Review: Julius Caesar

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete

A couple of nights ago, I watched the miniseries Julius Caesar based upon the life of the famous Roman leader. It lasts 3 hours. The miniseries start as Sulla takes over Rome and orders Julius Caesar to divorce his wife. He refuses and Pompey tells Sulla to let him go. According to Pompey, Sulla has more to fear from those who flatter him and not speak plainly like Caesar does. With help of Pompey, Caesar flees Rome only to fall into the hands of pirates at the shores of Crete. It is here we get to see a different Caesar than in most movies I have seen. This Caesar played by Jeremy Cisto (who also played Christ and starred in the horror movie Wrong Turn with Eliza Dushku.)
The Caesar brought to us in this miniseries is arrogant, rightous, charming, but most of all humane. He suffers from a condition called epilepsy. Caesar first comes on the stage of politics when his first wife dies. At her funeral, he delivers a speech that made him capable of launching a political career with the support of the people.
This Caesar is more human than most Caesars. This miniseries directed by Uli Edel, delivers a great spectacle and allows the viewer to show a different side of Caesar and Rome, most people are not familiar with.
If you look among the castmembers, there are some great actors: Christopher Walken (The Prophecy trilogy), Chris Noth (Cas Away, Sex and the City), Richard Harris (Gladiator, died in 2002 of a disease) and Valeria Golino (Hot Shots part Deux, Escape from L.A., Frida). This 3 hour miniseries has alot to offer. The only sad part of it is, that there wasn't enough time to cover some aspects of Julius Caesars life. We begin with the young Caesar and end up with the old Caesar being stabbed to death in the Senate. Its just to bad that all the evens followed up so quickly. On the DVD, there can be found a making of Julius Caesar with interviews of the cast and director.
Julius Caesar is definitly worth watching. You don't have to fear to see nother Amazons and Gladiators. Julius Caesar is pure quality, not quantity. The religious aspect of Rome is more or less left out with the exception of the marriage ceremony between Julia and Pompey. This miniseries can be compared with another great miniseries about the life of Attila the Hun. To my knoweledge they are pretty historical accurate with what they portray in these miniseries.
So I give Julius Caesar a 8,5 out of 10.

Romulus