"I, Claudius" - BBC4, Tuesdays 22:00

[Flosshilde]

Seeing the opening episode last night I thought it every bit as good as I remembered it. Sian Phillips was brilliant as the poisonous Livia - "They say a snake bit her once - and died" .

If you want an idea of how it would be done today - look at 'Rome' - lots of CGI external scenes, sex & a cast of thousands. Was it any better, for all the money spent? I doubt it. The constraints of budget & technology for 'I, Claudius' produced a claustrophobic feel well-suited to a story about the imperial family.

[Mandryka]

Seeing the opening episode last night I thought it every bit as good as I remembered it. Sian Phillips was brilliant as the poisonous Livia - "They say a snake bit her once - and died" .

If you want an idea of how it would be done today - look at 'Rome' - lots of CGI external scenes, sex & a cast of thousands. Was it any better, for all the money spent? I doubt it. The constraints of budget & technology for 'I, Claudius' produced a claustrophobic feel well-suited to a story about the imperial family.

This was the beginning of a great period for Sian Phillips - who had been somewhat overshadowed as an actress during her marriage to Peter O'Toole. Her performance is indeed one of the series' major assets. Her death scene is both moving and horrible.

[JFLL]

... a great period for Sian Phillips ...

Yes, indeed. BTW, good to hear Sian Phillips as the voiceover in the BBC4 series ‘Heritage! The Battle for Britain’s Past’, the last episode of which is on tonight at 9.00. Such a wonderful voice.

(But what on earth’s that exclamation mark doing after ‘Heritage’ in the programme title?)

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes, indeed. BTW, good to hear Sian Phillips as the voiceover in the BBC4 series ‘Heritage! The Battle for Britain’s Past’, the last episode of which is on tonight at 9.00. Such a wonderful voice.

(But what on earth’s that exclamation mark doing after ‘Heritage’ in the programme title?)

Yes, silly exclamation mark

I have to say I found SP a bit 'too much' for the voice-over in the Heritage - yes, terrific voice and perfection in 'I, Claudius' - but a bit too drama-laden I thought in the documentary...

[amateur51]

Yes, silly exclamation mark

I have to say I found SP a bit 'too much' for the voice-over in the Heritage - yes, terrific voice and perfection in 'I, Claudius' - but a bit too drama-laden I thought in the documentary...

Aah that's strong Welsh women for you Cali - no wonder Anna leads you a merry dance

[Nick Armstrong]

Aah that's strong Welsh women for you Cali - no wonder Anna leads you a merry dance

Tha's not wrong, a say tha's not wrong

[Ferretfancy]

Yes, silly exclamation mark

I have to say I found SP a bit 'too much' for the voice-over in the Heritage - yes, terrific voice and perfection in 'I, Claudius' - but a bit too drama-laden I thought in the documentary...

It's an occupational hazard with actors doing voiceovers. I once recorded Brian Blessed doing commentary for a documentary about camel racing in Saudi Arabia ( no really! ) He is a nice man, but nobody in the production team seemed to able to restrain his histrionics. Eventually everybody sat back and just let it flow, thanked him profusely when he left, and returned the next week with a different narrator.

That said, Tim Piggott- Smith is the best actor for voiceovers I have ever encountered.

[Flosshilde]

Must try & watch this week's on iPlayer.

[mercia]

Must try & watch this week's on iPlayer.

not sure it's available - [if we're talking about I Claudius rather than Heritage !!!] - last week's wasn't

p.s. have any boarders read the Robert Graves books ?

[Flosshilde]

That's a pain - I saw the first episode when I was visiting my mother. Looks like I'll have to visit a neighbour to see the others!

I read the books years ago, & have re-read them a couple of times. Very entertaining - I'm not sure how accurate a depiction of Roman history they are, but they do colour my view of Rome when I'm there. Alan Massie's Roman novels are the same.

[Belgrove]

Very entertaining - I'm not sure how accurate a depiction of Roman history they are, but they do colour my view of Rome when I'm there. Alan Massie's Roman novels are the same.

They are based on Suetonius' 'The Twelve Caesars', for which Graves wrote a translation. He was a formidable classical scholar.

It was the Claudius books that got me hooked on Graves' novels, which are surprisingly diverse. Count Belisarius revisits the Roman Empire, but towards its end. It has another splendid villainess, the Empress Theodora. His King Jesus is remarkable, putting into novel form the material that informed The White Goddess. His secular/theological solutions for Christ's miracles are ingenious. The Golden Fleece is a wonderful rendition of the Jason and the Argonauts myth. Again the fantastical is rendered ingeniously prosaic. I'm certain this style influenced Mary Renault's mythological books. An amusing Graves rarity it Antigua Penny Puce, about the rivalry between siblings to obtain a rare stamp - as interesting an essay in middle-class English life between the wars as anything in Forster or the overrated Waugh. Graves also wrote of the American War of Independence in two books about Sergeant Lamb.

All his works are remarkably readable, but have great precision in the use of language. This must obtain from his principal calling of being a poet.

[Flosshilde]

Thanks Belgrove - I don't think I've read anything else by Graves, but I'll certainly try some of the ones you mention - thanks for the recommendation.

[Parry1912]

If you want an idea of how it would be done today - look at 'Rome' - lots of CGI external scenes, sex & a cast of thousands. Was it any better, for all the money spent? I doubt it.

Are we suggesting that all you actually need for great drama is great writing, acting and direction? Who'd've thought it!

[Nick Armstrong]

Sian Phillips was brilliant as the poisonous Livia - "They say a snake bit her once - and died"

Livia gazing at the figs still on the tree....

And to her son after Claudius has died:

"Oh by the way... Don't touch the figs..."





(And I'd forgotten an hirsute Patrick Stewart appears in the show, as the murderous Sejanus... )

[eighthobstruction]

It was the Postman