Can’t help but tear up seeing the charismatic Augustus (played by Brian Blessed) one last time. He was the only one who was kind to Claudius and not trying to manipulate him.
He was born to play Augustus. :) In the book Augustus is shown to be much more noble than his real life counterpart. Even with the tyrant Tiberius became in the book/adaption, I can't help but to pity him. He gave up the love of his life and had to do awful things to become emperor... And that didn't make him the least bit happy.
I love this scene, though wish Claudius could have seen his father or brother. Germanicus, the only person who was kind to him through his entire life, would have been proud! Might have been a bit awkward, though, having a "reunion" between he and his son, Gaius Caligula!
@@charlesdebarber2997 physically Brian Blessed looked nothing like Augustus, who was weak and sickly his entire life, while Brian's always been built like a tank (he looks like he could dead lift a bus in Flash Gordon); however, he was perfectly cast because he could portray the intellect and absolute power of Augustus' charisma and personality. George Baker was masterful as Tiberius, who gets a raw deal in the book and film, as most of his depravities on Capri were either exaggerated or outright fabrications. Of course there's no getting around the Sejanus debacle. Yet he still does come across as a sympathetic character, especially after what happened between he and Vipsania, who the series never mentions was Agrippa's daughter. Twisted, that Tiberius is forced to divorce Agrippa's daughter in order to marry Agrippa's widow.
@@Magplar - they're very different types of show. I prefer I Claudius but Rome isn't bad. Rome is less historically accurate, making a lot of strange changes, focuses on many totally made up side plots and cuts out some really juicy stuff. I think Rome captures the aesthetic of Rome better than this show, which always seemed like 1970s English people in togas, it also focuses more on plebs than this which is entirely focused on the nobles.
The only one that sat badly with me was Livia. Though she spend her life hating Claudius for being stupid and infirm, at the end she realized he was probably the smartest one of all. I would have liked to see some grudging respect from her - especially as he kept the promise that Caligula didn't and deified her.
Yeah, it's kind of odd that LIvia doesn't seem the least bit grateful for that considering how desperate she was for it to happen. But I suppose this is just a delusion from Claudius' mind and it's how he thinks they'd talk to him, not how it would actually go down if it was real.
I have thought about it for years, and this is what I think. Livia is calling Claudius a fool, because, well that's what he turns out to be. He sold out his soul and the well-being of his people in vain attempt to return to republican times. He could have chosen to die instead of being emperor in the first place, and he'd seen far less worthy people than him make that kind of choice easily. That's a pretty high bar to pass, but he still choose the wrong path. It is implied, in the moment, that he wants the head of the man who came and hurt his extended family. After becoming what he has hated his whole life to get that man's life, he becomes focused on his need for vengeance, cloaked in a paper-thin justifications and wishful thinking and thus poorly and unsuccessfully planned and executed, against that same family. They are so unjust and evil, that they must be given power to be unjust and evil, to show the whole world that, well, they are bad people. I'm sure Nero's victims got the point, but probably didn't think the old fool that put this murderous little shit in charge was, uh, just and wise in doing that. As ruler, he could have exiled the last of his rotten extended family, taught his son how to rule as a good emperor, and accepted that a good and just king mastering and restraining a bad system is better than a theoretically good system run by evil men. Britianicaus tells him this blunt to his face, Tiberius does as well ("It wasn't worth it, was it?"), Caligula and Augustus are implied to think this (Caligula is basically saying "lol we both fooled ourselves, isn't that crazy" and Augustus is being kind to beloved and loyal kin, but remains very condescending to a guy he thinks proved himself a fellow fool), and Livia, well, she's just gets right to the point of how she feels. Now that I think of it, Claudius doomed and dumb end run around fate and history is the only time I think we see him do something stupid or foolish on purpose.
@@AaronNorris-g3fnice analysis. The heroic Republican figures (such as Claudius’ father Drusus, Claudius himself, and the guard Cassius Charea), are ideological extremists. People like them would let the entire country rot, just as long as the senators and the noble ones have freedom of speech. Even in the book, it is noted that nobody wants a Republic and everybody is used to a monarchy, and yet Claudius still decides to “show the nature of kings” through Nero. No wonder Livia considers him a fool.
I was a small (and somewhat odd) kid when this tv series was aired. And I still remember it. There was something fascinating about it. I watched Pink Panther, Tom & Jerry, Moonbase Alpha, Six Million Dollar Man etc ... and this. I also remember how some grown ups discussed this, especially my father's cousin, who was a mostly silent and introvert man, interested in history. Strange, this one, indeed, nothing anyone would produce today. And I remember THIS scene!
Though not really accurate, still the best non-documentary depiction of the Roman Royal Family ever. Blessed and Jacobi played thier parts to perfection, and John Hurt's portrayal of Caligula was epic.
