Masada 

After the destruction of the Second Temple, 900 Jewish zealots hold out against a 5000 man Roman legion on the mountaintop fortress of Masada.

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, Peter Strauss, Barbara Carrera

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Peter O'Toole	...	General Cornelius Flavius Silva 4 episodes, 1981
Peter Strauss	...	Eleazar ben Yair 4 episodes, 1981
Barbara Carrera	...	Sheva 4 episodes, 1981
Alan Feinstein	...	Aaron 4 episodes, 1981
Giulia Pagano	...	Miriam 4 episodes, 1981
Anthony Quayle	...	Rubrius Gallus 4 episodes, 1981
Paul L. Smith	...	Gideon 4 episodes, 1981
David Warner	...	Falco 4 episodes, 1981
Clive Francis	...	Attius, Head Tribune 4 episodes, 1981
David Opatoshu	...	Shimon 4 episodes, 1981
Richard Pierson	...	Ephraim 4 episodes, 1981
Joseph Wiseman	...	Jerahmeel, Head Essene 4 episodes, 1981
David A. Block	...	Reuben 4 episodes, 1981
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Chief Priest 4 episodes, 1981
David Mauro	...	Epos 4 episodes, 1981
Alexander Peleg	...	Zidon 4 episodes, 1981
Joey Sagal	...	Seth 4 episodes, 1981
Michael Shillo	...	Ezra 4 episodes, 1981
Christopher Biggins	...	Albinus 3 episodes, 1981
Heinz Bernard	...	Elder 3 episodes, 1981
Warren Clarke	...	Plinius 3 episodes, 1981
Ken Hutchison	...	Fronto 3 episodes, 1981
Reuven Bar-Yotam	...	Butcher 3 episodes, 1981
Denis Quilley	...	General Marcus Quadratus 2 episodes, 1981
Anthony Valentine	...	Merovius, Head Tribune 2 episodes, 1981
Jack Watson	...	Decurion 2 episodes, 1981
Derek Newark	...	Engineering Officer 2 episodes, 1981
Michael Elphick	...	Vettius 2 episodes, 1981
Nick Brimble	...	Milades 2 episodes, 1981
Michael Schneider	...	Surgeon 2 episodes, 1981

Storyline

Flavius Silva, commander in Roman Judea, wants to reach a reasonable compromise with the Jewish Zealots and withdraw his legion. Events and personalities in Rome, however, lead to his besieging the fortress of Masada. There the engineering genius of the Romans must fight both the harsh climate and landscape, and the passion and ingenuity of Eleazar Ben Yair and his people.

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Plot Keywords:

roman | masada | zealot | roman legion | epic | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Масада

Filming Locations:

Masada, Judean Desert, Israel

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arnon Milchan Productions, Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

394 min 122 min (theatrical) 121 min (cut) (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Release theatrically in an abridged version in the United Kingdom under the name The Antagonists.

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Goofs

At approximately 23 minutes in, we get a close-up of an obvious modern fiberglass bow covered in what appears to be black electrical tape.

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Quotes

Cornelius Flavius Silva: [to Gallus] We must face the truth. We laid out this camp for the prosecution of a siege. We didn't expect them to come visiting at all hours. We expected them to be stubborn, and they've turned out to be clever. I hate cleverness! It's the soldier in me, but we could use a little bit of it ourselves at the moment.

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Connections

Referenced in Striptease (1996)

User Reviews

One of the best mini-series ever!

This is quite simply one of the grandest epics you can see. I first saw this on TV when I was young. Every night it was on I was glued to the TV, completely enthralled by the story. When I finally got the multi-tape set recently, I wasn't sure if I would still be affected the same now that I am older, but it was everything I remember. Fabulous story. Fabulous actors.Incredibly moving musical score. Incredibly realistic set because it was actually filmed at Masada. The whole thing was just breath-taking. And the story is so powerful it will have you walking around for days just weeping from the emotions it brings out. If you can find the 6 1/2 hours to sit down and watch it in one sitting, you will not be disappointed.