Imperium: Augustus
Encyclopedia
Imperium: Augustus is a 2003 joint British-Italian production, and part of the Imperium series. It tells of the life story of Octavian and how he became Augustus
. Half the film takes place in the past (as Augustus explains to his daughter Julia
how he became who he was) and the other half takes place in the later life of Augustus.
The drama starred Peter O'Toole
as Augustus, Charlotte Rampling
as Livia
, Vittoria Belvedere
as Julia, Ken Duken
as Marcus Agrippa, Benjamin Sadler
as Octavian (young Augustus) and Juan Diego Botto
as Iullus Antonius
. It was filmed in Tunisia
. The film was produced by EOS Entertainment and Lux Vide for RAI
, Telecinco
and ZDF
.
bed
. He looks back on his life to a conversation he had with his beloved daughter, Julia. After an attempt on Augustus' life, he is shocked to learn his closest friend and Julia's husband Marcus Agrippa is dead. Livia suggests that for the safety of Rome, her stepdaughter Julia should marry her son Tiberius
. Her reluctance to marry Tiberius causes Augustus to sit down and tell her the story of how he became the emperor of Rome.
He recalls 46 BC
Rome
is in the middle of a civil war
. Together with his friend Marcus Agrippa, the young Octavius (Augustus) goes to Spain
in order to help Julius Caesar
battle the troops of Pompey
. Even though they are outnumbered they manage to defeat Pompey. Caesar honours his adopted son Octavius with a triumphal entry into Rome and then sends him to Macedon
ia together with Agrippa and the son of Caesar's friend, Maecenas. There Octavian hears the news of Caesar's assassination
and he returns to Rome with his friends.
Back in Rome he is able to gain both the support of the people and Cicero
. In his struggle with the conspirators against the murder of Caesar and claiming his new share of the empire, he finds an ally in Mark Antony
, Caesar's right-hand man. Mark Antony not only pursues Brutus
and Cassius
, he also initiates a wave of executions, which practically eliminates the old Roman ruling class. Among those who are killed is the husband of Livia. Octavian marries Livia and divorces his wife Scribonia
on the day she gave birth to their daughter Julia. In accordance with the laws of Rome claiming sole custody of his newborn baby. Julia resents Augustus's treatment of her mother.
Octavian and Mark Antony defeat Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Phillipi. Octavian and Mark Antony at first share the empire. However Antony has become the lover of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, having been taken in by the Egyptian culture of divinity. After Antony humiliates Octavian's elder sister Octavia
by casting her out of his house and divorcing her, Rome declares war on Cleopatra. Agrippa defeats Antony at the Battle of Actium
and after a successful military campaign Octavian becomes the sole ruler of the Roman Empire
and in doing so takes the great name of Augustus. However he tells Maecenas that he will never be king of Rome. Octavian spares Iullus, Antony's son by his first wife, and sends him to Rome on Octavia's request to be raised as her son.
In present day Augustus's rule Rome experiences a period of peace, prosperity and an age where art and culture flourish. Agrippa and Maecenas are both dead. Livia is Augustus's principal advisor. She is envious of Julia, the mother of Augustus' heirs and the person Augustus claims that "[he] has never loved anyone as much as [her]". Julia is upset her husband's death as she was very fond of him and is upset when Augustus forces her to marry Livia's son Tiberius
for whom she has an intense dislike for. Tiberius is also upset to divorce his wife whom he loves, although he does not dislike Julia and pities his stepsister, knowing how little happiness she has had in her life. Augustus sends Tiberius away to fight in a campaign. However before leaving Tiberius scolds him for his treatment of Julia, saying "you destroy everything you love."
