Hollywood Romans #15 – I,
Claudius
“Few incidents
here given are wholly unsupported by historical authority of some sort or other
and I hope none are historically incredible. No character is invented.”
--Robert Graves, from the introduction to Claudius The
God (c1035)
I, Claudius
1976 BBC 668 minutes in 12 Episodes (13 Episodes in the US)
Directed by Herbert Wise
Written by Jack Pullman from the novels by Robert Graves
Starring: Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Sian Philips, John
Hurt, Patrick Stewart
Robert Graves, one of the “war poets” who emerged from the
trenches of World War One, was a writer of prodigious talent. Beyond several volumes of poetry,
Graves published more than 100 other works including translations of the
classics (The Twelve Caesars) biography
(Lawrence And The Arabs) and even
science fiction (Seven Days In Crete). However, Graves is best know for his
works of historical fiction and for two in particular, I, Claudius and Claudius The God. These
two books, first published in the mid 1930’s, are still considered by many to
be the high point of the historical fiction genre.
It should come as no surprise then that Hollywood, in the
form of director Alex Korda, came calling and quickly bought the film rights to
the books with an eye to producing a new feature film epic. That production, directed by Josef von
Sternberg and staring Charles Laughton, as Claudius, Merle Oberon, as
Messalina, and Flora Robson, as Livia, was troubled from the start. Although Korda was riding high after
his recent hits and though the thusly revived British film industry spared no
expense when it came to sets and costumes, the production just never
jelled. In particular, Laughton
had difficulty “finding the character” and many days were spent with the cast
and crew waiting for him to do so.
Neither Laughton, nor von Sternberg were happy, and even though rushes
of those scenes that were filmed show signs of true brilliance, giving hints of
what might have been, there was nevertheless a palpable sigh of relief when the
production was cancelled. This was
due to a near fatal accident suffered by Merle Oberon who, at that point, could
not be replaced without substantial additional cost.
Charles Laughton as Claudius
It was not until 1976, when the BBC undertook a new
adaptation of the book, this time for television, that Claudius finally made
his screen debut.
The series director, Herbert Wise, and producer, Martin
Lisemore, chose their cast and crew with care.
Seeing the inherent humor that Graves had infused into his
books, Wise had the good sense to hire Jack Pullman, known for his comic
writing, to do the adaptation.
Wise and Pullman decided to use the format of the American Soap Opera
where the characters are fighting for control of the family business, which, in
this case, just happens to be running the world.
Wise then selected actors who could do justice to the
script’s subtle wit. Although many
already had solid careers, none were big ‘stars’ and few were well known
outside of the UK. I, Claudius changed all that, and many of the actors are quite
familiar to audiences today, though fans are often surprised to learn that
these actors were part of I, Claudius.
Patrick Stewart, best
know as Captain Picard on Star Trek, as Sejanus, the commander of the
Praetorian Guard. John Rhys-Davies, Sula in Raiders Of The Lost
Ark and Gimli in Lord Of The
Rings, as Macro, another officer of the
Praetorian Guard. Kevin McNally, Mr. Gibbs in Pirates Of
The Caribbean, as Drusus minor or Castor to
his friends. James Faulkner, the Major in The Bank
Job, as King Herod Agrippa. Even the seemingly minor part of
Gratus, a Praetorian Guardsman was played by Bernard
Hill, now better known for his turn as King Theoden in The Lord
Of The Rings.
Then too, some actors are so closely tied to this production
that they have become the characters they portrayed. Although he does not look anything like Caesar Augustus, it
is hard not to see Brian Blessed’s face when
thinking of the first emperor of Rome, or of Sian
Philips when you hear the name Livia, or even to read the novel I,
Claudius without doing so in the voice of Derek Jacobi.
All of these actors have enjoyed excellent careers on
stage and screen, appearing in several note worthy films. However I would be remiss if I did not
mention Brian Blessed’s bravura turn as Voltan, King of the Hawkmen, in the
1980 feature film, Flash Gordon. His performance alone is worth the
price of admission.
In the initial casting call John
Hurt was approached for the part of Gaius Caligula, but he declined,
feeling himself not right for the part.
Invited to a cast & crew party held at the start of filming, Hurt
was so impressed by the assembly of talent, that he, somewhat sheepishly,
approached Herbert Wise and asked if he might reconsider his decision turning
down the part. But of course,
replied Wise. He had invited Hurt
to the party in the hopes that he might change his mind. It is lucky that he did, for John Hurt
is nothing short of brilliant as Caligula.
John Hurt and Derek Jacobi
Initially, critics were rather lukewarm to the series, but
by episode five they had changed their tune and were now enthusiastic supporters. Audiences, on the other hand, had taken
to the series instantly, and I, Claudius
proved to be popular not only in the UK but around the world as well. Indeed, it has remained one of
the BBC’s most popular hits being re-broadcast several times on US television
and enjoying healthy sales on laser disc and DVD.
Now, 35 years after the initial 1976 broadcast, Acorn Media
has released a newly re-mastered 35th Anniversary DVD collection of I,
Claudius.
The set contains the original twelve episodes, as broadcast
in the UK, as well as a re-edit of the first episode into two one-hour episodes
as broadcast in the US. There is
also a fifth disc containing supplemental material.
The video quality is excellent and a marked improvement over
the previous release on DVD. The
images are crisp with bright colors and sharp detail. The same is true for the audio, which is much improved over
the early DVD release. This is not
to say there are not some minor issues, but these arise not from the DVD’s
themselves nor from the re-mastering.
They are in fact due to the limits of the technology in use when the
series was originally made. In
that day video cameras were using tubes resulting in ‘comet tailing’ of bright
objects (like candles) and some slight image lag. Likewise, the increased resolution of the DVD format,
coupled with large screen HD monitors, makes it easy to spot the limits of the
make-up in use at that time.
