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List Price: $69.99Amazon.com's Price: $31.49 You Save: $38.50 (55%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 9 to 11 days
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: JACOBI,DEREK
EAN: 0014381918724
Format: Box set, Color, Full Screen
Label: Image Entertainment
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Publisher: Image Entertainment
Release Date: August 15, 2000
Running Time: 740 minutes
Sales Rank: 273
Studio: Image Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: November 06, 1977
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Dramatization of the reigns of the first four Julio-Claudian emperors of Rome as seen through the eyes of the fourth, the emperor Claudius, who was considered a most unpromising youth, yet survived the political dangers of decades to become a wise and jus
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 21-AUG-2007
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com essential video:
This superbly acted, mordantly funny romp through 70 years or so of Roman history is one of the best-loved miniseries ever made, and deservedly so. Derek Jacobi plays Roman Emperor Claudius, who reflects in old age on his life and his remarkable family, giving us a history lesson that's unlike anything you learned in school.
The story begins in 24 B.C. during the reign of Augustus Caesar, Rome's first emperor, and ends in A.D. 54 with Nero on the throne. In between, I, Claudius details the scheming, murder, madness, and lust that passed for politics in the early years of the Pax Romana. The biggest worm in the Roman apple is Augustus's wife, Livia (the superb Siân Phillips), whose single-minded pursuit of power shapes the destiny of the Empire. With a carefully planted rumor here and a poisoned fig there, she gradually maneuvers her son, Tiberius, toward the throne, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and treachery that starts Rome on its helter-skelter slide into bloody chaos. Phillips somehow makes us understand this extraordinarily wicked woman. As she ages and her carefully wrought webs begin to unravel, it becomes clear that Livia has been as thoroughly poisoned by her own ambition as her victims were by her carefully prepared meals.
Further acting honors go to George Baker as Tiberius, who resists but eventually succumbs to the destiny forced upon him by his mother, and to John Hurt as a hilarious and absolutely terrifying Caligula. In one breathtakingly tense scene, the mad Emperor performs a dance in drag, then asks Claudius to critique it, perfectly capturing the horror of a world where one wrong word means death, or worse. Jacobi is the perfect Claudius, hiding his intelligence behind a crippling stammer and shuffling around the edges of events--until he finds himself pulled to the very center. His wry comments give shape to the tangled story of his family and help the audience make sense of a dauntingly complex cast of characters.
I, Claudius might seem a little studio-bound to viewers brought up on more recent big-budget costume dramas, but the topnotch cast and the incident-filled plot are more than enough to hold the attention through almost 11 hours of gripping, deliciously wicked Roman follies. This boxed set also includes a documentary entitled 'The Epic That Never Was,' about Alexander Korda's failed attempt to film I, Claudius in 1937. The film, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Charles Laughton as Claudius and Merle Oberon as Messalina, was abandoned unfinished, and it remains one of Hollywood's great lost movies. --Simon Leake
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Rulers of Rome: the Good and the Evil
This series is a fascinating look at the tremendous heights of empirical glory and despotism that kicked off the Roman Empire. From the brilliant government of Augustus to the mad and criminal excesses of Caligula the early years of the Roman Empire are brought to life in brilliant detail and color through the eyes of the wretched Claudius. Ignored, ridiculed and despised for his limp and his stutter, he witnesses and records the vast web of power, murder, ambition, intrigue and madness that engulfs ... Read More
Rating: - The best historical mini-series I have ever seen
Without a doubt, for an in-depth fictional portrait of another era, this mini-series more or less sets the standard. The acting is uniformly excellent, but the depth of character, placed in context without cheap TV-style simplification, has not yet been equalled in my viewing. I will certainly watch it with my kids and discuss the details for hours and hours.
As with all historical fiction, this version fills in a lot of gaps that we will never know, making events more dramatic or directed ... Read More
Rating:  - do not buy this
The irony is that I rented this based on high recommendations from Amazon, so I feel I should say this as a warning. There are plenty of negative reviews for the DVD quality, but few of those recognize that the quality of the original series is low to begin with. My wife is a TV producer and was apalled at the low-budget look of this, especially the sound. We had it turned up over twice the volume we usually use, and it's not the transfer. They probably used one microphone for the whole room, so if someone ... Read More
Rating:  - muffled on old tv
i also noticed the muffled audio however when played on my newer dvd/tv is comes in very clear.
Rating: - The Best TV series
I Claudius is one of the best, if not the best TV series ever made. BBC productions nailed this one on the head. Even my kids, just teens, love to have 'I Claudius' marathons.
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