Beefcake beheading
I have been catching up on the episodes of the new Starz series on Spartacus, the Thracian slave who terrified Rome between 73 to 71 BC, through a mass servile uprising originating in Capua.
At least most of the names of the known characters are right. You can check the main sources of the revolt in Plutarch’s Crassus (the richest and most hated man of the late republic), and the second-century AD Greek historian Appian (a little-read, but fascinating text), and bits here and there in Varro and other compilers.
Both Appian and Plutarch (writing variously between ca. 170-200 years centuries after the incident) seem to draw on the same lost and perhaps first-hand source (their accounts, written a few decades apart, are quite similar), either one of Sallust’s lost books or a later compendium account from one Livy’s lost chapters.
Most recently, Barry Strauss has a fine recent general account of Spartacus’s aims; he also wrote a chapter on Spartacus for Makers of Ancient Strategy, which I edited and comes out today from Princeton University Press. For a comprehensive collection of the primary sources, see Brent Shaw’s Spartacus and the Slave Wars, or the essays in Martin Winkler’s edited Spartacus: Film and History.
So what to make of the series? From the episodes I watched, I’m underwhelmed. True, the production is lavishly financed and professionally produced. The actors are in large part good, and do the British-accented ancient world better than in most films.
The series seems an effort to emulate in part Rome — the far better scripted British-televised two-year series that ended in 2007 — in part 300 (slo-mo fighting scenes, computer simulations, blood splashed on the screen, buff, beefed up torsos) — in part Gladiator (suffering and ordeal, before ultimate moral triumph and death), and (unfortunately) in part the American-style, evening soap — something like the old Dallas or Falcon Crest. And all this is supposedly energized by graphic sex (frontal female and male nudity, homosexuality, gratuitous orgies [I was shocked, as it were, to see a nude Lucy Lawless, whose mostly wholesome old Xena series my then teen daughters, and millions like them, once used to watch], and grotesque violence [lopped limbs, beheadings, etc.])
What baffles me is that the series is spending an entire year on mostly what we don’t know (the life of Spartacus before the revolt) and nothing on what we do (the revolt itself).
So next season, will the complex battles and campaigns of the slaves’ desperate struggle dominate the series (especially in light of the recent illness of Spartacus actor Andrew Whitfield), as we see one of the most fascinating incidents in Roman republican history at long last unfold? All historical fictions need to invent story-lines and personal relationships, given the dearth of historical information. But whereas Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 Spartacus included personal dramas not in the ancient record, such personal interactions were subordinate to, and enhanced, the known narrative about both the nature of the revolt and the Roman reaction to it.
In the Starz production, however, we never quite see what the point of all these trysts, orgies, and beheadings are leading to, other than a generic reminder that slaves had it bad — and so under that cover we can see a lot of 21st century group and homosexual sex that usually doesn’t make it onto the screen. If the point is to teach us how awful the owners were, to prove to us they deserved what they will they soon get — when they are strung up and spliced and diced as the revolt starts — all that could have been done in one episode (ditto the violence of the arena).
That’s the difference between a soap opera and a great novel or film — the ability to turn the everyday minutiae of our pedestrian lives into a larger statement about the human condition. I didn’t see much transcendent thought in this version of Spartacus.
So there is good acting, good scenery, some success in capturing the grubby flavor of Roman life in the provinces — and yet mostly all such efforts are wasted on a soap opera script of who is sleeping with whom, the usual triple-cross betrayals, and surprise plot twists. Take away the next-step nudity (I suppose the male nudity is supposed to be in some way significant), head lopping, and ancient sets and costumes and we are left with Sex in the City psychodrama, rather than speculations of what drove Spartacus (a great favorite later with both right and left totalitarian socialists) and 70,000 others to take on the best legions of Rome.
Poor Belisarius. John Julius Norwich’s trilogy Byzantium was a revelation for me. It doesn’t get more colorful and exciting than the jaw dropping pageant surrounding the lives of Justinian the Great, Theodora (his amazing pious and demonic wife), and the long suffering Belisarius and his bizarre wife with all her wild exploits. You’re so right — t’s perfectly suited for a huge mini-series. The twists and turns, the characters and backstories, the whole epoch in fact, are all downright Shakespearian.
Write a treatment, Victor… Who knows???
Agree that Belisarius would be a great topic for a series. One of the most talented and loyal generals in the entire history of ome (to include the Byzantine Empire) was never entirely trusted by his suspicious emperor and especially his empress, but still managed to score improbable victories on shoestring budgets.
In general, I’d like to see more on Byzantium. It has a fascinating history that should get the lion’s share of the credit for preserving Classical learning (in our PC age, the Arabs/Muslims are credited, but they generally just borrowed or stole it from the Byzantines in the first place). And the Byzantines held the front lines for Christendom while the western Christians slowly got their act together. I doubt John III Sobieski would have even been around to stop the Ottomans outside of Vienna in 1683 if the Byzantines had not resisted the Muslim onslaught until 1453, by which time the Renaissance was already dawning in Europe.
