Imperium: Augustus (2003)

Caesar Augustus tells of how he became the emperor to his reluctant daughter, Julia following the death of her husband Agrippa.

Director:

Roger Young

Writer:

Eric Lerner

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, Charlotte Rampling, Vittoria Belvedere

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

In 42 BC Rome is in the middle of a civil war. Together with his friend AGRIPPA, the young Augustus goes to Spain in order to help JULIUS CAESAR in his struggle against the troops of POMPEY. Even though they are outnumbered, they manage to defeat Pompey. Caesar honours his adopted son Augustus with a triumphal entry into Rome and then sends him to Greece together with his friends Agrippa and Maecenas. There, Augustus hears the news of Caesar's assassination and he returns to Rome with his friends. Back in Rome, he is able to gain both the support of the people and political power. In his struggle with the conspirators against Caesar he finds an ally in MARC ANTONY. Marc Antony not only pursues BRUTUS and CASSIUS, he also initiates a wave of executions which practically eliminates the old Roman ruling class. Among those who are killed is the husband of LIVIA DRUSILLA, a woman with whom Augustus had been in love as a young man. Through a combination of good luck and chance, Augustus and...

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Plot Keywords:

grandmother murders grandson | caesar augustus | reference to augustus caesar | reference to augustus | reference to caesar augustus | 

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Taglines:

He inherited the Roman Empire. He decided the fate of the world.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some war violence

Details

Country:

Germany Italy Spain Austria France UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 2003 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Augustus

Company Credits

Production Co:

EOS Entertainment,Lux Vide,RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

200 min 177 min (cut) 161 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the actors spoke good English with good accents, however in order to sell the film in the US, they too were dubbed.

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Goofs

When Agrippa, Octavius and Maecenas are hiding in a fish cart, someone taps the side on the cart so they know when to climb out but Agrippa tells Maecenas to hurry before they're seen. As they are climbing out, two crew members can be seen holding the sides still to stop the three men falling over.

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Quotes

[Climbing out of a fish cart]
Agrippa: Hurry up, before we're seen!
Maecenas: Dressed like this? I'll never live it down!

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Connections

Followed by San Pietro (2005)

User Reviews

Refreshingly not in formulaic Hollywood style.

This movie's historical accuracy was matched by it's overall quality of performance and filming. Peter O'Toole is an extremely talented actor and the rest of the cast, though unknown to me, did an equally fine job. The sets and costuming were impressively accurate as were the battle scenes and no one threw a single sword! Truly, a gem which I discovered quite by chance and sincerely recommend to anyone sick of attempts at historical movies that get butchered by film-makers that haven't got a clue and are just worried about making these historical figures into comic book super heroes. A must-see for the serious history buff.