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> Rome: The Complete Second Season |
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Staring:
James Purefoy,
Kevin McKidd,
Ray Stevenson,
Polly Walker,
Lindsay Duncan
Director:
Various
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: $49.99
Our Price: $18.41
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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: HBO Home Video
EAN: 0026359395628
Format: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Label: HBO Home Video
Manufacturer: HBO Home Video
Number Of Discs: 5
Publisher: HBO Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2007-08-07
Running Time: 600
Studio: HBO Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2007 |
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Description
The year is 44 B.C. Julius Caesar has been assassinated and civil war threatens to destroy the Republic. In the void left by Caesar's demise, egos clash and numerous players jockey for position. The brutally ambitious Mark Antony attempts to solidify his power, aligning himself with Atia, but coming to blows with her cunning son Octavian, who has been anointed in Caesar's will as his only son and heir. Meanwhile Titus Pullo attempts to pull his friend Lucius Vorenus out of the darkness that has engulfed his soul in the wake of personal tragedy. For once again, the fates of these two mismatched soldiers seem inexorably tied to the fate of Rome itself.
Amazon.com
Unlike another certain celebrated HBO series, Rome's end will satisfy those swept up in its lavishly mounted spectacle and invested in the human dramas of the historical figures and fictional characters. Season 2 begins in the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination, and charts the power struggle to fill his sandals between "vulgar beast" Mark Antony (James Purefoy) and "clever boy" Octavian (Simon Woods), who is surprisingly named Caesar's sole heir. The series' most compelling relationship is between fellow soldiers and unlikely friends, the honorable Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus "Violence is the only trade I know" Pullo (Ray Stevenson), who somewhat reverse roles when Vorenus is overcome with grief in the wake of his wife's suicide. Season 2 considerably ups the ante in the rivalry between Atia (an Emmy-worthy Polly Walker), who is Antony's mistress, and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) with attempted poisonings and sickening torture. Another gripping subplot is Vorenus's estrangement from his children, who, at the climax of the season opener are presumed slaughtered, but whose true fate may be even more devastating to the father who cursed them. Rome's second season does not scrimp on the series' sex and violence, in both cases exceedingly brutal. But in this cauldron of treachery and betrayal, words, too, are vicious, as when a defiant Atia ominously tells Octavian's new wife, Livia, "Far better women that you have sworn to [destroy me]. Go look for them now." In writing Rome's epitaph, we come to praise this series, not to bury it. Although two seasons was not enough to establish a Rome empire, it stands as one of HBO's crowning achievements. --Donald Liebenson
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 Second season is second fiddle to First, 2010-07-26
Maybe I had been spoiled by the First Season of Rome, but I thought the Second was lacking in historic reality and more based in peripheral character development like Atia's overstayed visit. I know she was Octavian/Augustus' mother, but she was a real person and I thought the show portrayed her as fictitious "filler material". I was more interested in seeing Cleopatra and Antony and the battle of Actium on the sea - a battle Octavian should have lost.
Augustus was barely even in this season yet he was far more famous and beloved than Julius was. He was the first Emperor of Rome yet he was more - I thought - in "cameo mode" throughout the season.
I gave this 4 stars so I don't intend to tear this season down. I don't know what I was expecting, but over all it was very well done also. Maybe its because I put 3 years into actually getting around to the Second season after I bought the First. Not as good as the First, but its no slouch.
Still very good..., 2010-02-21
The second season starts right when the last one ended, at Caesar's death, with Mark Antony and Octavian trying to keep their heads. The action is swift and the plot is thick. Having to finish the story in one season forces the directors, crew and actors to do their best to fill each second with detail. Battles, decay, sex, politics, daily life and fashion over flow in each episode.
If you are looking for facts, there are some, but there are also some major changes done to history. Antony never killed anybody on the Senate floor, that we know of, and Octavian never declared war against Antony. He declared war against the Queen Cleopatra. She was, after all, a rich and powerful woman in charge of the bread basket of the Roman world. She had to go anyway, so why not use her to kill two birds with one stone?
After watching this series I would also suggest I, Claudius/The Epic That Never Was which picks up right after Octavian takes over. Now named Augustus we watch as he, then Tiberius, then Caligula, and finally Claudius rule the Roman Empire. Lots of fun, but not a lot of facts. Enjoy!
Eternal Rome, 2010-06-27
Instead of trying to list what I like about this set, I will just list what I do not. Dissapointed there was not a third and further. Great work.
Still good., 2010-04-22
Unfortunately, the second season of Rome is more of a follow-up to the first, although that is not to say that there is any flaw in the acting, writing, or directing; there is none. Once again, HBO proves that money and talent, when together, make for superb entertainment.
Rome the complete second season, 2010-08-22
This is such an outstanding series and worth the watch. The storyline, acting and location were all excellent. I hope they do a series three.
Both season one and two are the absolute best!! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in ancient Roman history.
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