I always enjoyed the Kubrick take on Spartacus. Hard to go wrong with a cast that included Douglas, Laugton, Olivier, Ustinov, and Curtis. Favorite line: Ustinov to the slaves he’d just purchased to train as gladiators: “And may fortune smile on (pause) most of you”.
Overenthusiastic deleting: should be “…in the entire history of Rome…”
The annals of history are replete with a common theme that is seldom examined or even recognized. Great leaders build, expand, defend, and restore national power only to have lesser men usurp the achievements through court intrigue. The lesser group seems not to care that their skulduggery weakens the kingdom as long as they are left to rule the wreckage. America is facing the ebb tide of this historical process even now.
History informs us that the strength of any great power resides in the provinces. The Romans, both east and west, came back time and again after horrendous defeats based on resources drawn from the countryside. It wasn’t until Byzantium lost Cappadocia, the source of bread for the cities and manpower for the army, that she was doomed to fall. The last 350 years of her history is a chronicle of court intrigue and little else. It’s for good reason the word “Byzantine” made its way into the English language.
The United States is blessed with vast resources in both men and material. Like previous empires this reserve strength abides in the provinces. Our cities suffer the usual problems associated with empire: dependency, decadence and depravity. I expect to see significant civil disorder before Mr. Obama is driven from office. He’s America’s Nero, but it’s in the nature of republics that they enjoy great restorative powers once the dust settles.
Hear, hear! Write a treatment. There’s a huge payday in it and only a classical historian can do it right.
Of course you will have collaborators forced on you at some point and they will likely fire you before the project comes to completion in five or ten years. But if you have a good contract it could be a huge payday just the same.
VDH: Right on as always. However, one little nit. Guadalcanal involved initially the 1st Marines, 5th Marines, 11th Marines, all part of the 1st MarDiv, 1st Raiders, 1st Paras, 2nd Raiders(Later on), 2nd Marines (Part of the 2nd MarDiv), with the 7th Marines(1st Mardiv) arriving later on, just in time for them, with the 164th Infantry (Americal Division)filling in and then assisting, to fend off another Japanese attack on that famous ridge. Yeah, that was perhaps America’s first offensive and perhaps one of the largest land, air, and sea campaign of the war; see Richard Franks history of Guadalcanal.
Yeah also that Spartacus’s campaign history seemed confusing, his aims not clear. They had a chance to leave Italy, several times, yet apparently wanted only to attack Rome’s armies. Maybe Spartacus decided there wasn’t any way to escape from Rome’s extensive reach.
Dear Professor,
Thank you for the diversion. You made tons of suggestions to Obama and he ignored them. Now you make suggestions to Hollywood. Forgive the trite saying but it’s all pearls before swine.
I bought ‘A War Like No Other’ 3 years ago. I started it and put it down. All those foreign names confused the events for me. Now I’ve picked it up again and I’m getting it.
So far it’s all on page 170 where you said:
“…the Greeks from dozens of city-states now using the same energy and genius that had crafted magnificent temples and classical literature to fight…”
Before your book, my conception of Greek civilization was solely one of elegance and transcendent achevement. I had heard of Spartans before [Go Michigan State :- ) ]but I never would have pictured those disgusting, violent and bloody episodes between those so-civilized people.
It’s a real eye opener. I’m looking forward to your new work.
I too can relate to those you mentioned at first. I was hoping that Nemesis would strike down the President’s program. So much for pagan gods.
Stalin and Mao lived long lives. I truely wish the same for this as well as every past president. The former 2 leaders retired with their life work in place. Anything’s possible.
The ‘racist’ slanders… Somebody at NRO said that slavery was abolished and Jim Crow laws were abolished. Now the worst it seems is somebody who may or may not have said the ‘N’ word. He was criticized for saying that. It makes sense to me.
Strauss’ book about Spartacus is rather thin and even at less than 300 pages seems padded. So little is known about Spartacus that he has become a fantasy figure: Dalton Trumbo’s script for the Kubrick movie was filled with Marxist preachiness, and this new movie seems a fantasy of sex & gore.
I like the idea of telling the Belisarius story.
However-would it be like that miniseries on Aetius and Attila a few years back?
On the other hand I liked the miniseries about Helen of Troy. Not that there was much in the way of historical accuracy! (Sparta a seaport?!) but I thought it told a good tragic yarn. And I know some people who were motivated to look up some real classical Greek History -which is a good thing.
One little quibble: in the first episode it’s made clear that the main character isn’t that Spartacus, but that he’s named ironically in honor of The Spartacus.
Perhaps someone can ask the sage Tom Hanks what,lacking the motivation of race, gave purpose to the American obliteration of Germany.
