I Claudius

Plot Summary: The story begins in 24 B.C. during the reign of Augustus Caesar, Rome's first emperor, and ends in A.D. 54 with Nero on the throne. In between, I, Claudius details the scheming, murder, madness, and lust that passed for politics in the early years of the Pax Romana. The biggest worm in the Roman apple is Augustus's wife, Livia (the superb Siân Phillips), whose single-minded pursuit of power shapes the destiny of the Empire. With a carefully planted rumor here and a poisoned fig there, she gradually maneuvers her son, Tiberius, toward the throne, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and treachery that starts Rome on its helter-skelter slide into bloody chaos. Phillips somehow makes us understand this extraordinarily wicked woman. As she ages and her carefully wrought webs begin to unravel, it becomes clear that Livia has been as thoroughly poisoned by her own ambition as her victims were by her carefully prepared meals. Further acting honors go to George Baker as Tiberius, who resists but eventually succumbs to the destiny forced upon him by his mother, and to John Hurt as a hilarious and absolutely terrifying Caligula. In one breathtakingly tense scene, the mad Emperor performs a dance in drag, then asks Claudius to critique it, perfectly capturing the horror of a world where one wrong word means death, or worse. Jacobi is the perfect Claudius, hiding his intelligence behind a crippling stammer and shuffling around the edges of events--until he finds himself pulled to the very center. His wry comments give shape to the tangled story of his family and help the audience make sense of a dauntingly complex cast of characters. ...from Amazon.com

with: Derek Jacobi : Claudius Siân Phillips: Livia Brian Blessed: Augustus George Baker: Tiberius John Hurt: Caligula Margaret Tyzack: Antonia Ian Ogilvy: Drusus Frances White: Julia John Paul: Marcus Agrippa
	Christopher Guard: Marcellus Kevin McNally: Castor Patricia Quinn: Livilla David Robb: Germanicus Fiona Walker: Agrippina John Castle: Postumus James Faulkner: Herod Agrippa Patrick Stewart: Sejanus Stratford Johns: Piso Irene Hamilton: Plancina
John Rhys-Davies: Macro Beth Morris: Drusilla Sheila White: Messalina Bernard Hepton: Pallas John Cater: Narcissus Barbara Young: Agrippinilla Christopher Biggins: Nero Richard Hunter: Drusus Edward Jewesbury: Titus Charles Kay: Gallus Russell Lewis: Lucius Gary Locke: Germanicus