Mini-Series Review: I, Claudius (1976)

 I, Claudius is an adaptation of Robert Graves' novel of the same name and its sequel Claudius the God. This twelve-part TV series follows the Julio-Claudian Dynasty of emperors, from the first emperor Augustus himself to the assumption of the throne by Nero. The story is primarily told from the point of view of Claudius (Derek Jacobi), who was the fourth emperor of Rome. Claudius is born with a twitch, lame leg, and terrible stutter. It is eventually revealed that he has actually acquired control over most of his issues and is quite the intelligent historian and observer. However, to survive the intrigue-filled, blood-soaked events engulfing the imperial family, he persists in playing the fool to avoid any fears that he might come for the throne himself. This keeps him alive until he shockingly becomes emperor.

It should be stated that Graves' novels and its adaptation are not meant to be straight historical presentations. The plot is that the aged Claudius is writing down the true history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and thus there are dark secrets that historians have failed to uncover. For example Livia (Sian Phillips), Augustus' wife, is a schemer who arranges the deaths of many characters in order to guide the empire to what she perceives is the best course. The historical Livia was a notably intelligent woman who Augustus usually consulted when making decisions, but there is no evidence that she was a masterful villainess. Graves also plays up the horrific stories about Tiberius (George Baker) and Caligula (John Hurt). Historians have questioned many of theses tales, such as Tiberius' transformation of the island of Capri into his personal and perverted pleasure garden (complete with young boys). Caligula in particular is shown to be a psycho from childhood while even historians who believe all the salacious stories about him credit his madness to a bout with a severe illness as well as outrage over the assassinations of much of his family (in this show he actually helps kill his father Germanicus). Despite these liberties, this is still a fascinating look at early Imperial politics and drama, as Graves kept his narrative possible within accepted history.

Movie Review: All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

 

All Quiet on the Western Front is the third adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's famous World War I novel, and surprisingly the first German one considering it is from the perspective of that nation's soldiers. Paul Baumer and his school chums enthusiastically sign up for the German Army and are sent to the Western Front in France. They soon lose their glorious and patriotic notions of war as they encounter filthy trench conditions and a string of murderous battles. Veteran soldiers try to help them adjust and survive, with Stanislaus Katczinsky taking personal responsibility for Paul. It's one of the most famous anti-war stories (though Remarque famously never explicitly stated it as such).

I've never read the novel and only watched the famous 1930 version, so I'll have to compare this latest offering to that one. I did read that Director Edward Berger cut out a few supporting characters and scenes and changed or added new ones to differentiate his interpretation. This leads to my main criticism. There's a subplot that follows real life figure Matthias Erzberger and his attempts to form an armistice and end the war. It and relevant scenes showing German generals do add more historical context, but personally the movie should have focused only on the frontline soldiers. Removing this scenes would have also trimmed it closer to a two hour film (then again, these scenes might be necessary considering many younger folks don't have the best grasp of history). As for other changes and additions, they manage to keep the spirit of themes from the novel and previous adaptations. Another criticism is the musical score. The composer went for more of a sound design style to create a sense of dread, but it can be obnoxious and ill-fitted to early scenes of new recruits smiling on their way to war.