Julius Caesar (2002) (TV)

Director:

Uli Edel

Writers (WGA):

Peter Pruce (written by) and
Craig Warner (written by)

Release Date:

29 June 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

Feared by enemies. Betrayed by friends.

Plot:

Twenty year-old Julius Caeser flees Rome for his life during the reign of Sulla but through skill and ambition rises four decades later to become Rome's supreme dictator.

Plot Keywords:

Sulla | Dictator | Julius Caesar | Cato | Gaul

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Sisto	...	Gaius Julius Caesar
Richard Harris	...	Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Christopher Walken	...	Marcus Portius Cato
Valeria Golino	...	Calpurnia
Chris Noth	...	Pompey (as Christopher Noth)
Pamela Bowen	...	Aurelia
Heino Ferch	...	Vercingetorix
Tobias Moretti	...	Caius Cassius
Samuela Sardo	...	Cleopatra
Daniela Piazza	...	Cornelia
Nicole Grimaudo	...	Julia
Sean Pertwee	...	Labienus
Ian Duncan	...	Marcus Brutus
Kate Steavenson-Payne	...	Portia
Paolo Briguglia	...	Marcus Portius

Also Known As:

Caesar (USA)
Giulio Cesare (Italy)
Julius Caesar (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, and some sensuality.

Runtime:

USA:240 min (including commercials) | Germany:180 min (2 parts)

Country:

USA | Germany | Italy | Netherlands

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | UK:12 | Germany:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

De Angelis Group

Trivia:

The replica of the Forum Romanum was built for $3.5 million

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Caeser was forced to leave Rome during the dictatorship of Sulla in 82 B.C., he was 20 years old, yet the film shows him as having an approximately twelve year-old daughter.

Quotes:

[to Portia on slave rebellions]
Marcus Brutus: Think about it; over half of the population of Rome is made up of slaves. What would happen if they all decided to rebel? It would be the end of Rome.
Portia: You take the inspiration out of everything!
Marcus Brutus: Rome had to act.
Julia: What do you mean?
Marcus Brutus: Pompey.

Worth it just to see Walken

Julius Caesar is a very good film and it is worth watching if you're a sucker for history--though it's not completely historically accurate, for example Cato being a member of the senate when Sulla was in charge when he was only a teenager and putting Julia, Portia, Brutus and Marcus' ages the same when Julia and Brutus were at least six years older then Portia and Marcus. It was also disappointing not to see Brutus' mother Servilia, who was the love of Caesar's life, missing out an extra tension between her brother Cato and Caesar as well as the crude rumours that Brutus was Caesar's bastard son...

But otherwise, it's a great show...

So, what about the characters, you ask? Well, Caesar you might hate if you can't stand winners but he's nice to watch as too is his lovely wife Calpurnia who is the second best character in this series giving us so very wonderful scenes--especially her last scene with Portia and the dying Caesar. As for everyone else, Pompey is such a big-headed dude who I wouldn't trust at all--good job Julia was there (who is nice but she's irritating.) Antony can be a bit annoying, Cassius' special subject is the obvious and he might get on your nerves (her certainly gets on Brutus') Marcus (Cato's son) is an overgrown baby but he is noble and very sweet--he gives us a lovely scene towards the end with Cato and he stands up to Caesar. Brutus is the sort of guy you want to pat on the head but it's hard to decide whether you like him or curse him, and then his wife/cousin Portia who admittedly spends most of her time standing next to him looking pretty, does a remarkable wordless scene when she stumbles across Brutus planning the murder of Caesar.

So who is the one you want to watch this for, well, partly Richard Harris—who plays the villain Sulla very well considering he spends most of his time playing friendly, old heroes—but mostly, you watch it so see Christopher Walken who plays the amazing and hypnotic Cato, father of Portia and uncle of Brutus. Walken is by far the best actor in this show—his way of grabbing your attention just with one sentence is remarkable and he pulls off the noble, stubborn and grumpy Cato perfectly making this film worth watching just to see his tear jerking death scene acted to perfection with the moving soundtrack this film has.

Overall, I advice to you watch this if you are one of those people who is a sucker for the Roman history.