Julia admits to her father that she loves Iullus Antonius
. Iullus (along with Julia's half-brother Scipio) wish to end Augustus' reign and form a regency over Julia and Agrippa's sons. In the beginning it is Iullus who paid the assassin to kill Augustus. He then attempts to seduce Julia in order to get close to Augustus and avenge his father's death. However upon watching Julia being forced to marry Tiberius, Iullus realises that he has fallen in love with her. Augustus tells Julia that she can continue to see Iullus (provided they are discreet) but tells her that he hopes, eventually, she will come to see him for what he is and learn to live without him.
Tiberius returns from his campaign. He shocks Julia in her room and accuses her of having an affair with Iullus. She tells him their marriage is a sham and orders him to return to the northern borders else she will have her father throw him in prison as a deserter. Tiberius threatens to find Iullus and kill him. However when Julia still refuses to submit to Tiberius he attacks and rapes her.
Julia suffers a mental breakdown
after the rape and confides to Iullus how miserable her life has been under her father's control. In her sorrow she tells him that sometimes she wishes her father were already dead just so her suffering would end. Iullus recites Julia's misery to Scipio and he comes upon with a plan to kill Augustus themselves. They agree not to tell Julia of the plan. Tiberius, who is still planning to kill Iullus for infidelity with his wife, overhears the plot and informs his mother. Livia decides that they will catch Iullus in the act and in doing so would rid themselves of Julia also.
Iullus uses his position in the imperial household to gain access to Augustus' chambers. However the plan is foiled when the noise alerts Livia, Julia and Tiberius to the scene. Tiberius fatally wounds Iullus and saves Augustus. Scipio and Iullus are revealed to be the assassins
just as Julia enters. Before he is taken away Iullus tells Julia "I did it for you."
Augustus goes to the senate and orders them to exile Julia from Rome. They refuse due to her popularity with the people and the fact she is his daughter but Augustus demands they obey him. As he leaves the senate he instantly regrets it, stating that had Maecenas been alive he would never have allowed him to exile Julia. She tells him she was unaware of the plot but Augustus tells her for her own safety she must leave Rome. He insists on keeping her children. Julia finally tells Augustus that her life was a torture and it would have been kinder to kill her when she was born. Julia leaves saying that she, at least, loved her children. Upon sending Julia away Augustus breaks down into tears.
The scene returns to his death bed. Gaius and Lucius are dead, Julia is still in exile and Tiberius is heir to the throne. Before he dies Augustus cries out for Julia but Livia and Tiberius tell him she is not there. Then to everyone's surprise Julia, in a cape for disguise, enters. Happy to see his daughter again he holds out his hand to her and asks for forgiveness but she refuses to take his hand. Augustus is upset but understands. His final words are to Julia, asking "Did I play my part well in the comedy of life?" to which Julia replies "The gods will tell you, father." Augustus dies. Livia goes to place his death mask on but Julia takes it from her, kisses her father on the forehead and places it herself over her father's smiling dead face.
Octavian has Caesar's son with Cleopatra and only one of Antony's children executed. Although it accurately shows Octavian sparing the children and sending them to live with his sister, Iullus was one of Antony's children who stayed in Athens with Octavia when Antony ran back to Cleopatra and divorced Octavia. Another change made for drama was when Julia came to see her father from exile while he was on his death bed. In reality she died the same year as Augustus but never returned to Rome.
lesson
and soap opera
. Peter O'Toole plays Octavius/Augustus, heir to his doomed uncle Julius Caesar's command of the far-flung Roman empire
. Surviving an assassination attempt and struck by news of the death of his old friend and ally, Agrippa (Ken Duken), in the same day, Octavius waxes nostalgic about his youthful exploits in Caesar's army (Benjamin Sadler plays the young Augustus in flashbacks) and his unprepared immersion in the deadly politics of the Mark Antony (Massimo Ghini) era. More immediate are Octavius' problems trying to stave off conspiracies by his wife Livia (Charlotte Rampling) to set up the emperor's stepson, Tiberius (Michele Bevilacqua), as heir, and talk his dutiful daughter Julia (Vittoria Belvedere) into a marriage she does not want. Roger Young directs this highly watchable costume drama, and O'Toole's golden presence makes the ancient intrigues tragically human. --Tom Keogh
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
. Half the film takes place in the past (as Augustus explains to his daughter Julia
Julia the Elder
Julia the Elder , known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus subsequently adopted several male members of his close family as sons...
how he became who he was) and the other half takes place in the later life of Augustus.
