Hannibal (TV 2006)

It is 200 years before the birth of Christ and Rome is the new superpower of the ancient world. She believes she is invincible - but one man is destined to change that. He is a man bound by... See full summary »

Director:

Edward Bazalgette

Writers:

Matthew Faulk, Mark Skeet

Stars:

Alexander Siddig, Emilio Doorgasingh, Bashar Rahal

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alexander Siddig	...	Hannibal
Emilio Doorgasingh	...	Maharbal
Bashar Rahal	...	Hasdrubal
Mido Hamada	...	Mago
Hristo Mitzkov	...	Gisko
Shaun Dingwall	...	Scipio
Tristan Gemmill	...	Varro
Ben Cross	...	Fabius
Valentin Ganev	...	Paulius
Rob Dixon	...	Publius Scipio
Hristo Mutafchiev	...	Vandicar
Teodora Ivanova	...	Imilce
Vincent Riotta	...	Hanno
Ivan Petrushinov	...	Boii Chief
Kenneth Cranham	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

It is 200 years before the birth of Christ and Rome is the new superpower of the ancient world. She believes she is invincible - but one man is destined to change that. He is a man bound by oath to avenge the wrongs inflicted on his home and, in pursuit of revenge, he will stop at nothing. Hannibal explores the man behind the myth, revealing what drove the 26-year-old to mastermind one of the most audacious military moves in history. With 40,000 soldiers and 37 elephants, he marched 1,500 miles to challenge his enemies on their own soil. It was an act so daring that few people believed it possible. Hannibal combines drama, the latest historical research and state-of-the-art CGI to bring this spectacular story to life.

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Plot Keywords:

hannibal | elephant | roman empire | character name in title

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

Hannibal: Rome's Worst Nightmare

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 92 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[after sacrificing]
Barca: Put your hands in the blood.
[Hannibal does]
Barca: "I swear..."
Young Hannibal: I swear...
Barca: "That for as long as I live..."
Young Hannibal: That for as long as I live.
Barca: "I will be an enemy of Rome."
Young Hannibal: I will be an enemy of Rome.

User Reviews

Factually inaccurate

Please give citations for your claims - for example, that Scipio declared that Hannibal become governor of Carthage - Hannibal became Shophete after the Romans had left, not because of them. Carthage signed for peace but did not give up their brilliant general, but Rome's wrath was so much that he was eventually forced to flee the city.

You also claim that Hannibal honoured his agreement with Scipio and so did not return to Carthage to lead them in battle. I've found no such evidence of this, it was well known that he attempted to convince other rulers around the Mediterranean (such as Antiochus III) to make war with Rome. This behaviour is not in line with someone who agreed to never make war on Rome again.

Thirdly, you say that Scipio is the greater general of the two - this is very much debatable. Did he beat Hannibal at Zama? Yes, he did, but there were many reasons for this and his supposed higher quality as a general is not one of them. Leaving these reasons aside, Scipio was so successful because he emulated Hannibal, not because he came up with brilliant strategies of his own. He turned Hannibal's own tactics against him and quite brilliantly, but the point remains that they were not his tactics to begin with.

Finally, the film does flutter about Scipio's role in Roman politics - in real life, Scipio lost favour with the senate due to increasing pressure from his political enemies, and his popularity with the people, and dropped out of the public limelight entirely. It was not due to some honourable statement of his.