I rewatched it last night and I agree, I did not really hear anything clear except garbling. I imagine that was purposeful on the part of the writers, in order to make it somewhat ambiguous as to what he said. If you believe he really said "Et tu, Brute" you can see that he said it. If you tink he said "And you my son" or was praying to Pompey's deified spirit (the other common last words) you can see that also. And if you believe he said "Arrrrgghhhh" well, maybe he said that.
On the first viewing, I listened closely in anticipation of Caesar saying the famous line. I did not hear it. I shall watch it again but this time, I will turn on "closed captions." Let's see if the "captioners" caught it.
You should all bow down before the altar of Morocco. Finally got to see it 21 minutes ago, awesome, I heard an "et" and some garbled stuff. I really wanted Octavian to just stand up, lean in, and tell Servilla how he would kill her and her son and all their allies.
Im telling you guys, there is definatley no et tu brute or any words at all. Ive listened with my dolby 5.1 cranked up as loud as it will go, and headphones.
Agreed. I have watched on tivo and I can't hear it. It's all done with looks exchanged between them. Sounds like season three. I want to see what happends to Vorenus, he'll probably turn into a nasty bastard now.
Finally got a chance to watch it. Pretty good ending overall. But Octavian is fairly responsible for Niobe's death, since he told his sister about the bastard child, and his sister told Servilia and Servilia "told" Vorenus. I'd imagine the writers won't leave that nugget unmined. But I've got to give an Emmy shout out again to the actor playing Servilia. She's just fantastic. My other favorite scene was Pullo's "fair enough" when Ereni had a knife to his throat. A very true moment to a nicely evolved character over the season.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Will Shakespeare put the words "et tu Brute" into Caesar's mouth? I certainly didn't hear the words on the HBO series.
I believe so. IIRC, most Roman sources say his last words were in Greek "You too my son?" Which, combined with Caesar's affair with Sevilla and Caesar's obvious afection for Brutus, lead some to postulate that Brutus was Caesar's illegitamite son (though he most likely was not). Shakespeare latinized it to "Et tu Brute?" Caesar died near a statute of Pompey, so I have also seen it stated that Ceasar was praying to the devine spirit of Pompey when he died. Neither did I. I thought it was done ambiguously and very well.
SEASON 2 possibly being UN-GREENLIGHT!!! The original article is on the NYT which you have to pay for. But this link gives the pertinent details. That would totally suck.
Agreed. Another interesting thing is that Episode's 1-3 were reedited into 2 episodes for the BBC, without the producer's knowledge. You think they edited out all the sex and bad words? No you silly puritanical American. The edited out mostly the political context. The BBC claimed it was because British audiences are better educated than American audiences and know all the political background. The result, however, is that the episodes, which on HBO were a tense, taut political drama punctuated by sex, apparently now are full of sex, with a little politics thrown in.
Bummer I can see where holding actors might pose a problem but the Sopranos have been doing it for the last four seasons. I would imagine that seeing Rome as a long term series ala Soprano's is not cost effective and that's what will primarily drive the decision to bring it back or not.
It would seem to me that maintaining that set, costumes, animals, and the associated labor/hotel/catering cost would suggest making as many episodes at a conclave of that size could support. Now that they have reputation writing I think writing and talent availability would be the greatest constraints. Then Why not solve the 'complicated situation' after Caesars death as a benefit? The building of acceptance in the first season was the push to get Cleopatra and Assassination into previews. Making reverence to known events, I think, enhances large scale recognition of the premise. That is accomplished. I thought they skimmed historical events. Why not concentrate the detail in the second seasons on? Subplots can be filmed concurrently. Make a few seasons all at once and strike the set. Fill in the CG later by allocating the production vs. air time lag to the building of better battles.
Bump - just got this e-mail about an hour ago ROME Begins Production of second season HBO's epic drama series ROMESM has begun production on its ten-episode second season, it was announced by Carolyn Strauss, president, HBO Entertainment. Filming of the new episodes will continue at Rome's Cinecitta Studios through next October, with debut set for 2007. "This exciting series offers a spectacle unlike anything else on TV," noted Strauss. "The new episodes of ROME will go deeper into the intriguing characters and provocative storylines that made the first season a hit with critics and subscribers." Chronicling the fall of a republic and the rise of an empire, the first season of ROME wrapped last December. TV Guide hailed it as a "feast for the eyes" and a "ripping good story," as well as a "shamelessly enjoyable historical romp," while the Washington Post described the series as "ravishing and wickedly shocking," and "a feast for the senses that includes generous portions of food for thought." In addition, ROME received two Golden Globe® nominations: Best Television Series - Drama and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (Polly Walker).
Great -- I am in a real Rome frame of mind. I just received from Amazon "The Twelve Caesers" and "Annals of Imperial Rome."
I'm sure they could do a Dallas and rig something up along the lines of Calpurnia seeing him stepping out of the Baths. After all it's ancient history.
Bump The first six episodes are finally On Demand. I watched them all yesterday. Knowing the ongoing themes makes me see how tight the forshadowing is throughout. this is real quality, despite the skimming on the timeline. I would like to have seen some Parthians. Did it win any Emmys?
Saw a advertisement on HBO for the new season starting in January. Loved this show, right up there with Deadwood and the Soprano's. Figured I would dust this off and start it up again
Same era? I'd like to see them doing something around the end of Caligula's reign. Claudius, Valeria Messalina, Herodes Agrippa, Julia Agrippina, ... So many complex characters, so much intrigue. If done right, it could easily be as good as the original series.