The drama starred Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
as Augustus, Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
as Livia
Livia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
, Vittoria Belvedere
Vittoria Belvedere
Vittoria Belvedere is an Italian actress from Vibo Valentia in Calabria, southern Italy. She has appeared in several films but most of her work is television based....
as Julia, Ken Duken
Ken Duken
Ken Duken is a German actor.Ken Duken is the third child of film and stage actress Christina Loeb; his father is a doctor. Duken never attended a drama school but took courses in drama, including under James Reynold...
as Marcus Agrippa, Benjamin Sadler
Benjamin Sadler
Benjamin Sadler is a German actor who was born in Toronto, Canada, the son of a German graphic designer and a British teacher. He lived in Canada until he was five...
as Octavian (young Augustus) and Juan Diego Botto
Juan Diego Botto
Juan Diego Botto-Rota is an Argentine-Spanish actor.Botto's father disappeared during the Argentine Dirty War when Juan Diego was only two years old...
as Iullus Antonius
Iullus Antonius
Iullus Antonius , also known as Iulus, Julus or Jullus, was the second son of Mark Antony and his third wife Fulvia. He is best known for being the famous lover of Julia the Elder...
. It was filmed in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. The film was produced by EOS Entertainment and Lux Vide for RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
, Telecinco
Telecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
and ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
.
Plot
Augustus is on his deathDeath
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
bed
Bed
A bed is a large piece of furniture used as a place to sleep, relax, or engage in sexual relations.Most modern beds consist of a mattress on a bed frame, with the mattress resting either on a solid base, often wooden slats, or a sprung base...
. He looks back on his life to a conversation he had with his beloved daughter, Julia. After an attempt on Augustus' life, he is shocked to learn his closest friend and Julia's husband Marcus Agrippa is dead. Livia suggests that for the safety of Rome, her stepdaughter Julia should marry her son Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
. Her reluctance to marry Tiberius causes Augustus to sit down and tell her the story of how he became the emperor of Rome.
He recalls 46 BC
46 BC
Year 46 BC was the last year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Lepidus . The denomination 46 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe...
Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
is in the middle of a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. Together with his friend Marcus Agrippa, the young Octavius (Augustus) goes to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in order to help Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
battle the troops of Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
. Even though they are outnumbered they manage to defeat Pompey. Caesar honours his adopted son Octavius with a triumphal entry into Rome and then sends him to Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia together with Agrippa and the son of Caesar's friend, Maecenas. There Octavian hears the news of Caesar's assassination
Ides of March
The Ides of March is the name of the 15th day of March in the Roman calendar, probably referring to the day of the full moon. The word Ides comes from the Latin word "Idus" and means "half division" especially in relation to a month. It is a word that was used widely in the Roman calendar...
and he returns to Rome with his friends.
Back in Rome he is able to gain both the support of the people and Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
. In his struggle with the conspirators against the murder of Caesar and claiming his new share of the empire, he finds an ally in Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
, Caesar's right-hand man. Mark Antony not only pursues Brutus
Brutus
Brutus is the cognomen of the Roman gens Junia, a prominent family of the Roman Republic. The plural of Brutus is Bruti, and the vocative form is Brute, as immortalized in the quotation "Et tu, Brute?", from Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar....
and Cassius
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
, he also initiates a wave of executions, which practically eliminates the old Roman ruling class. Among those who are killed is the husband of Livia. Octavian marries Livia and divorces his wife Scribonia
Scribonia
Scribonia was the second wife of the Roman Emperor Augustus and the mother of his only natural child, Julia the Elder. She was the mother-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, great-grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, grandmother-in-law of the Emperor Claudius, and...
on the day she gave birth to their daughter Julia. In accordance with the laws of Rome claiming sole custody of his newborn baby. Julia resents Augustus's treatment of her mother.