It’s a common theme in history: the more successful the general, the more brutal his fate at the hands of his jealous leader. It is, in fact, not limited to generals; this is the fate of anyone in a dictatorship who is more talented that the glorious dictator. One of my favorite books is “I, Claudius”, along with its sequel “Claudius the God” (and Robert Graves wrote a good novel called “Count Belisarius”, too), and one of the reasons I liked “Claduius” when I read it at age 17 is that it so brutally deconstructed all the weaknesses of totalitarianism. THIS, I said to myself, is why our own system of governance is good, and something like the Soviet Union is bad: freedom rewards talent, and totalitarianism destroys it. It was a revelation to me at the time, and cemented my own conservative political leanings. My conviction has only grown stronger over time as I read yet another case of some clever general who is removed because he makes Dear Leader look bad. It was a prime contributor to the fall of the Roman Empire, as Adrian Goldsworthy detailed in his recent book, “How Rome Fell”. Power is a jealous mistress, and will brook no competition, and the more virtuous the competition, the more completely it must be crushed.
VDH:
I have watched every episode and have gotten to the point of fast forwarding some of the gratuitous sex and violence scenes. I will say this as a compliment, watching Spartacus make the transition from free man to loyal slave has been kind of interesting, how many millions of people throughout time lived short but wild and brutal lives only to find themselves “chained” into advanced civilizations. Watching a man slowly and surely accept his new slave status and soon begin to accept the accolades and perks of his masters as something to glory in was quite fascinating. As for the rest, I rather like the moves of the Master of the house and thought his push for advancement by currying favor with the better bred Romans as a possible glimpse into how one could attain power as a lower ranking member of the ruling class. Do these positives over shadow the over reliance on sex and cartoonish violence, no. By the way, I don’t know if you have seen the last episode but it looks like the beginnings of revolution are afoot.
I don’t have Starz, so I can’t watch Spartacus even were I so inclined…which I’m not. I suspect I can get more accurate gladiatorial displays watching Ars Dimicandi videos on Youtube.
I personally recommend the SPQR series of books by John Maddox Roberts, that take place in the waning years of the Republic.
Modern day feminists should perhaps intensely hate Roman society. The killing of infant girls was widely practiced. Pregnant wives were often told by their husbands traveling to foreign lands to keep the baby only if it were a male. A female was to be immediately put to death.
Ancient Rome was similar to a Nazi state. Those who were ethnically pure were treated well and their rights protected—even though they might be of low status. God help you, however, if you were a slave. The Romans might not hesitate to have you tortured for the mere fun of it.
11 James Wilson:its because our grandfathers had whooped them 20 years earlier, they just wouldn’t stay down. me i can’t get over the fact that i am racist against Arabs/muslims, but it isn’t prejudice. i really don’t like their system.
its awful to see all that gratuitous sex combined with the political intrigue, it reminds me of ancient Rome. the more things change the more they stay the same.
VDH, you are a tyrant who enslaves my wallet. I have no more shelves or even flat surfaces to store books on. There are boxes of books in every closet and even in storage, but still, you drive me to purchase even more. While I can’t say I’ve ever regretted reading any of the books you mention, I can’t say that I know where I can put any more, either. I’ve sunken so low that I tried to convince my wife bookshelves on those few walls that have none might help keep our 1910 Sears Catalog Home from falling apart, but she just gives me a sad look and asked, “Hanson?”.
Fortunately for you, my friends in low places only laughed when I asked, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent author”?
Regards
Could you spare an obol for Blimpisarius, Dr. Bones?
(( And why not a film for the prose-challenged kiddies on Narses and Theodora? ))
Even more than your political commentary Professor Hanson I enjoy reading your views on books (especially), movies (although I don’t watch many–which makes your commentary even more valuable however as it enables me to choose wisely when I do), and television.
I wish you would create–lets call it–a “Life Syllabus”: A chronological list of history books–beginning at the beginning (say, Herodotus) and proceeding up through to the present–that one can use as a blueprint in order to become very well read in history. There is so much out there (and books are so expensive) that it can be difficult to seperate the wheat from the chaff. How about it Professor (a title which I use in the sincerest way possible in your case as being a graduate student I have encountered much more chaff than wheat going by the same title)?
Spartacus really assumes that the viewer has no interest in Roman history or culture and is just tuning in to see swordfights and sex slaves. The writers must consider its audiences idiots. For a show supposedly set in Rome, its really a lost opportunity.
You know who I’d like to see on screen is Atilla the Hun. He’s constantly played as some kind of “comic” character in movies, like Night at the Museum. In fact, he was a king who was a master at hit and run (terrorizing) tactics and had the Romans fearing for their lives.
Forget “Spartacus, Blood and Sand!” Head to amazon.com, or wherever you go to get DVD’s, and order the Kirk Douglas/Lawrence Olivier version! It’s beautifully done, superbly acted, focuses on history, not beef cake, and manages to convey the cruelty and decadance of the Roman Empire, without going soap opera.