While I absolutely love this scene, I was a bit sad that Claudius doesn't get to see his father or brother. Imagine Drusus' reaction that his youngest son, who never knew him, and was regarded as the most insignificant member of the imperial family, eventually became emperor! Oh, and Gaius Caligula has the best line of all in this scene. 😄
Love that scene. Even though they were both nascent Republicans, Augustus and Claudius had to play with the hand that was dealt to them. In the end what Claudius cared about was that he had done right by Augustus, and he knew that he had.
@@KumarAnshs Um, no he didn't. James Faulkner (Herod Agrippa) is still quite alive and active today. His most recent appearance in anything was in The Devil Conspiracy (2022) and two episodes of the television series Slow Horses. He was in Downton Abbey and Game Of Thrones. He remains in the businesses as both an actor and producer. Don't know where you got the idea he died.
Actually we have records of letters between Augustus and Livia discussing Claudius as a child- one that comes to mind has Augustus saying he was surprised and impressed by Claudius’ public oratory, as apparently he could control his stutter in a scripted speech. It seems that Augustus did see sparks of potential, even if it was never realized in his reign
Can’t help but tear up seeing the charismatic Augustus (played by Brian Blessed) one last time. He was the only one who was kind to Claudius and not trying to manipulate him.
He was born to play Augustus. :) In the book Augustus is shown to be much more noble than his real life counterpart.
Even with the tyrant Tiberius became in the book/adaption, I can't help but to pity him. He gave up the love of his life and had to do awful things to become emperor... And that didn't make him the least bit happy.
And the Imperial Freedman Narcissus. He wanted to warn Claudius about his awful wives and protect him from poisoning.
@@davidodonnell1807He tried to protect Claudius’ son Britannicus too.😢
I love this scene, though wish Claudius could have seen his father or brother. Germanicus, the only person who was kind to him through his entire life, would have been proud! Might have been a bit awkward, though, having a "reunion" between he and his son, Gaius Caligula!
@@charlesdebarber2997 physically Brian Blessed looked nothing like Augustus, who was weak and sickly his entire life, while Brian's always been built like a tank (he looks like he could dead lift a bus in Flash Gordon); however, he was perfectly cast because he could portray the intellect and absolute power of Augustus' charisma and personality. George Baker was masterful as Tiberius, who gets a raw deal in the book and film, as most of his depravities on Capri were either exaggerated or outright fabrications. Of course there's no getting around the Sejanus debacle. Yet he still does come across as a sympathetic character, especially after what happened between he and Vipsania, who the series never mentions was Agrippa's daughter. Twisted, that Tiberius is forced to divorce Agrippa's daughter in order to marry Agrippa's widow.
I find this series just as riveting today as it was for me back in 1976!
In my humble opionion........ much much better than Game of Thrones
CORRECT
Have you watched HBO’s Rome? If you have, how would you compare I, Claudius to it?
I'm sorry, I've never seen it. Didn't it have the slogan "Make love and war"
@@Magplar
@@Magplar - they're very different types of show. I prefer I Claudius but Rome isn't bad.
Rome is less historically accurate, making a lot of strange changes, focuses on many totally made up side plots and cuts out some really juicy stuff.
I think Rome captures the aesthetic of Rome better than this show, which always seemed like 1970s English people in togas, it also focuses more on plebs than this which is entirely focused on the nobles.
@@MagplarJust compare I, Claudius' dialogue to that of Rome. Rome is very corny in comparison.
Here in Peru (South America) was a huge success. Still remember this BBC masterpiece. Great performances😊
So now we know what Mitch McConnell is seeing
The only one that sat badly with me was Livia. Though she spend her life hating Claudius for being stupid and infirm, at the end she realized he was probably the smartest one of all. I would have liked to see some grudging respect from her - especially as he kept the promise that Caligula didn't and deified her.
Yeah, it's kind of odd that LIvia doesn't seem the least bit grateful for that considering how desperate she was for it to happen. But I suppose this is just a delusion from Claudius' mind and it's how he thinks they'd talk to him, not how it would actually go down if it was real.
I have thought about it for years, and this is what I think. Livia is calling Claudius a fool, because, well that's what he turns out to be.
He sold out his soul and the well-being of his people in vain attempt to return to republican times. He could have chosen to die instead of being emperor in the first place, and he'd seen far less worthy people than him make that kind of choice easily. That's a pretty high bar to pass, but he still choose the wrong path. It is implied, in the moment, that he wants the head of the man who came and hurt his extended family. After becoming what he has hated his whole life to get that man's life, he becomes focused on his need for vengeance, cloaked in a paper-thin justifications and wishful thinking and thus poorly and unsuccessfully planned and executed, against that same family. They are so unjust and evil, that they must be given power to be unjust and evil, to show the whole world that, well, they are bad people. I'm sure Nero's victims got the point, but probably didn't think the old fool that put this murderous little shit in charge was, uh, just and wise in doing that.
