Roman emperors over and over again. 5 stars for I, Claudius....

Rating:
Summary: The Claudians on DVD!
Review: If you haven't purchased the tape set, it's deliriously wonderful to have this on dvd. However, be advised there aren't any "extras" that weren't in the tape set. But that may be more than enough if you're a fan of the series who taped it off PBS: this commercial release (like the tape set) is the uncut BBC version of the series, which includes footage MASTERPIECE THEATRE didn't think America was ready for (mostly nipples, buttocks and the odd gory shot of John Hurt :-).

DVD video and sound quality do go to waste a bit, here, since the original was shot on video and this was before tv shows had stero. But it's as good a transfer as you can hope for, and the chapter selections (roughly 7-10 per episode) are great: exactly the spots I wanted to skip to. The discs break down as follows: Discs 1 and 2 have three episodes per side, and Disc 3 is single-sided with episode 13 and the Korda film documentary.

While I could wish they'd managed to put on some more extras about the BBC production, after all this time, that's probably just wishful thinking.

Rating:
Summary: 12 Hours of Absolutely Superb Drama from Roman Times
Review: This set presents a superbly acted soap opera from 1975 or so of the Roman emperors from Augustus through Nero, through the eyes of Claudius (Derek Jacobi). This is no dry telling of tales of the noble Roman emperors, but rather a very graphic telling of adultery and murder from the two books by Robert Graves. The acting in this series is absolutely fabulous, especially of Jacobi who pretends to be dull-witted for much of his life to escape the carnage around him and who has the last laugh in the end having survived most of his peers. Other standouts are murderous, yet ultimately sympathetic Sian Phillips (wife of Augustus) and the deranged Caligula of John Hurt. Even if you watch this once, the 3 DVD set is a bargain -- If you watch if over and over again, then it becomes a steal!

A nice feature of the DVD set is a documentary about "The Epic That Never Was," a grand 1937 attempt to put I, Caludius to film that was left unfinished.

Rating:
Summary: Simply great
Review: I first saw this series when I was in high school in the mid 1980s and have never forgotten it. It is a tour de force of the early Roman empire starting with the emperor Augustus and culminating (albeit briefly) in the emperor Nero. If you have little knowledge of Rome this may spark your interest, and if you think the topic sounds boring you will probably be pleasantly surprised, as some could call this series one of the most famous and treacherous "soap operas of reality" ever to transpire. The acting, writing, pacing are all superb. One final note: if you had the terrible misfortune of having seen the bombastic "Caligula" by Bob Guccione and think that you have seen this story before, you couldn't be further from the truth.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the Best Television Series Ever Made
Review: In High School our Latin teacher assigned us the task of watching--yuck--a Masterpiece Theatre production of I, Claudius. After the first week, we were hooked. By Episode V (when Augustus dies) a cult had formed. What British television series can capture the minds of a bunch of callow 14 year olds? Quite possibly the best television series ever made.

Where can you begin? It's based on Robert Graves superb novels (I, Claudius and Claudius the God), and brilliantly adapted for television. Then there is the hard-as-diamonds perfection of the cast: Sian Phillips as the ice queen, Livia; Derek Jacoby's stunning Claudius; Brian Blessed's paterfamilias, Augustus. John Hurt turns in one of television's towering interpretations of the mad, bad, and dangerous-to-know Caligula. The list goes on and on.

The only defect in this masterpiece is that it was shot on video and not film, but that does not affect the enjoyment you will derive from these wonderful episodes.

Rating:
Summary: All in the Roman Family
Review: I could not have imagined being glued to my television for such a long time, but I can't take my eyes off I, Claudius. Derek Jacobi is absolutely amazing, but the greatest honors go to Sian Phillips, whose Livia deserved every acting honor possible. Yes, Livia, you are a goddess! I am enthralled by Patrick Stewart as Sejanus, & he was better looking with hair! I felt a certain amount of pity for George Baker's Tiberius, who seemed a rather decent sort before his mother got through with him. It was nice to see John Castle (Geoffrey, my favorite brother, in Lion in Winter) as Postumus, and his resemblance to Simon McCorkindale, who played one of his brothers (the first to die, I forget his name) is remarkable. Brian Blessed is also outstanding, as is Margaret Tyzack (so good in The Forsyte Saga). I must say, though, that for me Jay Robinson (The Robe, Demetrius & the Gladiators) is the ultimate Caligula. I first became interested in this when I read that the character of Vir Cotto in Babylon 5 was based on Claudius. How true, even down to the prophecy (a sybil has prophecied that Claudius will become emperor, and a Centauran prophetess saw the same destiny for Vir). I absolutely loved it!