(Watch the scene where the depraved Roman elites demand some “matched pairs” to fight to the death for their amusement! No overt violence, or nudity—-but brrrrrrrr!)
Spartacus is intended for titillation and has no other purpose. Could it have been a vehicle for something serious with sex for window dressing? Yes, but they didn’t do that.
All due respect, Professor and Mr Wright: The artillery regiment for the First Marine Division was the 10th Marines, commanded by Pedro Del Valle on Guadalcanal.
The 11th Marines were the artillery of the Second Marine Division.
I’d like to see a movie documenting the battle of Poitier where Charlemagne defeated the invading Muslims. Doubt anyone has the courage to make that film.
I have to admit Tom Hanks asinine article on how the US only attacked Japan because we are racists has really soured me on his new series and him in general.
I really enjoyed Band of Brothers, but I find I have no desire to watch The Pacific. At first I just told myself I would wait for the DVDs, but I have to fess up and admit I am just not interested.
As for Spartacus, surprisingly entertaining. Granted TV now is a weak field, and Starz has a minimal budget. But I do find it enjoyable, though not engrossing.
While I enjoyed the first two episodes of “The Pacific” I don’t feel it has reached the level of “Band of Brothers” just yet.
#6 You forgot to mention the 147th Infantry Regiment (Ohio National Guard). One of the great tragedies of the history of the Pacific War is the minimization of the role the US Army played in many of the major engagements.
Belisarius! I truly felt for this poor loyal general after reading Lord Norwich’s great historical saga, Byzantium. William Wallace and all other tragically doomed heroes throughout human history had nothing on General Belisarius.
In the 1960′s Spartacus, Laurence Olivier tells Tony Curtis that some men like snails and some like oysters but he likes snails and oysters. So he inquires of Tony, does Tony like snails? Or is he more into oysters? And wouldn’t he like to try some snails, just to see what it’s like. And Tony says, nope, he don’t like snails. He’s an oyster man, himself. So I’m like eleven and I’m going, snails? Oysters? Why not lobster? I mean, if I had as much money as that roman general I think I’d try me some lobster. Tuna is OK, too — mixed with mayo in a sandwich.
Anyway, I watched it again a few weeks ago on Hulu and went, oh, right. Snails, Oysters. I think I get it. I think.
“I think all of us needed a break…”
Totally agree and really enjoyed it. I’m one of the nerds constantly urging you to write more media criticism. You come at it from such a different angle, your reviews are surprising and enjoyable.
You’re gonna be sorry you “gave away” Belisarius. The global audience really responds to “Ancient World” material* and some VDH-reading hack is probably starting his first treatment…
*I can’t recall the title, but one of my favorite film books from the Cal State University Fresno library was on Ancient World Epics, which ruled the boxoffice, pre-Lucas/Spielberg. Worth checking out for fun.
Robert Graves Count Belisarius could probably be made into a BBC drama with very little effort. Look at what they did with I, Claudius.
C’mon VDH! You’re taking this too seriously. Spartacus is purely entertainment and it’s audience (and the show’s creators) are quite aware of that fact. Anyway, can anything with a naked Lucy Lawless really be bad for us?
The Starz version of Spartacus wants to think is a cousin to HBO’s Rome, but actually has somewhat more in common with the early 80′s embarrassing ‘Caligula’ by Penthouse mag’s Bob Guccione (high $$ porn with delusions of being a real film).
I’ve been enjoying The Pacific, but until tonight’s ep 3, did not find that any of the characters pulled me in as well as Damien Lewis’ Winters in Band of Brothers. Winters’ story really anchored BoB for me. Perhaps Sledge, not even in combat yet, will fill that role here.
BTW, I’m in Mobile, the home of Sledge and Sydney Phillips. 2-3 years ago I got to meet Dr. Phillips at a local premiere of Ken Burns’ the War, at which Burns spoke. I also met and talked with a local survivor of the Indianapolis, who has since passed.
Whatever happened to the days when The History Channel actually aired shows about history? Shows that educated as well as entertained with commentary from scholars like the Kagan’s VDH and Steven Pressfield? Instead we get Ax Men? Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather be around those Salt of the Earth logger guys than the Harvard or Stanford elite, but what does a contrived logging competition have to do with history? I *would love to see a show that showed the history of North American logging…
Are we really that simpleminded that we need the gratuitous sex, violence and assorted cruelty of cable TV to keep us interested in our past?
Dr. Hanson, regarding male nudity in film, there is a certain category of would-be serious ‘film’ which sees showing male rear ends as ‘artistic’ and ‘daring’ whereas showing a woman’s backside is seen as ‘exploitative’. And it just so happens that those male buttocks are nearly always, freshly, immaculately — and unrealistically– waxed.
Of course Spartacus does not even qualify as that:)
VDH
You wouldn’t happen to have read any of the “Lord of the Isles” series of novels, would you? Drake tends to write transformations of ancient mythologies, and that series is based on Sumerian mythology.