As ruler, he could have exiled the last of his rotten extended family, taught his son how to rule as a good emperor, and accepted that a good and just king mastering and restraining a bad system is better than a theoretically good system run by evil men. Britianicaus tells him this blunt to his face, Tiberius does as well ("It wasn't worth it, was it?"), Caligula and Augustus are implied to think this (Caligula is basically saying "lol we both fooled ourselves, isn't that crazy" and Augustus is being kind to beloved and loyal kin, but remains very condescending to a guy he thinks proved himself a fellow fool), and Livia, well, she's just gets right to the point of how she feels.
Now that I think of it, Claudius doomed and dumb end run around fate and history is the only time I think we see him do something stupid or foolish on purpose.
@@AaronNorris-g3fnice analysis. The heroic Republican figures (such as Claudius’ father Drusus, Claudius himself, and the guard Cassius Charea), are ideological extremists. People like them would let the entire country rot, just as long as the senators and the noble ones have freedom of speech. Even in the book, it is noted that nobody wants a Republic and everybody is used to a monarchy, and yet Claudius still decides to “show the nature of kings” through Nero. No wonder Livia considers him a fool.
@@AaronNorris-g3f He allowed Nero because he knew Nero would fall.
I was a small (and somewhat odd) kid when this tv series was aired. And I still remember it. There was something fascinating about it. I watched Pink Panther, Tom & Jerry, Moonbase Alpha, Six Million Dollar Man etc ... and this. I also remember how some grown ups discussed this, especially my father's cousin, who was a mostly silent and introvert man, interested in history. Strange, this one, indeed, nothing anyone would produce today. And I remember THIS scene!
This scene is a stroke of genius.
Greatest TV series of all time.
Totally agree with you!
By a country mile!
I second that motion.
Though not really accurate, still the best non-documentary depiction of the Roman Royal Family ever. Blessed and Jacobi played thier parts to perfection, and John Hurt's portrayal of Caligula was epic.
A majestically poignant acting tribute by the magnificent Derek Jacobi to the late, great Emperor Claudius...
Late . he’s still alive
I meant Emperor Claudius not Jacobi@@joshuamorgan8919
@@joshuamorgan8919 Claudius not Jacobi?
lol look at august just marching up like the GOAT
This scene is a bonafide tear jerker!
While I absolutely love this scene, I was a bit sad that Claudius doesn't get to see his father or brother. Imagine Drusus' reaction that his youngest son, who never knew him, and was regarded as the most insignificant member of the imperial family, eventually became emperor! Oh, and Gaius Caligula has the best line of all in this scene. 😄
The great Drusus. This series is a gem.
To be the one to notice Claudius was dreaming awake and not even talk to him, that was 100% Tiberius.
Greatest miniseries of all time.
Bit teared up for this scene. Didnt expect to feel that for this show.
Love that scene. Even though they were both nascent Republicans, Augustus and Claudius had to play with the hand that was dealt to them. In the end what Claudius cared about was that he had done right by Augustus, and he knew that he had.
I love this scene. Magnificent.
The supreme scene of the supreme series, the main players assembled one more time to see Clau-Clau.
Before the show: "who is claudius?"
After this show: "i would give my for my emperor. Claudius the great! Claudius the wise! Long live Claudius!!!!!"
Brilliance.
They don’t make actors like this anymore
2:26 - A prophecy about the book
and the tv series!
I want to know more about the senate during the empire
'Gordon's alive!!!!'
My late mother worked on that show she said it was cursed.
Stop. You're freaking me out, man.
I would be interested to hear more! Why did she think it was cursed?
Every show made in the 1970s was cursed on account of all the cocaine
@@IJBLondonYou do know that the actor who played Herod Agrippa died in the studio right? Another actor did the voice of the letter.
@@KumarAnshs Um, no he didn't. James Faulkner (Herod Agrippa) is still quite alive and active today. His most recent appearance in anything was in The Devil Conspiracy (2022) and two episodes of the television series Slow Horses. He was in Downton Abbey and Game Of Thrones. He remains in the businesses as both an actor and producer. Don't know where you got the idea he died.
He was not that old, just 63, but he lived extremely unhealthy. Most likely he was not poisoned.
Tell that to the mushrooms. Mushrooms are very untrustworthy.
Time for Stuart to live with Freddie in a flat in London
Great series but i doubt that the real August was this friendly to the real Claudius
Actually we have records of letters between Augustus and Livia discussing Claudius as a child- one that comes to mind has Augustus saying he was surprised and impressed by Claudius’ public oratory, as apparently he could control his stutter in a scripted speech. It seems that Augustus did see sparks of potential, even if it was never realized in his reign
@@k8ysk8 I said he was never friendly to him nothing about oratory abilities