I, Claudius

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

This mini-series follows the history of the Roman Empire, from approximately the death of Marcellus (24/23 B.C.) to Claudius’ own death in 54 A.D. As Claudius narrates his life, we witness Augustus’ attempts to find an heir, often foiled by his wife Livia who wants her son Tiberius to become emperor. We also see the conspiracy of Sejanus, the infamous reign of Caligula, and Claudius’ own troubled period of rule.- Erika Grams

When I rented this on video, a few years ago, my mother (who has passed away since) commented on how she would watch this back in the 70’s, absolutely fascinated by it. I’d rented it because I’d seen it during its replay in the 80’s, and was equally fascinated. It was rare to see a historical drama with so much lurid character detaiL.What fascinates me today is the sheer number of character actors who appear in it…. Most of which were little known then but have since gone on to become better-known. Everyone from Brian Blessed, John Hurt, Sian Phillips, George Baker, Patrick Stewart and John Rhys-Davies to lesser-known actors like Kevin Stoney, Bernard Hill, Christopher Guard, Fiona Walker, Stratford Johns, Sam Dastor, Guy Siner, Darien Angadi, James Bree, George Pravda, Simon MacCorkindale, Sheila Ruskin, Bruce Purchase and Denis Carey. And they were _all_ good, no matter how small their roles were. Where the Brits find actors of this caliber, I’ll never know.-darkdayforanime

DVD Wholesale Main Features    

Actors: Sian Phillips, Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, John Hurt
Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 5
Rated: NR-Not Rated
Studio: Acorn Media
DVD Release Date: March 27, 2012
Run Time: 668 minutes