The series is about how a peasant shepherd ends up reuniting the isles, and holding the whole show together through the thousand year peak of magic, and he does it in a very earthy style. The shepherds spend much of their time fishing sheep out of bogs, and out of trees, and the lords (at least, the good ones) spends as much of their time listening to unending boring petitioners as they do doing pretty much else.
I just found it a very refreshing take on the idea of high fantasy. Not saccharine, not grim-dark, just earthy.
On the air battle side of Guadalcanal, the Wildcat (and even the Buffalo) weren’t truly inferior to the A6M Zero, and in some important aspects, out performed it. The difference was that US pilots started the war using tactics that strongly favored the Zero.
By the time Guadalcanal rolled around, US pilots were using things like the Thatch Weave, and Drag-and-Bag. Zero’s have tremendous turn rates, but a turning fight turns are the rate of the slowest plane in the loop. This means, when a Zero is saddling up on your tail, so long as you aren’t turning faster than your wingman can turn, he is saddling up on his, and a Zero can’t kill a Wildcat, in the time it takes a Wildcat to kill a Zero.
On top of that, a Wildcat pilot had a much better chance of surviving being shot down than a Zero pilot did, which mean that US pilots could learn from their mistakes more often than the Japanese pilots could.
Combined, it meant that US pilots could learn from experience very quickly, retain that experience, and teamwork very effectively. The Japanese aircraft, while they allowed an expert pilot to be extremely formidable, by himself, did not have the capacity to leverage teamwork as effectively, and tended to get inexperience pilots killed off long before they could gain any seasoning.
I’d also point out, if a Hellcat, Corsair, or any of the late fighters played to a Zero’s strengths, it would get sent home in small pieces too. Part of the reason Thomas McGuire crashed was he got himself into a turn fight on the deck with an Instructor rated pilot in an Oscar (another extremely light Japanese turn-fighter).
19. I second that motion.
28. I happened to be eating tuna salad on crackers when I read your post. Syncronicity?
Great article! Belisarius would make a great flick…but you can count on Hollywood to screw it completely up w/ overblown blood & sex scenes that only cheapen & mess up the movie. I’ve always felt that one of the best movies that was never made would be Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire. If someone could get it right, & follow Pressfield’s script, it would be magnificent! 300 would look like a Hanna-Barbara cartoon in comparison. Well, someday…Belisarius & Gates of Fire…maybe!
About Belisarius, it made me remember about the “Foundation and Empire” book in Asimov’s “Foundation” trilogy. In it the Foundation is attacked by the decadent but still ten times more powerful Galactic Empire. When it seems the Foundation is on the verge of being crushed the (excellent) General leading the invasion is recalled, charged of high treason and executed. His successor stops the operations. At this point we learn the Foundation has never been in danger: a weak general could not have undertaken the operation, a strong general with a weak emperor would have aimed at the throne instead, a strong emperor, given the decadence of civic feeling and loyalty in the empire, would become suspicious of any general undertaking tasks likely to make him too powerful and popular. The end result was that Empire internal politics had made it unable of major offensive operations.
The similarity with Byzantium and Belisarius is obvious. Asimov only had to assume an Empire where the emperor had zero legitimacy- and thus could rely on zero loyalty so he had to be more paranoid than Justinian in order to keep the throne.
Also, except in the first weeks of Barbarossa, Stalin was very leneient to his generals during WWII: failure was not met witn fire squad but by demotion and sending the general for a refresh course commanding the immediately lower unit (Army instead of Front, Corps instead of Army ans so on). The danger for generals came in the last months of WWII and grew proportionally to successes: the head of the Air Force was arrested and tortured? Joukov and Rokossovski had several of their immediate collaborators arrested, Joukov, himself, baraley escaped arrest after the war.
Belasarius? Having first read about him in Liddle-Hart’s book (Strategy) I recognized the name and the logic of the choice instantly. Trouble is how do you re-create the stirrup-less cataphracti?
Love the idea though.
The Japanese Army in WWII fought extremely well, with an almost suicidal frenzy, and this is what resulted in not just one but two atomic bombs being used to force them to surrender. Also their cruelty to those Allied soldiers they captured and often murdered out of hand, as well as their inhuman treatment of the peoples they conquered, made the use of those atomic bombs acceptable to the Allies and all decent people. I would mention that in vast swaths of East Asia, including Korea, Viet Nam, and much of China, the Japanese are still reviled and hated for their bestial behavior before and during WWII.
Might I recommend the book Ghost Mountain Boys, about the fighting in New Guinea? One of the participants said, “If I owned Hell, and I owned New Guines, I’d live in Hell, and rent out New Guinea”. And another, when slightly ribbed by some (I believe) Guadalcanal veterans, when asked about his campaign ribbons, silenced their “Where?”, saying, “New Guinea”.
