The Roman Empire; just seeing that name conjures images of organization, strength, hedonist excess, battle expertise, and finally decline and decay. This exciting miniseries from the History Channel chronicles all of this, with a wealth of details revealed in recreations that should please the war historian and sociologist, as well as the rest of us who just want to know more.
It is interesting to think that the Roman Empire fought what finally destroyed it throughout its existence. The “barbarians” that finally brought down the giant (not without help from internal struggles, crazy management and apathy) were there from the beginning. As Rome rose to power it continued to fight “barbarians” pushing them back and claiming their lands for the Empire.
Rome - Rise and Fall of an Empire tells the story beginning with the first Roman-Barbarian War in 114 B.C. and following the path to the collapse of the Empire. It was a slow decline and full of struggles for everyone. In recreations of battles, both sides of the story are revealed, as the fight is one of survival for each group.
As in all things, mistakes were made by both factions, and no one “deserved” to be the victor. It was simply a matter of who was best at a certain time, and made either fateful or extremely lucky decisions.
This is a colorful presentation, bringing to life the times and their troubles with careful authenticity. There is always a danger in battle re-creation of going too far, so that the audience focuses on the wounds and injuries dealt rather than the purpose behind the fighting. While this may be an actuality in real battles, it is not what viewers want or look for in historical re-creations.
This production achieves a good balance of the chaotic sense within the battles, while showing the motivations and movements that were part of the strategy, or the emotional mindset that pushed the warriors of both sides forward. These are not washed down versions of the real thing, nor are they simply an excuse to show bloody atrocities. These were battles with a purpose other than killing the enemy.
Each side sought to maintain or regain geography that would put them in a stronger position for the next attack.
Rome - Rise and Fall of an Empire is presented on 4 discs, containing all 13 episodes. The running time is approximately 10 hours and 11 minutes. It is closed captioned in English for the hearing impaired.
A special feature Barbarian Battle Tech is included, which examines some of the ways in which the Barbarians were able to overcome the world’s greatest legions of fighting men.
Rome - Rise and Fall of an Empire is now available at Amazon . As of yet, this is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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