However …
These are truly minor technical quibbles and do not detract
from the overall quality of the series. I have owned copies of this series on
Betamax, Laser Video Disc and DVD, but this new release is by far the best.
Indeed, watching the series again, on a 55” HD monitor, was like seeing
it for the first time (even though, in our house, I, Claudius is
a perennial that is viewed yearly).
Details missed during previous viewings, on a 32” CRT monitor, are
clearly visible now and seem newly added, though in truth they were always
there. But, more importantly, what
really stands out is the quality of the acting.
It is always a joy to see good acting and I, Claudius is a shining example of what happens when an
intelligent script is put into the hands of talented actors – it is pure magic.
With a cast such as this, it is impossible to single out any
one performance or performer as markedly superior to the others. This is truly an ensemble piece and the
whole is absolutely greater than the sum of its parts. However, everyone has his or her
favorite scenes and for me there are several.
Certainly Livia’s speech to the gladiators is a high point
of black comedy, as is Caligula’s speech to the Senators upon his return from
his war with Neptune. Whereas the
scene of Augustus confronting the Senators, many of them close friends, who
have slept with his daughter is a sublime mix of black comedy and pathos. Of course, it is Claudius who anchors
the series and Derek Jacobi has several wonderful scenes, including his speech
to the Senate upon his becoming Emperor by acclimation of the Guard.
I should also note that while the original two hour opening
episode, from the UK version, is interesting, I much prefer the re-edited US
version of two 1-hour episodes.
These contain some additional footage that is minor, to be sure, but to
me glaring in its absence. Also,
the two documentaries on the fifth disc are fascinating and well worth watching
in their entirety. One contains interviews with the cast and crew of the 1976
series while the other examines the aborted 1937 feature film with rushes from
several of the scenes that were filmed before the project was cancelled.
Inevitably, the question of historical accuracy arises, as
well it should. Additionally, some
will also wonder how I, Claudius
compares to the more recent BBC/HBO series Rome. With
regard to the latter question it is obvious from the start that Rome had a much bigger budget that allowed for multiple
locations and many exterior scenes with a large cast of extras and all that
this entails (costumes, props, sets, etc.)
Augustus and Livia at the
games.
I, Claudius, working
with a more “modest” budget, was shot entirely on a soundstage; so most scenes
are interiors with a very limited number of extras. Likewise costumes, though generally good, tend to be simple
with armor worn by the Praetorians being standard issue Hollywood Roman. Even so, it is truly amazing how much
production value they were able to squeeze out of their budget. It is also obvious that Wise put the
majority of the money into his cast.
This was the smart choice for that investment paid off handsomely.
In terms of historical accuracy, I would say that I,
Claudius does a better job of dealing with
the sweep of time and a large cast of historical characters. Yes, Rome does capture the sense, the feel, even the apparent
smell of ancient Rome, and several characters are very well drawn. Yet, the liberties taken in Rome (compression of time, amalgamation or elimination of
characters) seem more obvious and more jarring than they do in I,
Claudius.
George Baker as Tiberius
Indeed, I, Claudius
succeeds on these terms in large part because it has such a solid foundation in
the Robert Graves novels. Yes,
some liberties were taken (it is unlikely Claudius ever visited Cumae,
Caligula did not eviscerate his sister or murder his own father) and several
scholars (most notably Annelise Freisenburch, in her excellent book, Caesar’s
Wives), have taken issue with the depiction
of Livia as the arch schemer or of Tiberius as the degenerate lecher. That said, I, Claudius remains well within the bounds of historical
probability. As Ms. Freisenburch
notes:
“ … Graves’ own unflattering portrait of Rome’s leading
women was not
entirely
his own creation. He simply chose
to cooperate, for the most
part,
with the descriptions of them written by ancient Rome’s best known
and most
revered commentators … Indeed the ancient literary sources that
inspired Graves
seem, on the face of things, to conform with his characterizations.”
- Caesar’s Wives, c2010, pp. XVI-XVII
Sian Philips as Livia, with
Brian Blessed as Augustus
For those who have never seen this series, or read the
books, I urge you to do so – what a treat you have before you. And for those who are familiar with
both, this new 35th Anniversary edition would be a worthy addition
to anyone’s collection and will provide the perfect opportunity to discover I,
Claudius again, as if for the first time.
Currently I, Claudius
is available from Amazon on DVD and as Instant Video for those of you wishing
to download the series to your iPad or other mobile device. Acorn Media also offers I,
Claudius as a streaming video, with one
episode for free and the others available as part of their “premium” service.
One final note:
After the success of their series Rome, HBO and the BBC are teaming up once again, this time for a new
production of I, Claudius. (This on the heels of yet another
aborted feature film project involving, at various times, both Leonardo
DiCaprio and Disney.) The HBO/BBC
project is still in development so cast and crew have not been announced nor
has a release date. How will it
stand up in comparison to the original?
Difficult to say, thought no doubt the new production will have a much
bigger budget, feature more exteriors with large crowds, and, in keeping with
the HBO tradition, much more graphic sex and violence. However, when it comes to the acing,
the original will be tough to equal, let alone beat. Nothing pleases quite like the classics.
Derek Jacobi as the Emperor
Claudius
Further Reading and Links of Interest
I, Claudius and Claudius
The God by Robert Graves, c1934 & 1935
respectively
The Twelve Caesars by
Suetonius translated by Robert Graves & Revised my Michael Grant, c1957
& 1979 respectively
Caesar’s Wives by
Annelise Freisenbruch, c2010
Augustus by Anthony
Everitt, c2006
This review was first posted in August, 2012 on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website.
(c)2012 by David L Reinke
(c)2012 by David L Reinke
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