I, Claudius (1976– )

The history of the Roman Empire as experienced by one of its rulers.

Stars:

Derek Jacobi, Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Derek Jacobi	...	Claudius (13 episodes, 1976)
George Baker	...	Tiberius (10 episodes, 1976)
Margaret Tyzack	...	Antonia (9 episodes, 1976)
Siân Phillips	...	Livia (8 episodes, 1976)
Brian Blessed	...	Augustus (6 episodes, 1976)
James Faulkner	...	Herod Agrippa (6 episodes, 1976)

Storyline

The mini-series follows the history of the Roman Empire, from approximately the death of Marcellus (24/23 BC) to Claudius' own death in 54 AD. As Claudius narrates his life, we witness Augustus' attempts to find an heir, often foiled by his wife Livia who wants her son Tiberius to become emperor. We also see the conspiracy of Sejanus, the infamous reign of Caligula, and Claudius' own troubled period of rule.

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Plot Keywords:

claudius | emperor | roman empire | conspiracy | roman salute | 

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Taglines:

Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

6 November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jag, Claudius

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), London Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

669 min 650 min (13 parts) 669 min (DVD) (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Derek Jacobi is only a year Brian Blessed's junior in real life, Claudius was 53 years younger than his great-uncle Augustus. Similarly, John Hurt (Caligula) is only fourteen months Jacobi's junior whereas Caligula was 22 years his uncle and successor Claudius' junior.

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Goofs

In "I, Claudius" Tiberius is married to Vipsania at the same time that Julia is married to Marcellus. Historically, he didn't marry Vipsania till 19 BC, by which time Marcellus had been dead for four years and Julia has been married to her second husband Marcus Agrippa for two years, with one child by him and pregnant with a second.

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Quotes

[Of Claudius's clumsiness]
Tiberius: That grandson of yours could wreck the empire just by strolling through it.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of the Costume Drama: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (2008)

User Reviews

Superior writing!! Superior Acting!!!

You have a kid who hates Ancient History? Check this set of 6 videos out of your library or buy the whole set. Well worth it, either way. Now I'm all anxious to find out what the History books say about this period in our past. As the 'gods 'intermarried, you can see the result of the DNA codes gone berserk. Of course, there is also the element of the insanity producing power of absolute power itself!!!! Who's to say which ingredient was the worst?

With all this killing, one wonders why people complain about the video game killing? This really happened and with people who were supposedly the most superior of the Roman Empire. (See paragraph above for reasons.)

Each episode is a gem unto itself, and the acting is superb. What more can I say? Needless to gild the lily!! Amen to the vote on Best Series in TV History