34. newscaper
I’ve heard of some stars who use wax
On the part which was low on their backs
It’s not hypothetical
to say it is medical
And now it is subject to tax
(sorry, I know we’re trying to avoid politics for the time being)
The average US citizen’s largest single expense is taxes. Not housing, food or health care.
Who is serving whom?
Or better yet, Who’s zooming who?
Eric, yes, I’d love to see a movie about the battle of Poitiers, or the Siege of Vienna or the Siege of Malta.
I don’t think anyone these days has the guts for that, though.
And I miss the days when the History Channel actually showed programs about history, as opposed to loggers shouting “BLEEP!” at each other. In fact, I miss the days of real T.V. shows, as opposed to time-killers about sleazy guys running pawn shops, endless docus about dwarves, gratuitous violence, gratuitous sex, faked history and endless, endless contrived competitions. (“Now at Cake Blasters, we’ll find out if Dolly’s Sugarplum Fairy Cake beats Stevie’s “Atomic Bomb Mushroom Cloud Torte!” Ooooooh, the suspense!)
I have a suggestion.
Turn off the television. Plant a garden. Get involved in volunteer work. Take a walk. Write real pen and paper letters to friends and loved ones and mail them. Rescue an animal. Talk with your spouse, children, friends. Drink a cup of coffee or even TEA and share a laugh or a sigh or even an argument with a living person or two.
If you are interested in Spartacus or Belisarius, or the Caesars, read Graves or Sallust or one of the genuine historians. If you REALLY want to have fun, learn Latin and read the account as written.
The industry sends us this stuff because we buy it. Even if after we watch it we agree it was not worth watching, they’ve HAD us.
Belisarius? Why not Flavius Aetius himself? Then one could have a scheming Honoria, her brother, the treacherous Valentinian III, Theodoric the Goth, Childeric the Frank, Leo, the first of the great Popes and, last but not least, Attila the Hun.
Spartacus is indeed convoluted plot-wise and unnecessarily sexual, dark, and violent. The author of the screenplay is extremely self-conscious about all this, perhaps meaning to say that it must have taken a great deal to precipitate the slave revolt. In this treatment there are the personal reasons for the hyper violence to come (which we are privy to) and the larger events which, at this juncture, point to Batiatus’ overweening pride and cruelty as being the sparks that set off the rebellion.
#6 Doug Wright — Yeah also that Spartacus’s campaign history seemed confusing, his aims not clear. They had a chance to leave Italy, several times, yet apparently wanted only to attack Rome’s armies. Maybe Spartacus decided there wasn’t any way to escape from Rome’s extensive reach.
The series thus far has made it clear that the Thracian has decided that he has little to live for, having no wife. Despite VDH protestations to the contrary, the series has been reasonably clear in portraying the Thracian’s motivations; e.g. the sex scenes involving him are angled to portray passion whereas those of the Romans are impassionate depravity. The Thracian routinely turns down opportunities to drill slave girls and seems, if not offended, at least bemused by the antics of the inhabitants of the Ludus.
What may seem lurid and gratuitous isn’t in the same vein as if you have visited Europe the experience isn’t quite the same thing as living there for a few years. The series lets you live the depravity and the base human motivations (e.g. the killing of Barca.) Slaves don’t just pick cotton; they’re sex toys. There are cases where graphic novelisation is better than written, and this seems to be an illustration. (300 was similar in this aspect; obviously Xerxes wasn’t 10′ tall but doing so makes him a formidable enough villian.)
Once the real action starts it will be clearer that the constant attack of Roman armies and lack of escape is consistent with who he is (self-perception) rather than a vague hand waving of historical accident or opportunism. They’re portraying Crixus as a hothead which will then set up the answer to how and why it is that Crixus and Spartacus were on different pages thus leading to a defeat that may not have happened when it did otherwise.
In short, I like the series. It’s not “Rome” but… so?
You know who I’d like to see on screen is Atilla the Hun… he was a king who was a master at hit and run (terrorizing) tactics and had the Romans fearing for their lives.
He is also an icon for the Earth Liberation Front. Gibbon writes about him going about Pannonia, obliterating Roman towns right down to the ground (downzoning, to use planner-speak) so as to reverse urban sprawl, and create more grazing for his nomadic horses. It is amazing that all the urban planning knowitalls, who reverently breathe paeans to the environment and anathema to developers, do not have some copyrighted symbol of Attilla. He’d be mounted, storming the opening day of sales of a new suburban subdivision and slaying the hopeful homebuyers who only want to escape the multistory crackerboxes mandated by the planners’ densification schemes.
To be fair to Spartacus Blood and Sand, if the revolt storyline is told upfront, it will be a mini-series rather than a multi-year series. The story will burn out much sooner. As it is (and as you acknowledge), we don’t know where the story is going. That makes the show irresistible to me.
The violence and nudity are different for an episodic show. It is certaintly pushing the envelop, but I never felt it distracting or an gimmick. It felt integral to the show. The acting talents and script writing did make it much more than soap opera. In soap operas, we are supposed to care about who they sleep with. In this case, we don’t.
