Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire is one of the more in-depth History Channel efforts, a 13 episode miniseries of sorts (spread over four discs in this nicely packaged release), which starts with one Barbarian conflict at the dawn of the Roman era and ends several centuries later with another which brings it to a close not really with much of a bang, but a whimper. The History Channel has its modus operandi down pat by now, and Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire follows it to a tee: we get well reenacted segments (in this case highlighting a lot of very bloody battles) intercut with a number of learned talking heads. While some true Romaphiles may balk at the relative paucity of information about various people who traipse through this multi-generational saga, those of you who like history writ large, with lots of great action scenes, are going to enjoy this series immensely.

I mean absolutely no disrespect to any of the state university experts hired to give context and commentary to this enterprise (I myself graduated from a state university), but some of the passing statements seem awfully glib and not especially insightful ("Caligula was a spoiled brat" is one perfect example). Where this series does much better are in some extremely well shot and, for niche-market television, opulent recreations of what it must have been like during the heyday of the Roman Empire. The episodes dealing with what most people would probably, rightly or wrongly, think of as the apex of the Empire's status, the reign of Julius Caesar, has some very nice matte and green screen work that lends the episode a surprising amount of authenticity. Other episodes, especially those concentrating on various battles, have some patently gorgeous location footage. Claudius' invasion of Brittania, for example, is filled with some beautiful mist-shrouded panoramas that are suddenly interrupted by marauding hordes, and, ultimately, lots of bloodshed. This entire series is marked by an increased use of pretty gory violence, including some remarkable stunts in the many battle sequences.

If the series occasionally seems padded (every bumper back from a commercial, recaps what has happened over the course of the episode, which can get a bit wearying when watching them all in a bunch), the series does an outstanding job of showing life as it was in those days, with both the noble and ignoble aspects of the Roman spirit on full display. In fact some of the most compelling episodes are actually those when the Empire is in decline, with one expert comparing it to someone freezing out in the snow--first the hand dies, then the arm, then the legs, as the heart strives valiantly to maintain its own existence. The interesting split between the Western and Eastern domains of the Empire is also well-handled, with the once upstart satellite actually outliving its parent and becoming the dominant force toward the end of the Roman era.

But it is in the battle scenes where this series really shows its mettle, with some brilliantly staged and shot sequences which rely less on CGI mass produced battalions and more on choreographed close up hand to hand combat. Several of the forested segments between various Barbarians and Roman legions could almost have been lifted out of Samuel Bronston's humongous Fall of the Roman Empire. Rome is often thought of as the acme of civilization and culture, but this series makes abundantly clear that it also prized brute force, nowhere more apparent than in its lockstep infantry which literally overran its enemies.

I did keep wishing for a little bit more of the personal stories as the centuries flew by, especially with regard to some of the lesser known characters. Most people have at least a passing knowledge of the "biggies" like Julius Caesar and, perhaps, Claudius, due to the famous miniseries adaptation of Robert Graves' famous novel. But there are scores of other characters who play an important part to the Roman story here, and too often they turn up only as focal points for any given battle. The series was certainly long enough that a little bit more detail could have been provided about some of these supposed "supporting players."

Whether this series was History Channel's answer to the fictionalized Rome or BBC's very similar Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire is anyone's guess. BBC's version tended to focus on individuals, which ultimately might have assuaged some of my qualms about this particular version. However, Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire has an epic sweep and certainly some of the more visceral battle sequences to make a historical documentary in recent memory, and most history buffs will find a lot to enjoy in it.

The DVD

Video:
I'm downgrading the video stars to 2.5 simply based on this stupidly unenhanced 1.78:1 transfer. This is a series that screams for an anamorphically enhanced image, let alone an HD treatment. If you get beyond my personal obsessive-compulsive reaction, there is solid color and saturation, with excellent sharpness and detail. I noticed very, very occasional compression artifacts in a couple of the episodes, but they were very fleeting.

Sound:
The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is really quite surprisingly lively, with excellent separation and fidelity and some relatively immersive effects in the many battle sequences. While a lot of this series is either talking heads or narrated, always front and center, there's some good attention paid to directionality in the fight reenactments. No subtitles are available.

Extras:
A related episode of History's Modern Marvels series is included, this one focusing on the technology (such as it was) behind the Barbarians' weapons.

Final Thoughts:
Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire does a good, generalist job of providing centuries of history in a captivating way. If occasionally you wish they'd stop to smell the carrion (or something like that) along the way, overall there's a fine attention to at least the overriding epic themes of Rome's struggle to "civilize" its neck of the woods. Recommended.

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