Rome, Seasons 1 & 2

For some reason the box set is missing episode 3 in season 1 and 2. You will have to go to the separate season and buy the 3 episode for 2.99 each. Not a great deal after adding 6 more dollars for complete the seasons.

If you’re hoping to see a lot of Caesar’s adventures, don’t really count on it. There are no battles because it’s clear this show has too low a budget. And you’ll spend most of your time focused on the sex and love lives of folks.... so yeah.

A great production great performances.

This is perhaps the best fictional portrayal of the Roman world with well-researched details. But as usual with HBO, every five minutes there is some act of bloody violence or raw naked sex that is generally not helpful to further the plot or to reveal character. Instead, it draws you out of the story--reminds you that you are watching some HBO contrivance. It's a shame, becuase this could have been a great production. If the Romans actually had so little regard for human life and dignity, the rise of Christianity would have been most welcome. If you can overlook a character stabbing someone with a knife every five minutes, this is otherwise a colorful world brought to life. The costumes, setting, historical facts, and the acting in the film are all well done. And we are allowed into all levels of the social strata, not just the imperial palaces. So I would recommend it, despite its flaws.