| Cinematography |  3 | | Plot |  5 | | Acting | 5 | | Overall Satisfaction | 5 |
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2 of 2 customers found this review helpful.
5 of 5 Sex, Lies and the Colusseum: Rome's Golden Days Monday, October 28, 2002
Shachar from Chicago
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely": no single phrase could better sum up the experience of the Roman Empire's early years. "I Claudius" is a thirteen-part drama focusing on the lives of the first four Roman Emperors -- Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius -- through the eyes of the latter. Using a theatrical style, the story follows tales of war, sex, deceit, murder and the constant struggle of power that surrounded life in the ruling family.
This episodic history of the early Roman Empire begins before Claudius' birth, a time when Augustus was the absolute ruler of the most powerful empire in the history of the world, or at least he'd like to think so. His wife, Livia, wants her own son Tiberius to succeed Augustus, and lets nothing stop her from reaching this goal, even if it involves the (frequent) murder and exile of his competitors, all of whom are either family members or close friends.
As Claudius grows up, he finds his closest friends and family members used as pawns in these power struggles, though he himself is relatively safe due to his crippled body and embarassing stutter. (Most Romans regard Claudius as a harmless imbecile.) Learning under the rule of the sagacious Augustus, the dangerous Tiberius and the psychotic Caligula, Claudius manages to rise in power and prestige by staying out of the limelight and saving his own neck.
Though history gives away the ending (Claudius, of course, eventually does become emperor, and an excellent one at that), the narrative style and unparalleled acting will keep you watching one episode after another. Thirteen hours never seemed so short a time. Was this review helpful?  
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