Purefoy didn't just steal this show, he stole it, then drove it like he stole it. An absolute master even among the other fantastic actors in the series.
For those wondering about the economic/historical nature of the time. In the decades prior to the evens of the show Rome the roman army was made of conscripts who were small landowners in Italy. Before Rome expanded outside of Italy they would fight for land and cattle on the Italian peninsula and then return to their homes and work their fields. As Rome became an empire those conscripts had to do military service for decades in far away lands. If they survived and got to return home they would find the Senators had stolen their land and tossed their families to live in poverty in the ghettos. Unemployment was also high since the Senators would use the people captured from the new lands as slaves. Land reforms had been attempted before but all reformists were eventually murdered. Meanwhile Caesar passed land reform when he was consul and later basically conquered Gaul and murdered 1/3 of the population. He stole their land and gave it to the Roman poor. He also managed to pass a series of land reforms that gave land and work to the poor. Ironically the Senators brought themselves and the Republic down with their greedy thefts since only landowners could serve in the army. Since they stole all the lands there weren`t enough men so they started accepting the landless poor into the army. The conscripts were loyal to the Republic since they were fighting for their land and their home. The landless poor who joined the army were loyal to their general since they didn`t have land and it was the general who provided for them.
Ceasar's enormous popularity with the people and his troops, his tactical brilliance, his noble birth, and frankly a good deal of luck also created the perfect storm that enabled him to overthrow the Senate. Most historians are in agreement that by the time of Augustus the dictatorship was far better for the average Roman citizen than the late republic
And also the Roman myth that "good soldiers make good farmers" is the dumbest idea ever and while I get the idea of giving property to veterans after they retire, giving them a plot of farmland and telling them to feed the empire was ridiculous and explained why Rome constantly needed to rely on Egypt for grain imports. Local famines were so common due to inexperienced farmers, I'm shocked Rome could keep itself afloat sometimes.
@@manband20 It worked at first when the foes were Italians or barbarians. Then professional armies where needed. Even so land was VERY valued. Even if the soldiers who got it couldn't handle it and ended so full of debts they had to reenlist.
And that included getting them land after their term of service was over. The disaster you have just described is why Machiavelli said governments should keep their people rich and their citizens poor. The moment some citizens got rich they made the people poor.
"I shall be a good politician if it kills me. Or if it kills anyone else, for that matter." That was verbally as honeyed as a Greek poet and as savage as a barbarian berserker.
The aristocratic historians of that period never wrote about such topics. So, we don't know. However, we know that there were a lot of very poor people around up until modern times, but it's more than likely that nearly everybody did at least something, because there were no social security systems and people who didn't work had nothing to eat. Since late antiquity Roman citizens often got free stuff to make them happy, but apart from some periods in the imperial times that was hardly enough to completely live on.
Something that shows the writers commitment to detail: in real life Antony seized Pompey’s mansion after the latter was killed. It was one of the many actions that made him unpopular with Roman people. And that’s why Antony has painters and mention his love of color compared to Pompey. I love that the writers not only include it but don’t shove it in your face, offering instead only one line of offhand dialogue.
In the dialogues, we get plenty of hidden information, that are however decryptable only for those very familiar with historical events. On the other hand, the "rest of the world" just gets some funny sentences and is not forced into history. This far more than just accuracy. This is a masterpiece.
@@ottskone Of course, some fabular "misinterpretations" occur quite often, but take into consideration that we do not get nearly any information referring to what happened in Rome in the meantime when Caesar was in Egypt. Such turn of action is more logic, as well as Atia and Antony thread, Octavia nad fictional Glabius and Cleopatra in 2 season.
Antony threatens BOTH of them with: "Or if it kills anyone else for that matter." "If your husband should die...come see me!" Purefoy conveys Antony like a coiled snake baring it's fangs dripping with venom behind the jovial exterior. Amazing how shows like this didn't collect enough viewers to stay alive-but the people fortunate enough to have watched this masterpiece when it aired appreciated exactly what it was. It's not everyday a show uses historical advisers to saturate the viewer with Roman culture and heaven forbid people actually raise their intellect watching. (Probably why it wasn't allowed to live.)
uncletigger uncletigger he was certainly better politician, than, as he is depicted in many pop culture representations. Historians know that. But tv and cinema prefer the image of reckless drunkard and cad, which is more "cinematic" than brave, honourable and intelligent tactician.
Epic show....one of my favorites....I would love to re watch it, but can't find it anywhere at the moment. Its off Netflix now....but yeah absolutely brilliant!!!