Octavian and Mark Antony defeat Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Phillipi. Octavian and Mark Antony at first share the empire. However Antony has become the lover of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, having been taken in by the Egyptian culture of divinity. After Antony humiliates Octavian's elder sister Octavia
Octavia Minor
Octavia the Younger , also known as Octavia Minor or simply Octavia, was the sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus , half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and fourth wife of Mark Antony...
by casting her out of his house and divorcing her, Rome declares war on Cleopatra. Agrippa defeats Antony at the Battle of Actium
Battle of Actium
The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman...
and after a successful military campaign Octavian becomes the sole ruler of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and in doing so takes the great name of Augustus. However he tells Maecenas that he will never be king of Rome. Octavian spares Iullus, Antony's son by his first wife, and sends him to Rome on Octavia's request to be raised as her son.
In present day Augustus's rule Rome experiences a period of peace, prosperity and an age where art and culture flourish. Agrippa and Maecenas are both dead. Livia is Augustus's principal advisor. She is envious of Julia, the mother of Augustus' heirs and the person Augustus claims that "[he] has never loved anyone as much as [her]". Julia is upset her husband's death as she was very fond of him and is upset when Augustus forces her to marry Livia's son Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
for whom she has an intense dislike for. Tiberius is also upset to divorce his wife whom he loves, although he does not dislike Julia and pities his stepsister, knowing how little happiness she has had in her life. Augustus sends Tiberius away to fight in a campaign. However before leaving Tiberius scolds him for his treatment of Julia, saying "you destroy everything you love."
Julia admits to her father that she loves Iullus Antonius
Iullus Antonius
Iullus Antonius , also known as Iulus, Julus or Jullus, was the second son of Mark Antony and his third wife Fulvia. He is best known for being the famous lover of Julia the Elder...
. Iullus (along with Julia's half-brother Scipio) wish to end Augustus' reign and form a regency over Julia and Agrippa's sons. In the beginning it is Iullus who paid the assassin to kill Augustus. He then attempts to seduce Julia in order to get close to Augustus and avenge his father's death. However upon watching Julia being forced to marry Tiberius, Iullus realises that he has fallen in love with her. Augustus tells Julia that she can continue to see Iullus (provided they are discreet) but tells her that he hopes, eventually, she will come to see him for what he is and learn to live without him.
Tiberius returns from his campaign. He shocks Julia in her room and accuses her of having an affair with Iullus. She tells him their marriage is a sham and orders him to return to the northern borders else she will have her father throw him in prison as a deserter. Tiberius threatens to find Iullus and kill him. However when Julia still refuses to submit to Tiberius he attacks and rapes her.
Julia suffers a mental breakdown
Mental breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
after the rape and confides to Iullus how miserable her life has been under her father's control. In her sorrow she tells him that sometimes she wishes her father were already dead just so her suffering would end. Iullus recites Julia's misery to Scipio and he comes upon with a plan to kill Augustus themselves. They agree not to tell Julia of the plan. Tiberius, who is still planning to kill Iullus for infidelity with his wife, overhears the plot and informs his mother. Livia decides that they will catch Iullus in the act and in doing so would rid themselves of Julia also.
Iullus uses his position in the imperial household to gain access to Augustus' chambers. However the plan is foiled when the noise alerts Livia, Julia and Tiberius to the scene. Tiberius fatally wounds Iullus and saves Augustus. Scipio and Iullus are revealed to be the assassins
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
just as Julia enters. Before he is taken away Iullus tells Julia "I did it for you."
