Imperium: Augustus (2003) (TV)

Director:

Roger Young

Writer (WGA):

Eric Lerner (written by)

Release Date:

30 November 2003 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

Tagline:

History will bear the mark of his rule.

Plot:

Caesar Augustus (O'Toole) tells of how he became the emperor to his reluctant daughter, Julia (Belvedere) following the death of her husband Agrippa (Duken).

Plot Keywords:

Daughter | Enemy | Ancient Rome | Roman Empire | Marriage Of Convenience

Cast

Peter O'Toole	...	Augustus Caesar
Charlotte Rampling	...	Livia Drusilla
Vittoria Belvedere	...	Julia Caesaris
Benjamin Sadler	...	Gaius Octavius / Young Augustus
Ken Duken	...	Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Russell Barr	...	Gaius Maecenas
Juan Diego Botto	...	Iullus Antonius
Martina Stella	...	Young Livia
Valeria D'Obici	...	Atia
Michele Bevilacqua	...	Tiberius
Riccardo De Torrebruna	...	Decimus
Giampiero Judica	...	Scipio
Vanni Materassi	...	Musa
Elena Ballesteros	...	Octavia
Gérard Klein	...	Julius Caesar (as Gerard Klein)

Also Known As:

Augustus (Australia) (DVD box title) (USA) (video title)
Augustus - El primer emperador (Spain) (DVD title)
Augustus: The First Emperor (UK) (DVD title)
Imperium: Augusto (Italy)
Mein Vater, der Kaiser (Germany)
Mi padre, el emperador (Spain)
My Father the Emperor (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some war violence.

Runtime:

200 min | Argentina:180 min | USA:178 min | UK:177 min (cut) | Spain:161 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Germany | Italy | Spain | Austria | France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15 (DVD release) | UK:12 (cut UK version) | UK:15 (uncut) | USA:R (DVD and VHS) | Spain:13 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Company:

EOS Entertainment

Trivia:

The full German title "Augustus - Mein Vater, der Kaiser" literally means in English "Augustus - My Father, the Emperor." The title "My Father, the Emperor" was originally going to be the international English title, but distributors felt that "Augustus" was more suitable.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Temples and buildings in Ancient Rome were normally painted in bright colors.

Quotes:

Maecenas: Dear soldiers! I have prepared us all drinks and space to rest after our long weary day of fighting...
Agrippa: We? What did you do all day? Sleep?

Movie Connections:

Version of "Empire" (2005)

On the shoulders of Peter O'Toole

Well I have not the faintest idea how accurate this mini-series is historically but it's not as bad as previous IMDb reviewers have suggested.

It is a talk-athon and some of the dubbed actors are really out of their depth. The young Augustus is played well, multi-layered and rather complex and unpredictable. Mark Anthony and Cleopatra are an aside, and performed in a bland obvious manner. Charlotte Rampling is frighteningly real.

But it is O'Toole's show all the way as the older Augustus.

After 30 years of "wafer thin ham" acting this and his performance in "Troy" show what an experienced actor can do with a good part. It is a grand part for an actor and makes the 3 hour journey quite moving at times. So the grand total as an entertainment experience is....6/10