History is grossly tampered with, but it doesn't matter, it was always tampered with in any account of the Caesars, but here the historical inaccuracies are made completely negligible by the splendid acting, making all the characters credible enough and even convincing, and by the equally splendid dramatization - this is not just film, but drama and literature. The most interesting feature though is the leading character, who is not Octavius or Anthony or any of the politicians but the gladiator Tyrannus, played by Jonathan Cake, who really sustains the entire performance of four hours until the very end - he alone makes this epic outstanding to a most remarkable degree.He is of course completely fictional, as is the love story between Octavius and the vestal virgin Camane, which could be pointed out as a sore point of sentimentality of the story, but it never falls out of style. The other fictional details, like the villainy of Antony, the trials of Octavius, the stylized assassination scene, Mark Antony's wife's complicity, Brutus' mother, the story of the ring, the gladiator and gory sequences, all actually serve to enhance the dramatic credibility of the characters, especially that of Antony - he was actually like that, completely ruthless, until Cleopatra changed his mind.But the star remains Jonathan Cape as Tyrannus, who witnesses and takes part in the drama from below, with constant very interesting vacillations, doubts, changing sides, always worrying with constant anxiety adding to the psychological thriller of the drama.Second to Jonathan Cake is Vincent Regan as Antony, whose performance is absolutely fascinatingly convincing in every scene. Santiago Carrera is also excellent as the young, immature but maturing Octavius, Michael Maloney as Cassius also couldn't be better, James Frain as Brutus is also perfect although he doesn't get much of a say, only Cicero is not quite convincing, perhaps too old for the part (Cicero was only 62 at the time,) and not up to his actual eloquence; while the role of Camane as the Vestal speaker and commentator to the drama is a stroke of ingenuity.There are many dramatic climaxes, but the greatest is of course the Caesar funeral scene with Antony's conversion of the masses, an actual fact, here much shortened but dramatically intensified.Even the music is very apt and never disturbing, although it risks running away with itself in the dramatic climaxes. In brief, one of the best adaptations of the greatest Roman drama in perhaps the last five decades.

I could forgive the bad history for the sake of the excellent cast. However the constantly whining background music found me cringing after half an hour or so, and wishing the director had opted for background silence. Movie music is supposed to heighten the drama without becoming intrusive. In this case I'm afraid there was very limited correlation between action and the music, which became monotonous after a very short time. I was persuaded to watch the movie by a cast list I respected. Mainly I was hopeful the plot would enhance my understanding of one of my favorite historical periods, and I was looking for a different perspective to that offered by Shakespeare, GB Shaw, to some degree Robert Graves and even Mankiewicz in his movie Cleopatra. Historically there is very little correlation between what I understand to be the facts of this period of Roman history, and the fantasy portrayed in the movie. Given that discrepancy, I would only recommend this as a historical fantasy. If you can stand the music, you can perhaps accept it on those terms.

You guys, the movie is good. A little too good for something made by an American company. OK, bad comment here. What can I say, most of the historic dramas I've seen were not even close... And the fact that J. Cake (Tyrannus of Rome) looks yummy and acts pretty damn well helps the film A LOT... OK, so I have a soft spot for Gladiators... :-) The actors and actresses are pretty and talented, great directing and very good battle scenes. To be honest, I didn't sit around to analyze the goofiness... Almost same story as Gladiator, only the good guy doesn't die at the end and everyone kind of lives happily ever after - no news on further killings and battles. The story is good, historic facts are very well combined with the "commercial" aspect. Inspiring lines, which is a big part of the success, I give it 9 out of 10 - 5 of which are for acting... Worth seeing, really! I was hooked after seeing the 2nd part. Good thing I know my history!

Although there are some complains that this show is not a true reflection of history, I think it is still a good show. Anyway, it may not be necessarily a history show and the point is, we can enjoy it!There are some good scenes, including some good actions. The actors and actresses are excellent, especially the role played by Cake. We can even find a little bit similarity between this role and the one in the movie 'Gladiator' !Anyway, I hope ABC can present more than one season of this. Is it a mini? By the way, I just can't wait to see the new show 'Rome' of HBO in August.