Augustus goes to the senate and orders them to exile Julia from Rome. They refuse due to her popularity with the people and the fact she is his daughter but Augustus demands they obey him. As he leaves the senate he instantly regrets it, stating that had Maecenas been alive he would never have allowed him to exile Julia. She tells him she was unaware of the plot but Augustus tells her for her own safety she must leave Rome. He insists on keeping her children. Julia finally tells Augustus that her life was a torture and it would have been kinder to kill her when she was born. Julia leaves saying that she, at least, loved her children. Upon sending Julia away Augustus breaks down into tears.
The scene returns to his death bed. Gaius and Lucius are dead, Julia is still in exile and Tiberius is heir to the throne. Before he dies Augustus cries out for Julia but Livia and Tiberius tell him she is not there. Then to everyone's surprise Julia, in a cape for disguise, enters. Happy to see his daughter again he holds out his hand to her and asks for forgiveness but she refuses to take his hand. Augustus is upset but understands. His final words are to Julia, asking "Did I play my part well in the comedy of life?" to which Julia replies "The gods will tell you, father." Augustus dies. Livia goes to place his death mask on but Julia takes it from her, kisses her father on the forehead and places it herself over her father's smiling dead face.
Cast
- Peter O'ToolePeter O'ToolePeter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
as AugustusAugustusAugustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian... - Benjamin SadlerBenjamin SadlerBenjamin Sadler is a German actor who was born in Toronto, Canada, the son of a German graphic designer and a British teacher. He lived in Canada until he was five...
as OctavianAugustusAugustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
/Young Augustus - Vittoria BelvedereVittoria BelvedereVittoria Belvedere is an Italian actress from Vibo Valentia in Calabria, southern Italy. She has appeared in several films but most of her work is television based....
as JuliaJulia the ElderJulia the Elder , known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus subsequently adopted several male members of his close family as sons... - Charlotte RamplingCharlotte RamplingCharlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
as LiviaLiviaLivia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser... - Juan Diego BottoJuan Diego BottoJuan Diego Botto-Rota is an Argentine-Spanish actor.Botto's father disappeared during the Argentine Dirty War when Juan Diego was only two years old...
as Iullus AntoniusIullus AntoniusIullus Antonius , also known as Iulus, Julus or Jullus, was the second son of Mark Antony and his third wife Fulvia. He is best known for being the famous lover of Julia the Elder... - Ken DukenKen DukenKen Duken is a German actor.Ken Duken is the third child of film and stage actress Christina Loeb; his father is a doctor. Duken never attended a drama school but took courses in drama, including under James Reynold...
as Marcus Agrippa - Gerard KleinGérard KleinGérard Klein , known also as Gilles d'Argyre, is a French science fiction writer with sociological training.He is the editor of the prestigious science fiction series Ailleurs et Demain published by Robert Laffont and of the Le Livre de poche science-fiction imprint.In his novella Les virus ne...
as Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.... - Gottfried JohnGottfried John-Life and work:During the 1970s and early 1980s, Gottfried John played various roles in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, notably that of Reinhold in the epic Berlin Alexanderplatz . He is internationally known for his portrayals of General Ourumov in the James Bond film GoldenEye and Julius...
as CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief... - Russell Barr as Maecenas
- Alexander Strobele as Lucius Tutilius
- Anna Valle as Cleopatra
- Massimo GhiniMassimo GhiniMassimo Ghini is an Italian actor. He has worked with Franco Zeffirelli, Giorgio Strehler, Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, and Gabriele Lavia, among others. He is married to actress Nancy Brilli, and is the father of four children....
as Mark AntonyMark AntonyMarcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar... - Michael Reale as LepidusMarcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , was a Roman patrician who rose to become a member of the Second Triumvirate and Pontifex Maximus. His father, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, had been involved in a rebellion against the Roman Republic.Lepidus was among Julius Caesar's greatest supporters...
