The good news is that, as these things go, Masada does provide some of the sweep and large-scale performances (especially by Peter O'Toole as the Roman General Flavius) of the big-budget ultra widescreen Biblical spectacles that were the motion picture rage 15 years before the filming of this miniseries. The bad news is the real story of Masada remains badly truncated and, to a lesser extent, fictionalized, removing some of its potential emotional imprint. Based on a book by Ernest Gann, the film mixes real characters (Strauss' and O'Toole's) with a host of both real and fictional supporting characters, but it obviously provides an imagined psychological underpinning for them which sometimes seems to fall victim to the television formula of "do something dramatic now, we're about to go to commercial."

To its credit, Masada does not shy away from the darker aspects of the Jews who conquered the hilltop fortress (Peter Strauss as their leader isn't shy about murdering and pillaging), and it also provides some excellently nuanced insight into the Romans (O'Toole's character is shown seeking some sort of compromise, and his inner conflict about the Roman occupation of Judaea itself is well-drawn). There are occasional small-screen guffaws, as when David Opatoshu, playing a rabbi, lip-synchs (none too convincingly) to a pre-recorded chanting of Torah, evidently ultimately unaware that the pre-record has ended while his lips continue to move. Some of the special effects work, while certainly credible for its time, looks cheap now with our jaded CGI-"reality" consciousness.

The biggest drawback of this DVD release is the shape of the film itself, and it is a sorry shape, indeed. From the first moment of its opening credits, there is a distressing amount of dirt, scratches, abrasions and even outright missing segments of some frames. Any prayed for miracle that the quality will improve unfortunately doesn't materialize, though the initial shock of seeing the elements in such poor shape abates after awhile, making the bulk of the movie passable, at least relatively.

If you can get past the shoddy look of this DVD (which I blame on the master elements, not the transfer itself), there's a lot of exciting drama to be had here. Strauss and O'Toole make compelling leads, both drawn in shades of gray, and the production design, score (by Jerry Goldsmith) and direction (by Boris Sagal, Katey's late father) are all top-notch. The foregone tragic conclusion of the end of the piece has surprising impact, despite its lack of surprise.

Masada may not have been the ratings blockbuster that its progenitor was, but it certainly stands as one of the better examples of that era's attempts to paint on a larger canvas.

The DVD

Video:
It's just a shame that someone somewhere didn't take better care of this film. It's in shockingly bad shape for being of such relatively recent vintage. The 1.33:1 image is fine, transfer-wise, it's the source elements that are damaged. Sad.

Sound:
The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack sounds great--Goldsmith's booming score is full-blooded, and the dialogue is all finely rendered.

Extras:
None. It would have been great to have seen a documentary covering the real Masada, without the television-mandated additions.

Final Thoughts:
This is a well-written, well-played and lavishly produced drama that probably has significant cult value. It certainly merits a rental to see if the video problems don't warrant dismissal. If not, fans of the original broadcast, or people interested in Masada's history, will find this worthy of a purchase.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet