SEINFELD BLOG

Pompeii - The Last Day/Colosseum - A Gladiator's Story

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 9781419804885
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
ISBN: 141980488X
Label: BBC Warner
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: BBC Warner
Region Code: 1
Release Date: February 01, 2005
Running Time: 50 minutes
Sales Rank: 24831
Studio: BBC Warner
Theatrical Release Date: March 14, 2004

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 05/24/2005

Amazon.com:
Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a great movie, but Colosseum: A Gladiator's Story has the distinct advantage of purely historical accuracy. The Roman gladiator whose story is told here is Verus (played by charismatic British hunk Robert Shannon), one of two victors in the only gladiatorial battle that was ever described in detail (by the Roman poet Martial in 80 A.D.). Using this factual record as its basis, Colosseum follows Verus as he is recruited from slavery, trained in gladiator's school, rises to favor among wealthy Romans, and ultimately battles his best friend, Priscus (Derek Lea), to a crowd-pleasing draw in the inaugural games of glorious, brand-new Colosseum, the construction of which is shown in fascinating detail. Combining authoritative narration with diary-like voiceovers from Verus's perspective, this riveting 50-minute BBC production is simultaneously intimate and epic in scale, employing the latest in digital compositing techniques to achieve its unparalleled (for TV, at least) visual splendor. With well-cast actors speaking authentic Latin, this sumptuous production is both dramatically involving and exacting in every detail.

Just as convincing--and just as impressive in its use of cutting-edge CGI--is the 50-minute bonus program Pompeii: The Final Day, which chronicles the final 24 hours of Pompeii when it was decimated by the ultraviolent eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 A.D. Inspired by the written descriptions of Pliny the Younger (whose detailed observations were later vindicated by geological science), recovered artifacts, and the haunting remains of Pompeii citizens preserved under tons of pumice and ash, Pompeii is first-rate from start to finish, proving yet again that the BBC is now setting the standard in lavishly produced docudrama programming. --Jeff Shannon




Rating: - Underwhelmed
While it was nice to see the story of Pompeii and the accompanying gladiator documentary, it wasn't ... Read More

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Rating: - Another great documentary by the BBC
These two documentaries: Pompeii & Gladiator are based on facts and depict people who indeed lived ... Read More

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Rating: - History in action
This is one of the best DVDs of its type I've ever seen. Tells the REAL story behind the tradegy at Pompeii. ... Read More

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Rating: - Very interesting
I bought this for a World Cultures class I teach in sixth grade. Instead of boring still pictures the dramatizations ... Read More

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Rating: - A Gladiator's Story a huge success
A Gladiator's Story has several great things going for it, but the strongest is its factually-based story. The cinematography ... Read More

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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.