- Martina StellaMartina StellaMartina Stella is an Italian television and film actress.-Acting career:Stella made her cinematic debut at the age of 16 in 2001 in L'ultimo bacio...
as Young Livia - Elena Ballesteros as OctaviaOctavia MinorOctavia the Younger , also known as Octavia Minor or simply Octavia, was the sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus , half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and fourth wife of Mark Antony...
- Valeria D'obici as Atia
- Michele Bevilacqua as TiberiusTiberiusTiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
- Achille Brugnini as CassiusGaius Cassius LonginusGaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
- Giampiero Judica as ScipioPublius Cornelius Scipio (consul 16 BC)Publius Cornelius Scipio was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Salvito and Scribonia. He was elder brother to Cornelia Scipio and the elder half-brother to Julia the Elder, who was the daughter of Emperor Augustus. Scipio claimed to be a descendent of Scipio Africanus and boasted himself about...
- Vanni Materassi as MusaAntonius MusaAntonius Musa was a botanist and the Roman emperor Augustus's physician. In the year 23 BC, when Augustus was seriously ill, Musa cured the illness with cold compresses and became immediately famous....
- Antonio Petrocelli as BrutusMarcus Junius BrutusMarcus Junius Brutus , often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name...
- Riccardo De Torrebruna as DecimusDecimus Junius Brutus AlbinusDecimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Roman politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination...
Historical accuracy
Imperium: Augustus has received criticism for its historical accuracy on the characters and the events that happened, but has been made popular due to the exciting soap opera feeling the drama has. Among its many criticisms is the way Augustus' daughter, Julia, was portrayed. While the character herself is similar in terms of personality, her behaviour with other men is not drawn entirely as history recalls her. Modern historians however have come to see Julia as a much more tragic character then history tells her as, and therefore a number of the changes made to her character is justified. Near the end the Julia scandal breaks and Iullus tries to assassinate Augustus. In reality he never came close and was the only of Julia's lovers that did not get exiled. His fate was far worse, being tried for treason and sentenced to death. He committed suicide before they could execute him. Iullus was also not in Egypt to be spared as the film portrayed.Octavian has Caesar's son with Cleopatra and only one of Antony's children executed. Although it accurately shows Octavian sparing the children and sending them to live with his sister, Iullus was one of Antony's children who stayed in Athens with Octavia when Antony ran back to Cleopatra and divorced Octavia. Another change made for drama was when Julia came to see her father from exile while he was on his death bed. In reality she died the same year as Augustus but never returned to Rome.
Critical reception
Imperium: Augustus is equal parts historyHistory
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
lesson
Lesson
A lesson is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students being taught by a teacher or instructor...
and soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
. Peter O'Toole plays Octavius/Augustus, heir to his doomed uncle Julius Caesar's command of the far-flung Roman empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Surviving an assassination attempt and struck by news of the death of his old friend and ally, Agrippa (Ken Duken), in the same day, Octavius waxes nostalgic about his youthful exploits in Caesar's army (Benjamin Sadler plays the young Augustus in flashbacks) and his unprepared immersion in the deadly politics of the Mark Antony (Massimo Ghini) era. More immediate are Octavius' problems trying to stave off conspiracies by his wife Livia (Charlotte Rampling) to set up the emperor's stepson, Tiberius (Michele Bevilacqua), as heir, and talk his dutiful daughter Julia (Vittoria Belvedere) into a marriage she does not want. Roger Young directs this highly watchable costume drama, and O'Toole's golden presence makes the ancient intrigues tragically human. --Tom Keogh
See also
- List of historical drama films
- List of films set in ancient Rome
- AugustusAugustusAugustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
- Julio-Claudian dynastyJulio-Claudian DynastyThe Julio-Claudian dynasty normally refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula , Claudius, and Nero, or the family to which they belonged; they ruled the Roman Empire from its formation, in the second half of the 1st century BC, until AD 68, when the last of the line,...
- Second TriumvirateSecond TriumvirateThe Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...