Years ago, when it was on television, my roommates and I (and various other cohorts and acquaintances) would gather around and watch the new episodes on Sunday nights. One of us had signed up for the free HBO trial and we were milking it for all we could.
The show, in brief, was The Fall Of The Roman Republic as seen through the eyes of two soldiers; first spear centurion Lucius Vorenus...
...and, the fan favorite, legionary Titus Pullo...
Most of the major players were represented. Pompey, Cicero, Octavian, Brutus, Caesar, etc... there was even a running joke about how Caesarian (Caesar's son through Cleopatra) was actually conceived during an encounter between Pullo and Cleopatra...
Rome was often randy and graphic and it fancied itself an accurate depiction of historical Rome, but I've always thought it would be great to see a movie or show about ancient Rome where the cast is actually Italian, not British. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the great Sword and Sandal epics (and Rome), but how great would it be to see Julius Caesar played by an Italian? The British preoccupation with proper manners and correct form would be replaced with the Italian tendency toward machismo and swagger, which (as far as I can tell from all that I've read about historical Rome and her people) is closer, as it were, to the truth. The Romans in The Passion of The Christ spoke Latin and that directorial choice changed their vibe from the dramatic theatrics of Shakespeare to the violent virility of the Corleone family.
Look, I'm not saying somebody needs to go out and make a Jersey Shore version of Quo Vadis, but I don't think a mild Italian accent would hurt anything.
Enjoy your week, folks.
Cheers.
...oh, and Titus and Lucius were both members of the 13th Legion. That's why I've drawn Pullo screaming out the number "13"...
So true!! I find that with any movie or television program dealing with history, Always a British Accent. Doesn't just have to be Roman history. Take "Alexander" for example with Colin Ferrell or the "300" with Gerard Butler. These are just a few, but there are literally hundreds of other examples. If you want to check out a few episodes of a roman reenactment spoken in the actual Latin language go to (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_IPqniaZR0)
ReplyDeleteIt's actually ironic that in Latin "Caesar" actually sounds like ka-zar. But I can see the difficulty in presenting an ancient dead language to an American English speaking audience, but I agree with you that they could at least try to substitute Italian accents for British if it's set in Ancient Rome. Never the less I still loved this show and I was devastated when it was cancelled after just 2 seasons. I felt it stuck to as much historical accuracy of the times and events as possible while yet still allowing for unique story line and character plots.
Yet I'm sad to see that Hollywood has started to gear away from the Ancient Roman genre which was very common during the 50-60s with Ben Hur and Spartacus. Besides the epic "Gladiator" movie of 2000, I can't think of a single movie since then that Hollywood has produced which has been set in Roman times. Not any that have come close really capturing the feel of what it was to live in the world that was Rome anyway. I also hope as one history buff to another that you have not abandoned your Roman Emperor portrait project. I was looking forward to seeing your histories on Diocletian, Constantine, and the Tetrarchy. Hopefully it hasn't gone out the window due to other followers disinterest. Yet I can only hope and stay seated until the history professor returns.
...it was sad to see "Rome" get the axe. And then they had to cobble together a tacky conclusion at the end of the 2nd season... *sigh* Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
DeleteAnd fear not! I still plan on finishing up my amateur survey of the Roman emperors! Hopefully I can start to get things back on track in April. I'm getting pretty close to the finish line on that project.
I'm really glad that you've been following it this whole time.