I'm always reminded of how good Purefoy is at the role of Anthony, he's constantly charming and friendly while reminding you how quickly he could be otherwise, Ceasar and later Octavian who became Augustus were always clever in how they never got rid of the existing administrative and legislative infrastructure but co-opted it as seen with Servillias here. Ceasar isn't a King, he's merely one of the Consuls, etc, etc,
Caesar was never a king, his biggest mistake was trying to become emperor too soon - Augustus learned from that and took his very very long time to keep up republican appearances and gradually become emperor, instead of rushing it and ending up dead.
is it Poppaea or Pompeia? in the first case she would be the daughter of some Poppeaus, a family that did not rise to prominence before the time of Augustus, in the second case she would be the daughter of a Pompeius a family that rose to prominence at the time of Marius and Sulla.
Purefoy gave us the most compelling vision of Marc Anthony ever put on a screen. No one ever showed us someone so incredibly charismatic as the man must have been yet flawed as to lose so totally to Octavian who nevertheless once was a ruler of the Roman world.
Anthony's badassery (And Purefoy's excellent delivery) has pretty much captivated everyone of this series. Ironically, it was BECAUSE of this badassery that got him shafted in the end: one of the reasons why Caesar switched to Octavian as his inheritor was because politics was one battlefield Anthony couldn't ever master. Like this shows, Anthony couldn't just resist intimidating and threathening Roman upper class to comply what Caesar wanted. It's funny and satisfying to see Patricians squirm(who doesn't love millionare/billionare tears?), but it's also detrimental in a long run when time comes to forge an empire because you rely on those people to help you build it. Caesar probably would've gotten assasinated in one point, but Anthony's attempt to declare him king kinda made Caesar a marked man.
Loved all the characters, the coldness disguised as warmth, the double dealing. Surely this series has to be the definitive work on the politics of Rome?
There has never been any movie or show that had Purefoy that he wasn't awesome. He is one of those actors that I always think to myself "how the hell isn't this guy in more movies/shows?" as he is just that good. But this role here, damn, he really was solid.
LOL, what?? Trump has none of the cunning, intellect and strategic foresight that Caesar possessed. But I hope he turns out to have one very specific thing in common with Caesar.
Yeah the writers thought it was going to be 4 or 5 seasons but then got told it was going to be wrapped up by end of 2nd as it was costing too much and not enough viewers, hence the reason for the rushed strange ending.
Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus was a son of the senator who was Princeps Senatus - the one who presided the meetings and exactly the one, who was harmed in episode 1. It was his father who was the oldest. Probably his wife was Junia, the daughter of Servilia (THIS Servilia). The scene is correct to the point regarding the reforms of Caesar and perfect as far as a fabular concept.
@@supercarnitas And you shouldn't. Ben has a serious mental deficiency, where he thinks saying something nonsensical sounds less dumb if you say it really, _really_ fast. We shouldn't make fun of the poor lad.
James Purefoy is a wonderful actor, it saddens me he didn't get to play more of this type of roles. Outstanding performance as Mark Anthony, amazing job portraying Joe in The Following, yet the roles that suit him in my opinion, like Shakespearean protagonists/antagonists, James Bond, and character-based drama roles sadly avoided him mostly and I'm having a hard time to understand why.
He played Blackbeard, the legendary pirate and captain of Queen Anne’s Revenge in a History Channel special some years ago. He was equally as brilliant
I like how it’s heavily implied that Antony grabbed Pompeiia’s butt. Most TV shows and movies would make it obvious, but “Rome” has confidence in its audience.
@@AverageAlien I wouldn't be too sure about that in Ancient Rome's case, but that's not even what I mean. HBO often includes nudity just for the sake of it and any excuse will do. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the use of nudity and they should have every right to show it, but I find it a bit cheap and definitely not subtle when it is clearly used to hopefully boost ratings.
@@walesdoesntsuck6635 Kind of a tragic figure in a way. (At least in the show.) He realizes ruling sucks and really wants to follow up on jokes he made earlier on bailing from it all and go off and fuck slaves in the outer provinces. But Atia maneuvers him with comments his opponents would always be after him so he marches to a destiny of doom.
@@Turin_Turumba She had twice his brains and ten times his seriousness about ruling. She just had the misfortune to be born a woman and to have an extraordinarily wealthy but otherwise second-rate power as her patrimony. I think the series did her a disservice.
Antony was neither as incompetent nor brutish as this series portrays him to be. While he never possessed the military and political talents that Caesar had in abundance he was far from being the buffoon we see here for had he been so Caesar would never have entrusted him with anything more than holding his horse. Too, he was never as close, at least so constantly, to Caesar as Rome would have us believe, there were multiple instances where Caesar kept him out of his inner circle and did not seek his advice. But that's television for you, it seldom does complexity and subtlety but is just fine with dumbing down. Regardless, Rome was a wonderful series. A pity there haven't been more similarly themed shows. Cheers!
