CowardlyPaladin
2013-06-13, 09:28 PM
I was inspired to make this thread when I was talking to a friend of mine about the Game of Thrones show, and when I complained about some of the changes the show made, she was like "are you a book purest?" And I responded "No, I actually don't actually mind adaptations, I think the I Claudius show is far better than the books, my problem is that most (NOT ALL) of the changes in GOT seem to be based upon dumbing it down rather than retelling it." And she was like "Well a TV audience isn't as intelligent as book readers" and when i brought up I claudius again, I realized maybe I need to gush more productively.
So I Claudius, for those who haven't read it, the books "I Claudius" and "Claudius the God" are basically the false personal memors of the Roman Emperor Claudius which were "Discovered" by Robert Graves. For those who don't know, CLaudius was the 4th Emperor of Rome (5th if you count Julius Caesar). He was born most likely with Cerbreal Pamsly, which meant that his head twitched uncontrollably, he stammered, and he limped. The Romans being a culture obsessed with physical fitness/manly purity, not to mention being able to speak clearly, he was mocked and belittered all his life. A die hard Republican in his youth, through a series of highly improbable events, he became Emperor, in a manner which nobody, not even himself, thought possible. He turned out to be quite intelligent and while not the greatest emperor of Rome (a very hotly debated subject, mine is Traejen but hey) but one of the best Emperor. Also Caligula was the guy before him (yes, that Caligula) and Nero (yes that Nero) was the one after him, which leads to lots of Drama. Also King Herod (yes, that king herod) was alive during his reign, with JC dying during his life time (please don't get into a religious debate, just bringing up the fact). The show is a 1976 mini series staring young Derek Jacobi as Claudius, young Brian Blessed as Octavian, Young John Hurt as Caligula, young Patrick Stewart (WITH HAIR) as SerJanus, Sian Phillips as Livia, George Baker as Tiberius, Young James Faulkner as King Herod and young Tony Robinson (IE Baldrick from Blackadder which owes alot to this show) as a random snarky Stonemason. Seriously, this is like actor porn in terms of the performances. The story is complicated, intelligent, and hilariously funny, not to mention extremely though provoking. It also changes genres throughout, starting out as a straight historical drama, turning melodrama, turning tragedy, becomes an extremely dark comedy, becomes a light comedy, and then political intrigue, finally ending on a mix of farce and personal journey, all without feeling out of focus. Obsessively detailed focused despite having no budget (they blew it all on the makeup), and constant rewatches result in so many "OH i know that guy" A word of warning, this show does not take you lightly, and you need to pay very close attention or be a student of ROman history (as most people in England were at the time) to not get lost at some point, though the story is so well told it hardly matters.
Warning: Has some mild nudity.
The Books are good too, just not as good. The story is mostly historically accurate ACCORDING TO THE ROMAN SOURCES. Obviously those sources had there own bias, but the writers outright said this takes place in a universe where they are roughly telling the truth. Though the show does humanize Caligula more than any work i've ever seen.
For those who have seen it, I have always wanted to talk to somebody about it
I have noticed that the tone shifts in the story echos Claudius' own life, it becomes more absurd as he becomes older, life becomes more absurd.
If you ever watch the scene where Caligula does his ballerina dance with somebody who hasn't seen the show, do it, that
any other fans out there?
So I Claudius, for those who haven't read it, the books "I Claudius" and "Claudius the God" are basically the false personal memors of the Roman Emperor Claudius which were "Discovered" by Robert Graves. For those who don't know, CLaudius was the 4th Emperor of Rome (5th if you count Julius Caesar). He was born most likely with Cerbreal Pamsly, which meant that his head twitched uncontrollably, he stammered, and he limped. The Romans being a culture obsessed with physical fitness/manly purity, not to mention being able to speak clearly, he was mocked and belittered all his life. A die hard Republican in his youth, through a series of highly improbable events, he became Emperor, in a manner which nobody, not even himself, thought possible. He turned out to be quite intelligent and while not the greatest emperor of Rome (a very hotly debated subject, mine is Traejen but hey) but one of the best Emperor. Also Caligula was the guy before him (yes, that Caligula) and Nero (yes that Nero) was the one after him, which leads to lots of Drama. Also King Herod (yes, that king herod) was alive during his reign, with JC dying during his life time (please don't get into a religious debate, just bringing up the fact). The show is a 1976 mini series staring young Derek Jacobi as Claudius, young Brian Blessed as Octavian, Young John Hurt as Caligula, young Patrick Stewart (WITH HAIR) as SerJanus, Sian Phillips as Livia, George Baker as Tiberius, Young James Faulkner as King Herod and young Tony Robinson (IE Baldrick from Blackadder which owes alot to this show) as a random snarky Stonemason. Seriously, this is like actor porn in terms of the performances. The story is complicated, intelligent, and hilariously funny, not to mention extremely though provoking. It also changes genres throughout, starting out as a straight historical drama, turning melodrama, turning tragedy, becomes an extremely dark comedy, becomes a light comedy, and then political intrigue, finally ending on a mix of farce and personal journey, all without feeling out of focus. Obsessively detailed focused despite having no budget (they blew it all on the makeup), and constant rewatches result in so many "OH i know that guy" A word of warning, this show does not take you lightly, and you need to pay very close attention or be a student of ROman history (as most people in England were at the time) to not get lost at some point, though the story is so well told it hardly matters.
Warning: Has some mild nudity.
The Books are good too, just not as good. The story is mostly historically accurate ACCORDING TO THE ROMAN SOURCES. Obviously those sources had there own bias, but the writers outright said this takes place in a universe where they are roughly telling the truth. Though the show does humanize Caligula more than any work i've ever seen.
For those who have seen it, I have always wanted to talk to somebody about it
I have noticed that the tone shifts in the story echos Claudius' own life, it becomes more absurd as he becomes older, life becomes more absurd.
If you ever watch the scene where Caligula does his ballerina dance with somebody who hasn't seen the show, do it, that
any other fans out there?