The Caesars

I've just seen this on DVD and it is a superb telling of the early days of the Roman Empire. We arrive at the conclusion of the reign of Augustus and focus on the rules of Tiberius (André Morell) and of his insane megalomanic nephew Caligula (Ralph Bates). Sonia Dresdel is suitably imperious as Augustus' wife Livia and Freddie Jones stands out too, as the supposed halfwit Claudius. I think it rather pointless comparing this series (6 hours & monochrome) with the later adaptation of Robert Graves' "I Claudius" books by the BBC (12 hours & colour) that covers a similar territory, but this is certainly well worth watching in it's own right even if the production is really rather stilted and theatrical - the lighting could have done with some extra wattage too! It is still a fascinating, intelligent, review of the glory, ignominy and megalomania at the top of the Roman World at the start of the rule of the Caesars.

I don't agree with the previous comments comparing The Caesars and I Claudius. Both series are masterpieces of casting, interpretation,dialogs and filming.

Someone referred to Suetonius "12 Caesars" and seems to believe that this work , I read, is a reliable source on the way Rome was administered at that time.

I will try to translate as closely as possible what is said in Wikipedia's French article concerning the Roman writer:

"The amount of archives consulted by Suetonius is often a matter of discussion and generally considered less important than believed, says Andrew Wallace-Hadrill and Luc de Coninck.

Suetonius bears very little interest to the history and administration of th Empire; he is interested in the acts and personalities of the Caesars and particularly in their vices and misbehavior; this lead commentators to consider Suetonius, as stated by Alexis Pierron, to be an anteroom pedlar! Of reporting rumors which authenticity were often dubious.

As Pierron said,"Suetonius was listening behind doors but did not hear carefully what was said"...

I will say personally that I would consider him as the people magazine writer of that time. Interesting but unreliable.

In conclusion it is impossible for us to this day to be certain of the facts as well as of a great part of the historical events which are presented in full details in both series. We should not consider both series as historical testimonials.

They are just fantastic playwrights, beautifully brought to the screen, each with the means and possibilities of Television of their times of shooting. Color Television in 68 was at its debut with an American standard which deficiencies was so obvious that the NTSC acronym was translated as "Never The Same Color"!!! Probably today if a new version was made, it would put the accent on special effects,sex and violence not to say gore as it seems to be the dangerous habit of our XXIst century.

I will buy the 68 edition hoping that the DVD has a better quality than the youtube version I've just watched.

I shall assimilate this version to the fantastic Shakespearian broadcasts of the BBC of the same period. Actors of superb diction, not overplaying and punching you through the screen with their unsurpassed talent!

I rarely give any production 10 out of 10 but this series, made in black and white in the 1960s, believed lost for many years, deserves it. 'The Caesars' focuses mainly on the reigns of two Roman Emperors, Tiberius (Andre Morell) and Caligula (Ralph Bates), although it touches on others along the way (Claudius, an excellent performance of someone playing the fool for survival from Freddie Jones; a regal Augustus; a vain Sejanus; and a foolish Germanicus) to make up the six episodes. Female characters also register strongly, with performances coming through clearly from the likes of Caroline Blakiston and Nicola Pagett.

A script of power, superlative acting, restrained depiction of reigns of terror (compare this Caligula with the one enacted by Malcolm McDowell in the 1970s film) makes this series still watchable without it having been dated. The end of the episode 'Sejanus' is excellent and extremely moving, and the standard remains high throughout the whole of the series.

Welcome to DVD and well worth watching.

Unseen for many years (probably because it was made in B&W) The Caesars was every bit the equal of the BBC's celebrated "I Claudius". A remarkable array of character actors, lead by the inimitable Freddie Jones as Claudius himself, made this peerless entertainment. In one respect at least it exceeded "I Claudius" and that is in the performance of the late and much missed Ralph Bates as Caligula. He gave a brilliant and chilling performance as the insane emperor, easily beating John Hurt's outrageously camp and excessive performance (just this side of pantomime in its overacting) for the BBC. Bates' performance, is nothing short of superb. B&W or not, this is one series that deserves rediscovery and a DVD release.

Having seen "The Caesars" when I was at school, I could not understand the swooning praise heaped on "I Claudius" which is comparatively superficial, inaccurate and a travesty.

To take just one example, the real Augustus was physically slight, intellectually subtle and personally formidable so casting Brian Blessed as Augustus in "I Claudius" was grotesquely wrong. Roland Culver was an infinitely better choice.

This was a series about the realities of power in any period - and rather closely followed the surviving record of the sophisticated and lurid Roman historian Suetonius.

The DVD was released in April 2006 - PAL/Region 2 - and is available from Amazon in the UK - but IMDb does not seem to have heard of this yet. The picture is sometimes rather dodgy but it is probably as good as we will get - and TV production was pretty rough in 1968 (compared to today's digitalised everything).

The writing and acting are still superb.