I, CLAUDIUS - DVD review

I, Claudius was watched by a large audience in the United States when it was shown on PBS during the late 1970s, and it retains a devoted following. Therefore, I sat down to watch it expecting at least an entertaining experience and hopefully an enthralling one. Boy, was I in for a shock.

This is quite possibly the most-disappointing motion-picture experience of my life (in part due to the acclaim that it enjoys). The make-up work, costumes, and sets all look terrible. The voiceover narration is mostly master-of-the-obvious blathering. The actors are all loud and obvious beyond the limits of normal tolerance, apparently forgetting that they were acting for TV and not for the theatrical stage.

The series is presented from Claudius's point of view as he chronicles Roman history from Augustus Caesar to the beginning of Nero's reign. The twelve episodes mostly dwell on the emperors' schemes and debauchery, which means that the material isn't anything new or enlightening. Rather, you get a very artificial production that fails to shock or titillate due to the limitations imposed by TV standards. You can imagine far more bloodshed and carnality if you read a book of Roman history.

I watched bits and pieces of the first and last episodes. I'm sorry, but I could not get past how awful this production is. That it is as highly-regarded as it is makes me wonder if the masses really do think that any Roman period drama with British accents is automatically placed in the "masterpiece" column without need of viewing--which must be the case because I, Claudius isn't even laughably bad but just plain, outright bad.

Video:
Even taking into account the source material, the 1.33:1 picture is sub-standard. Everything appears muddy and indistinct. Colors are seriously faded. Some moments appear to have water damage, and video noise is the dominant image characteristic.

Audio:
The DD 2.0 mono English audio track is thin and harsh. This is especially evident during the title sequence, during which brass instruments sound flat and distorted. Dialogue is highly grating as the actors mostly shout their lines, which causes their voices to get clipped during some passages. Analog hiss is prevalent.

Unfortunately, you don't get subtitles or closed captions.

Extras:
"The Epic That Never Was" is a documentary about the 1937 Alexander Korda production of I, Claudius that was never completed. There are film clips and interviews with various participants.

--Miscellaneous--
There's a booklet with chapter listings and a family tree of Emperors from Augustus to Nero.