Rome: Complete HBO Seasons 1 And 2 [DVD]

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Product Description ------------------- All 22 episodes from Seasons 1 and 2 of the popular historical drama series set in Rome in 52 BC. The Republic was founded on principles of shared power and fierce personal competition, never allowing one man to seize absolute control. But now, those foundations are crumbling, eaten away by corruption and excess. After eight years of war, two soldiers, Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) unwittingly become entwined in the historical events of ancient Rome. Episodes are: 'The Stolen Eagle', 'How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic', 'An Owl in a Thornbush', 'Stealing From Saturn', 'The Ram Has Touched the Wall', 'Egeria', 'Pharsalus', 'Caesarion', 'Utica', 'Triumph', 'The Spoils', 'Kalends of February', 'Passover', 'Son of Hades', 'These Being the Words of Marcus Tullius Cicero', 'The Tortoise and the Hare', 'Heroes of the Republic', 'Philippi', 'Death ', 'A Necessary Fiction', 'No God Can Stop a Hungry Man' and 'About Your her'. .co.uk Review ------------- Family dysfunction. Treachery. Betrayal. Coarse profanity. Brutal violence. Graphic (and sometimes brutal) sex. No, it's not The Sopranos, it's Rome, HBO's madly ambitious series that bloodily splatters the glory of Rome just as savagely as Monty Python and the Holy Grail soiled the good name of Camelot (but with far fewer laughs; very few funny things happen on the way to this forum). Set in 52 B.C. (Before Cable), Rome charts the dramatic shifts in the balance of power between former friends Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham), leader of the Senate, and Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), whose imminent return after eight years to Rome after conquering the Gauls, has the ruling class up in arms. At the heart of Rome is the odd couple friendship between two soldiers who fortuitously become heroes of the people. Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is married, honorable, and steadfast. Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) is an amoral rogue whose philosophy is best summed up, "I kill my enemies, take their gold, and enjoy their women". Among Rome's most compelling subplots is Lucius's strained relationship with his wife, Niobe (Indira Varma), who is surprised to see her husband alive (but not as surprised as he is to find her upon his homecoming with a newborn baby in her arms!) Any viewer befuddlement over Rome's intrigues and machinations, and determining who is hero and who is foe, disappears the minute Golden Globe-nominee Polly Walker appears as Atia, Caesar's formidable niece and a villainess for the ages. In the first hour alone, she offers her already married daughter as a bride to the recently widowed Pompey. One eagerly awaits to see what (or who) she'll do next as much as we anticipate her comeuppance in the final episode of the first series. Rome is a painstakingly ed production that earned eight well-deserved Emmy nominations in such categories as costumes, set design, and art direction. Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter) was honored with a Director's Guild Award for the first ever episode, "The Stolen Eagle." But artistic considerations aside, instantly addicted viewers will agree with Atia, who notes at one point, "I adore the secrecy, the intrigue. It's most thrilling." --Donald Liebenson