s-cools

I agree on many points with those who didn't like this film : the storyline isn't really exceptional ; it looks more like a cheap soap opera from South America than a "real" film to be watched at a movie theater ; the acting isn't the best around. However, this film is primarily interesting for Maya Buskila's fans. Maya Buskila is an Israeli pop singer with a beautiful and powerful voice. Some will say she isn't the classiest or the brightest of Israel pop stars, but no one can say that she doesn't sing beautifully. You can hear many excerpts from her two albums during the film, from "HaLev" and "Itkha" to "Haya li makom"... The best part of the film is thus the concert in the Roman Theater of Beit Shean - I bought the DVD only to get that part of the film, when Maya sings "Rak al tagid" and "yamim shel ahava" !

PS: It is better to see the film in Hebrew with English subtitles

I've read the novel written by Bulwer Lytton, I visited Pompeii about 5 times and have read scores of books on the city and its dramatic destruction. This is the best screen adaptation of the book so far. It sticks quite well to Bulwer's novel and adds quite a few pleasant characters and events. Of course this mini-series is not perfect, even has countless flaws : the Temple of Isis, the houses of Glaucus and Diomedes come directly out of the set-designers' imagination, sending Christians to the lions is a bit too cliché, some aspects of the novel have been changed to make it all more dynamic (the novel is very slow-paced actually). But all in all, the plot is interesting, changes and additions good. Nead Beatty's portrayal of Diomedes is just brilliant!! Lesley-Ann Down is gorgeous as Chloe... The day this mini-series comes out on DVD, I'll buy it right away!