Ancient Rome the Rise & Fall of An Empire

Overall well done and for the general viewer, informative

We are in the middle of watching this series now.... so far so good.... It's amazing how modern the trials, tribulations and nation building history seems to equate to much of America's story.

Really great show. Reminds me of a not so violent or explicit time jumping HBO Rome. It's region locked and will not work on most things in North America but there are ways around this foolish lock companies have. So it is worth getting and watching.

This series makes ancient Roman history dramatic with some good acting performances. While the series begins stating that it has been "written with the advice of modern historians", some of the episodes are not balanced in their portrayal of key figures. Each episode lists only one historical consultant in the credits (and there are only four historical consultants listed for the whole series) so each episode reflects the opinions of one historical consultant and the writers.This is especially evident in the fifth episode as it is an unbalanced and incomplete portrayal of Constantine. While he was no saint, this episode focused on his negative actions and exaggerated them. It also cast him as gloomy, temperamental, and erratic - hardly believable for one of the most capable and inspiring leaders in the late Roman Empire. For a fairer treatment of Constantine, see History Channel's Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire - Episode 10.The sixth episode takes the side of Alaric and makes the viewer sympathetic to him and the Goths to sack the city of Rome.The other episodes do a better job of providing a balanced treatment. The first episode is a good portrayal of Julius Caesar as brilliant yet ruthless. The viewer sees the perspectives of both Caesar and Pompey. The second of episode of Nero is well acted (probably overacted) and while the writers try to provide some evidence of Nero's benevolence, there's too much of Nero's decadence to redeem him.While the acting performances are good, the portrayal of some of the key figures is not historically balanced as the episodes reflect the opinions of the historical consultant and the writers. Don't accept what you see in this series as fact. Research other sources to get a more accurate portrayal of these key figures and events in ancient Roman history.

We had to switch the region on one of our devices to watch it but my husband loved it.

this is by far one of the best series I have ever seen. It's better than a five star rating. The attention to detail is excellent the acting First class!!!!!two thumbs up!!!!

The videos are in a different zone format and don't play on USA systems

very well done documentary sires on Rome costuming was very good along with the history .loved it wish the would do some of the other emperors

This DVD covers select periods of ancient Roman history from the republican times to the close of the Empire. Major figures that played a role in the history of this very influential superpower are portrayed. Julius Caesar, Nero, Constantine, Vespasian, to name a few. The characters are well acted by talented actors ( Michael Sheen, Sean Pertwee, David Threlfall, Peter Firth). The battle scenes, political manoeuvrings, etc, are very well handled.The standard of film production is great and the stories are well edited to keep them exciting without being boring. (running time 354mins).Educational entertainment at it's best.A perfect example of the way a docu-drama should be made.

A series of documentaries on each of what most historians would judge to be the key Emperors and players in the rise and fall of Rome. Acting is very good and battle scenes quite realistic, mostly. Despite having read various books on the well-known figures of ancient Rome,there are facts in this docu. which I had not known or had forgotten. (eg Julius only ruled 4 years, and yes, Nero was truly as mad as a hatter and the wonder was he lasted as long as he did before leaving "centre stage")

A great series with some incredible actors and brilliant accurate writing about the various periods, from the Late Republic to the Late Imperialperiod and indeed the fall of the Empire.Sadly it is only 6 episodes covering variously the Roman revolution, The Tribunate of Tiberious Grachi and Julius Caeser marching on Rome.The Jewish uprising and Verspatian, written by Josephus,an eye witness.And the later Empire's struggles with Constantine and the rise of Christianity and the Visi-Goths and the Sacking of Rome in 410AD.All the episodes are highly enjoyable and show some of the most important events, of the 600 years of the Western Empire.I really wish the BBC had done more of these covering the rest of the history of the Republic and the later Empire. Or indeed the Eastern ByzantineEmpire that has such a poor perception with the general public.

'Ancient Rome' is an enjoyable docu-drama for most people to view...It would help if one already had some knowledge of the Caesar's for example, or the development of the Empire in size and strength to its demise. The material is 'fresh' and has a grainy grittiness that is not seen in previous dramas of ancient Rome. This makes it seem much more authentic. The battle scenes were very authentic too... Alas, there is too little of it. The topics chosen and the context can be confusing I'm certain for someone who does not have a grasp of the fundamentals. Giants in Ancient Rome such as the Antony-Cleopatra liason ; the 'father of modern Europe', the Emperor Augustus; and the the triumverates are missing... If one buys it together with the tv adaptation of the Graves' novel, 'I-Claudius.', then one can understand the entire epic saga a bit better. I suppose if someone with deeper pockets perhaps, ie: Hollywood might have a go,but then you would be sure to loose the historical accuracy and texture I mentioned before.[ASIN:BOOOBGPH7E I,Claudius [Complete BBC series, uncut] 1976] [DVD]

Bought this to try and learn more about the Romans and their history. A shame that starts with the Romans already at their near full stretch territory wise. Dosn't teach you anything hardly about how they grew to become such a great Empire. Does teach you about 6 key figures in their history such as Caesar, Nero and Constantine etc. I found the episode on Rome's seige on Jerusalem fantastic and was the kind of thing I was looking for. Some of the acting is over the top. Missing some of what I was looking for but all in all I did enjoy this so 4 stars.