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Brian Blessed
Derek Jacobi
John Hurt
Sian Phillips
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Genre
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Drama
Historical
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Media
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DVD Box Set
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Language | English | ||
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Reviewer
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Gareth
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Description
The elderly Roman emperor Claudius writes his memoirs, telling of the history of the Roman empire through his own period of rule. It begins as Augustus is emperor, and his scheming wife Livia will stop at nothing to make her son from a previous marriage Tiberius the next emperor. This conflict sets the stage for a long period of intrigue and double-crosses among the Roman elite, all of it witnessed by Claudius, whose limp and stammer cause everyone to think him simple-minded and thus leave him alone. But Claudius in fact posesses a very keen intellect, and is determined to see justice be done and Rome returned to a Republican form of government. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, Emmy Awards.
Review
Although this wasn't the first large scale historical drama the BBC had ever produced, it was by far the most sensational with -in retrospect- a stellar cast and cutting story. At the time it was seen as a huge risk with a cast of unknowns. Brian Blessed was seen as a huge risk as his previous roles had been in pedestrian police shows such as Z Cars, and bit parts. It was thought that he might not be able to carry off such a serious role as the Emperor Augustus.
It was also unheard of to have a historical drama, set in ancient Roman times, laced with contemporary speech and mannerisms and it caused quite a stir at the time (the same furore erupted when the book was released), however now it is seen as the norm.
It's hard to see just how revolutionary I,Claudius was and the question could be posed as to whether it can stand up with todays epics. There is only one answer and it is undoubtedly a yes! The quality of the acting is sublime - Derek Jacobi's Claudius is multi-layered, and so subtle. Forget the stammers and stutters - they're as much a part of Claudius' act as Jacobi's... even when we see him as an old man, Claudius is lightyears ahead of his contemporaries. I've already mention Brian Blessed, but I have to say that his performance as Augustus is superb. Yes, it's a blustering powerhouse (and would be caricatured to great affect by him in Blackadder) but beneath it is a man who knows he's past his prime and is actually frightened by the Sybiline prophecies he was witness to years before.
John Hurt plays a beautifully manic and mad Caligula, both fragile and dangerous by degrees. Sian Phillips is masterful as the cunning Livia, the powerful matriarch of the family - who's goal all along was the perpetuation of the empire, even at the cost of her own husband.
In I, Claudius the story is central - there are no grandstanding action scenes (mostly because of the budget more than anything I suppose) and the emphasis is placed on the characterisations and the dramatic script. It's a masterpiece of storytelling - due to the outstanding source material of Robert Graves' novels, and Jack Pulmans script - and needs to be seen as an great example of British television at its best!
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