There is only one definitive history of Spartacus. I’ve watched it many times. Leaping up, I say …
I AM SPARTACUS!
:)
Charle Martel won the battle of Pontiers/tours. He was the grandson of Charlemange, so I understand the mistake.
The strategy of Spartacus army is simple- they wanted to loot and rape. You could only do that in Itally. That is way they did not escape when they had the chance.
It is about time for a series on Belisarius. The average american would be fascinated by the politics of the ancient world. Then again I am one of the few people who liked the movie Alexander the great.
Hmmm.. how about Kim Kattrell as Theodora?
Lets do lunch!
In the movie “Gladiator”, the Emperor Commodus (River Phoenix) is consumed with fear of the Roman people and believes he can maintain power only through manipulating public opinion. Does it sound familiar? The Byzantine Empire was destroyed not by its political opponents, but by internal Byzantine politics.
freshair, your advice is the best given so far, I think!
Interested to know what you thought of the Colleen McCullough series of big fat Roman novels. I’m sheepish to admit they marked the beginning of my classical education. Unlike the scattered sources, they provided a coherent and sequential narrative, so you can keep it all in your head effortlessly, like a sprawling Dickens novel. And even if she had to make a lot up, she was accurate on the documented history.
VDH; I still believe that the Derek JacobI I CLAUDIUS series done back in the 70′S for PBS stands alone as still the standard for the best kind of production one can hope for. It did for the historical narrative what Burns did for the historical Doc with THE CIVIL WAR.
For some reason the Brits are just way better at this than we are – although I do admire what Speilberg and Hanks have done – and are doing with PACIFIC.
While I haven’t been too taken with the Masterpiece Theater’s mostly 19th century bio-pics of the past decade -what Merchant and Ivory did – I mean the list is endless – American filmakers just can’t measure up when it comes to period drama.
As for those seeking solice following the Obamacare mess – I suggest hitting up Netflix for a relevant 10 part that also ran many years ago on PBS – THE CITADEL.
It chronicals the labor parties corrupt take over of the british medical community – in the ‘between the war’ crucial period that forshadowed the Empires fall – during the 30′s – right through until its final stranglehold prior to WWII.
Viewer beware – there are a lot of antidotial similarities to form letters being sent out today by surgeons and the like informing patients they no longer will be taking participating Medicare recipients….
sorry, sometimes fiction is even more scary than fact – when holding up a mirror.
Spartacus blood and Sand. Depraved Debauched and Disgusting – is an object lesson. This is what life was like before Christianity. Oddly enough, aside from the killings in the ring, it looks like today. An inadvertent(?) commentary on a post christian world?
Today, in our homeschool, we read about Justinian and Belisarius! Wonderful to read a bit more about him then was covered in our brief chapter; will be adding this to our dinner conversation. VDH, please do write a treatment so that when we circle back around to this topic in high school there will be an excellent bio-pic to add to our curriculum! Eight years is enough time, isn’t it?!
#44 and #45. . . . right on!!!
Well, based on your review, I decided to watch an episode of Sparticus hoping for some gratuitous sex, female nudity and orgies. Instead, I got almost non-stop beheadings, slashings, stabbings, and burnings. Many in slow motion to boot. What a science fiction writer friend likes to call “kill porn”. This Sparticus bears little resemblance to the series Rome. This is really more like a Romanized version of 300. However, one that makes little sense, unlike 300, which was about something important.
James Cromwell for the part of Narses? Or is he too manly?
Looks like we could all use some more freshair…..
23. Jim Haney jr.: Agreed regarding Colonel Del Valle, who commanded the 11th Marines; Goggle it and look it up in Franks’s history of Guadacanal or Griffith’s “The Battle for Guadacanal,” page 74.
The 164th Infantry, North Dakota ARNG, had been part of the 34th Infantry Division before the 34th ID was changed from a square division to a triangular division. The 164th Infantry became part of the Americal Division, which was one of the major commands replacing the 1st MarDiv there. Also, the WestPac war, and Army involvements, is mostly unknown to many Americans, IMHO. The 164th Inf earned much respect from the Marines and from history.
I have little knowledge of other Marine units since my son was in the 1st MarDiv, Wpns/2/5, in those seemingly long past cold war days, 1996-2000.
But, about the time frame emphasized in the mini-series, my previous comments above seemed adequate.
Cheers, and Professor, keep on coming with your essays and articles.
I think in the west there has been a general disparagement of Byzantium. To medieval Europeans, they were the people that broke the unity of Christendom; have in league with the Saracens. To Renaissance and Enlightenment Europe, Byzantium was a shadow of great Rome, a corrupt image of the once great civilization. I think that has come down through today.
How about a miniseries based on Procopius’s Secret History?
Re: Don (39)
Yeah, how awesome would that be, to actually see some attempt at re-creating the Byzantine archer/lancer cavalry.