I mean you say dumbing down but the time this scene took place in Mark Antony did fail and was incompetent (he obviously did get better when he grew older) so the show had to use some shorthand ways to show that
He proscribed fellow citizens to obtain their wealth, and his treatment of Cicero was vile, and he was a bankrupt until he pillaged part of Julius Caesar's wealth after his death. It is said his Eastern appointments were capable enough to be maintained by Octavian, but Roman history was better served by letting him die a foil to Augustus/Octavian.
Trump can be compared to Anthony for their brutish nature and their inability to look ahead. Anyone who compares Trump to Caesar is either a fan or a lunatic and even they dont go that far. Caesar had the support of the majority of the people not just those with missing teeth and yell communism at anything that opposes their religious dogma.
@@slimshady9147 You just sound like Cassius when he said they have "men of quality" on their side, afer them murder Caesar. Caesar had the support of the majority of the people... well, yes, the only ones that didnt support him were the economic elites and their dogs... wait... i've seen that somewere else
He was a good tactician when he was merely carrying out Julius' tactics. He was a good leader when he was enacting Julius' will. Left to his own devices, he was incompetent and Julius always had to clean up his mess
There are literally no accounts of Antony's prowess as a soldier or commander. While he served in many successful military campaigns, it's hard to say how instrumental he was in any of them. I mean a bad officer can still serve in a successful military enterprise. The only situation we know he actually made decisions was at actium and against parthia and he lost.
@wthNOname I'm afraid your knowledge about Mark Antony is based upon Shakespeare or Coleen McCollough, who didn't like him. Do you expect someone who was not a smart politician, would have been able to keep peace in Rome after Caesar's death and later rule on the East for some 12years?
Well, she is acting, quite well, as a member of the nobilitas. For her Marc Anthony is a rudd bastad. But I suppose that everybody had (and has) a price to survive.
I love James Puferoys character in this😍 (surprised he hasnt had many more leading roles🤔🤔)And Rome..wow..what an excellent show, all the actors played their roles perfectly! I have watched and rewatched this show, disappointed that another season or two wasn't made, covering Octaivains ( later known as Augustus) reign. Brilliant show, in my humble opinion. I doubt they will ever make more now.As its probably been too long??? But if they did, I would watch, ( I know it won't happen😪😂😂😉lol.) Epic show though, goodnight folks🙂
@@rjakobi I must watch that 'I Claudius' 🤔My parents watched a show called that. However that was nearly thirty years ago!! Is this the show you.mean,or is there a remake? ....What I really meant about 'Rome' was, that I would have liked to see another few seasons of this show, as I thought it was very good....did you like this show? 🙂
@@C0wb0yBebop I love Game of Thrones too...but I would have, and still would love to see more of Rome.....It's a pity, as everyone I know who has watched it ,loved it! I like Spartacus ( extremely over the top and inaccurate) but it is what it is, and I love it too....Possibly because I like historical shows that are true, though obviously embellished, they would have to be! Well goodnight, I'm gonna look at TV and RU-vid at the same time and sleep😁😴 .....🙂
I love game of thrones but the quality of acting (or script) wasn’t there like it was. And the major characters died off. Like lady olenna , tywin , Robert, Ned , Cat ect. Events run by children who have no sense of direction. I think the show is being carried by Tyrion and Euron Greyjoy
lol! :D. ...note the different facial expressions between Vorenus the everlasting "traditionalist" who'd never break a sacred law or an oath (...PISSED as FUCK!...) and Pullo the plebeian "scoundrel" who doesn't give a damn (...almost choking on laughter!...)
I think it was Brian Helgeland on the commentary track of "A Knight's Tale" who said that James Purefoy would make an excellent James Bond - I think that track was recorded when Brosnan was on his way out and everyone was talking about who the role should go to. As much as I liked Craig in the role, I still tend to agree that Purefoy would indeed have been excellent as 007. This little scene alone proves it.
This series is so deep in its representation of ROme. In fact in this scene we learn about a very important aspect of Rome : the democratic element which is the assembly of the people which sheds a new on the 'tyranny' of Caesar
Imagine if we had politicians today that brought the rich to kneel instead of served them hand and foot. Democracy has done nothing for humanity but put convince us businessmen are leaders.
Scribble and quibble is lifted from the film Amedeus, and the actor who said it in that film is the one in conversation with Mark Antony's character depicted here.
