Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons

Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 08/07/2007

Family dysfunction. Treachery. Betrayal. Coarse profanity. Brutal violence. Graphic (and sometimes brutal) sex. No, it's not The Sopranos, it's Rome, HBO's madly ambitious series that bloodily splatters the glory of Rome just as savagely as Monty Python and the Holy Grail soiled the good name of Camelot (but with far fewer laughs; very few funny things happen on the way to this forum). Set in 52 B.C. (Before Cable), Rome charts the dramatic shifts in the balance of power between former friends Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham), leader of the Senate, and Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), whose imminent return after eight years to Rome after conquering the Gauls, has the ruling class up in arms. At the heart of Rome is the odd couple friendship between two soldiers who fortuitously become heroes of the people. Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is married, honorable, and steadfast. Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) is an amoral rogue whose philosophy is best summed up, "I kill my enemies, take their gold, and enjoy their women." Among Rome's most compelling subplots is Lucius's strained relationship with his wife, Niobe (Indira Varma), who is surprised to see her husband alive (but not as surprised as he is to find her upon his homecoming with a newborn baby in her arms!) Any viewer befuddlement over Rome's intrigues and machinations, and determining who is hero and who is foe, disappears the minute Golden Globe-nominee Polly Walker appears as Atia, Caesar's formidable niece and a villainess for the ages. In the first hour alone, she offers her already married daughter as a bride to the recently widowed Pompey. Rome is a painstakingly mounted production that earned eight well-deserved Emmy nominations in such categories as costumes, set design, and art direction. Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter) was honored with a Director's Guild Award for the first episode, "The Stolen Eagle." But artistic considerations aside, instantly addicted viewers will agree with Atia, who notes at one point, "I adore the secrecy, the intrigue. It's most thrilling."

Season 2 begins in the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination, and charts the power struggle to fill his sandals between "vulgar beast" Mark Antony (James Purefoy) and "clever boy" Octavian (Simon Woods), who is surprisingly named Caesar's sole heir. The series' most compelling relationship is between fellow soldiers and unlikely friends, the honorable Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus "Violence is the only trade I know" Pullo (Ray Stevenson), who somewhat reverse roles when Vorenus is overcome with grief in the wake of his wife's suicide. Season 2 considerably ups the ante in the rivalry between Atia (an Emmy-worthy Polly Walker), who is Antony's mistress, and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) with attempted poisonings and sickening torture. Another gripping subplot is Vorenus's estrangement from his children, who, at the climax of the season opener are presumed slaughtered, but whose true fate may be even more devastating to the father who cursed them. Rome's second season does not scrimp on the series' sex and violence, in both cases exceedingly brutal. But in this cauldron of treachery and betrayal, words, too, are vicious, as when a defiant Atia ominously tells Octavian's new wife, Livia, "Far better women that you have sworn to [destroy me]. Go look for them now." In writing Rome's epitaph, we come to praise this series, not to bury it. Although two seasons was not enough to establish a Rome empire, it stands as one of HBO's crowning achievements. --Donald Liebenson

This series is absolutely beautiful to watch. The sets and costumes are amazing, the actors were also wonderful. But warning - do not expect a very happy series. It basically became one tragic event after another, but then again it is history.

Rome is very detailed in everyway. This series has captured what we know in history and filled in the blanks. Very interesting! Although definitely not for the kids! Its very graphic! The sex can be more then I signed up for sometimes. It also has very graphic violence which I expected. The story line is wonderful, which is what has me coming back all the time.

I waited quite a while before watching this series, but am so glad I finally got around to it. It is lush, beautifully acted, and impossible to turn off. While it's obvious that not everything shown is accurate, I really didn't care after the first five minutes. Spanning several years, it feels as if you've known these characters forever, and you can see how much or little they've changed as their circumstances do. I highly recommend this show!!

Wonderful show with attention paid to every detail - settings, horses, armor, clothing, jewelery - so why do they have so many South American parrots...? One African Grey parrot - lovely to see - but there are lots of Macaws and Yellow Heads - definitely from SAm and I don't think Rome was trading with them at the time. Otherwise - a great show.

I purchased both seasons of Rome as a Christmas gift for my non-history buff husband (well, actually because I wanted it). Both of us loved it! The production values are gorgeous, the actors do a spendid job of creating the characters, and the special features, especially All Roads Lead to Rome, are informative and add much to the experience.

Other reviewers have addressed the historical accuracy of the series so let me just say that we didn't care about the accuracy. We did some research on a few subjects that interested us, and found that on the whole, the series was accurate. As far as portraying the customs and mores of one of our parent civilizations, Rome did an excellent job of conveying the social and political climate that incubated Christianity. I can't recommend it highly enough--great stories, great acting, great costuming, great sets--what more could you ask?