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Article: The three joys of 'Rome': Caesar, Cicero and crew come to life on HBO.(TELEVISION)(Movie Review)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- October 14, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The first joy in watching the HBO/BBC epic saga "Rome" is the revitalization of one's Jesuit high school education.
Here they are: the orator Cicero, with the trace of a stammer; Mark Antony, who is often followed by a dwarf whom he pets like a dog; Cato, his face contorted into a snarl; Pompey--like his name, ponderous and pathetic; and Julius Caesar, who here is a little too short to "bestride the narrow world like a Colossus" but who emits that ruthless will to bring the known world to heel.
The second joy is the visage of ancient Rome itself. Filmed on a set outside modern Rome, the city emerges as an amalgam of the cinema Romes of "Quo Vadis" and ...