Currently reading Edward Luttwak’s new book on Byzantine Grand Strategy.
The Byzantine’s have to be one of the most underrated political powers (in addition to being ignored)in history. So sad.
48. G.L. Alston: Many thanks. Now I’m truly glad not to have the Showtime channel. The Spartacus mini-series sounds terrible, maybe it’s just another Hollyweird twisting of reality.
Cheers and remember when we were a strong country and proud to be so.
Oh there are so many such film and mini-series possibilities in the ancient histories and poems. Belisarius is one that jumps out, especially for the backdrop possibilities of thinking about Christianity and warfare and the near total neglect in film of Byzantium, although I think it’d have to be a miniseries. And since we’re all so mature about male nudity now, someone could dare a shot at the has-it-all story of Alcibiades, although an honest treatment would likely be bitterly opposed by some gays in the arts community.
Others I think promising:
a) Xenophon and the 10,000
b) Dion
c) Camillus
d) Demosthenes v. Macedon
e) Themistocles v. Aristedes/ Salamis
An editing glitch here, I believe:
“[...]or the creepy SS division of the Wehrmacht[...]”
The notorious Waffen SS were not a “division” of the Wehrmacht but a separate service arm (from the Wehrmacht/regular army, Kriegsmarine/navy, and Luftwaffe/air force) that fought with the Wehrmacht. It counted something like 30 divisions eventually, although its effective strength was much lower.
VDH,
Surely you must recognise the appearance of a nude Lucy Lawless can only enhance the historical accuracy of any period drama.
JBW
I’m sorry, but the 1st MarDiv had it “easy” compared to what the “Creepy” SS divisions endured on the Eastern Front.
Their performance at Kharkov in the winter of ’43 should put to bed your statenment about the 1st MarDiv.
The Marines on the Canal never came close to elimination.
VDH,
Regards Sparacus, Blood & Sand, why are you surprised?
Hollywood managed with Hell’s Gate to turn the ultimate WW2
sniper dual between the top Nazi and top Soviet sniper in Stalingrad into a
bad love story.
Hollywood no longer has the talent to do a really good war film or historical piece
that doesn’t reflect current internal Hollywood politics.
Speilberg and Hanks together come the closest, but they don’t hold a candle to the
old Wayne/Houston films like In Harm’s Way or Horse Soldier.
Doug Wright (#63), “the WestPac war, and Army involvements, is mostly unknown to many Americans, IMHO. The 164th Inf earned much respect from the Marines and from history.” Agreed, Mr. Wright… the history of the WWII PTO has morphed in popular memory into one of the USMC and USN island-hopping campaign, while neglecting the vast efforts of the US Army and USAAF in the SWPOA area of operations under MacArthur, let alone the CBI theater. It is not well-known but it is a historical fact that the US Army conducted more amphibious operations, involving more troops, than the Marine Corps. None of this is to diminish the heroic record of the USMC, only to note that such honors are also due the US Army.
Rusty (#70), “I’m sorry, but the 1st MarDiv had it ‘easy’ compared to what the ‘Creepy’ SS divisions endured on the Eastern Front.” Rusty, do you really want to go down this road, i.e., arguing over whose battles were the most demanding, etc.? Isn’t that pointless? Regardless of what happened on the Eastern front, the tremendous hardship suffered by the Marines on Guadalcanal, Cape Glochester, and similar locales cannot be denied. Don’t take my word for it, either; go visit the Solomon Islands sometime, or New Guinea. Trying to compare warfare on the Eastern front to that in the Pacific, is not entirely a valid comparison. Lastly, given that they fought in service of one of the most evil men and ideologies in history, I have a tough time caring about the fate of the Waffen SS or any of the other committed Nazis who wore the “Death’s Head” on their uniforms. Most were war criminals and deserved their fate, however horrific it may have been.
Boy, this is a well-read population of people. Anyone who has also read Graves is fine by me. ^_^
I would also like to see a production based on the life of Belisarius, although it would be nice if Procpius’s works were adapted on a balanced measure. His Ancedota is way too much along the lines of gossip-mongering, although it would certainly make for a juicy production. Sort of like the way Graves shamelessly adapted Suetonius at face value, trusting the reader would enjoy the titillation but get the point.
For Spartacus, it’s really hard to beat the Kirk Douglas movie, so the Starz series has a high bar to clear. The cable-rated antics do sound gratuitous, but that might also be a good point. The Roman Republic at the time of Spartacus was becoming greedy and gluttonous in a decidedly indulgent way after forming its ever-growing empire. Spartacus took on the pre-Christian Roman system that was losing its earlier Classical morality, with the Messiah another century or so away. Of a dramatic necessity, the rebelling Spartacists have to be contrasted against the self-corrupting patricians who viewed them as little more than talking cattle or lapdogs.
I really like the way you create and also the theme on your blog. Did you code this by yourself or was it accomplished by a specialist? I’m relatively quite impressed.