Eight Days That Made Rome

The 8 episodes are great. Ver informative, and really you couldn't ask for more content by way of enactment. However, if you're looking for historical accuracy by way of reference to other academics or academic material, your sorely out of luck. Whilst each episode is worth the watch, several times over, you're never going to get a complete picture, as there is so much re-enactment, it actually gets in the way of telling the entire story. Like Spartacus (episode 2) where 15 minutes is given to actors playing Spartacus, is an episode lasting only 42 mins, so you actually gain more Knowledge watching the move than you do this documentary. Which is a shame, because this documentary is otherwise very good, if you leave out the silly enactments! But would I buy it again, yes. Could it have been made better? Yes! But I would still recommend!

Well up to Bettany Hughes’ usual high level of presentation this is a series of eight separate pieces and whilst you might quibble about a one or more of the choices of specific days you cannot argue with the Hughes’ enthusiasm for her subject. If I had to have one criticism it would be the, to my mind, overenthusiastic use of re-enactors. Yes, they might bring some aspects of the episode to life but they are often historically inaccurately used, i.e. they are “out of period” and are inserted to, apparently, liven up the episode – something really not necessary, and the sections simply go on for too long. For a professional academic I have no doubt that there might be a criticism of a lack of balance in some parts of the presentation but these are NOT academic lectures but superb programmes for the general public. I have to say that I love Hughes’ presentation style; it does not talk down to you and instead you almost feel that you have a well-informed friend as a guide. Excellent entertainment, great history and well presented. TV doesn’t get any better.

I enjoyed this series. Bettany Hughes really gets over her passion for presenting Rome's history. That being said, Rome's history is a long and storied one, and I'm convinced that this series could've ran far longer than 8 episodes and not lacked for substance. If we're looking at events that 'made' Rome then I feel like other things could've been explored, like the end of the rule of kings and the birth of the republic, the Marian reforms which replaced the citizen army for the professional army, and the great fire and Nero's rebuilding of the city. I do however appreciate that maybe that's just me being overly enthusiastic for the subject. In any case what is there is a good watch and it's certainly a better class of documentary compared to other documentaries on Rome, like those from the History channel for example. I'd certainly watch this again.

Excellent history. The narration is both pleasant to listen to and is very informative, easy paced and one comes away "on each day" with a good understanding of the event(s), the persons/ personalities involved, the political and military events, and outcomes. The product is very well filmed the locations take you right to the spot and the values of the series have been well set and maintained.

The Romans come to life in this incredible, well prepared & accurate account of events during their rise from a city, to conquering Italy, the surrounding Mediterranean countries & even my precious England. The most amazing factual presentation by Bethany Hughes is worth more than an Oscar. BRILLIANT.

Educational and entertaining.

Fantastic series. Bought it after visiting Rome, and inspired me to sign up for a degree in Classical Studies. Not everyone's cup of tea but if you're into history/ancient history you'll love it.

As I watch this series when it was on TV. I found it very interesting and rewarding. Now I can watch it over and over again at my leisure.

Excellent excellent

As usual, Bettany’s knowledge and love of history, combined with her personal style, make for a rewarding experience. I hadn’t realized when I’d initially ordered the DVD set that it was a Region 2 release and would not be playable on my Sony Blu-Ray as we live in the U.S. But as long as I was on Amazon, I bought a surprisingly affordable multi-region, code zone free DVD player and I was enjoying Ms Hughes’ documentary within two days. The DVD is fantastic; well-worth purchasing a player just to enjoy it. I’ll be acquiring many more of her Region 2 DVDs now.

USA is typically Region 1 so your DVD player won't play this disc. The item description clearly states this is Region 2, but I wasn't paying attention.

Beautifully produced and historically informative. She knows how to present it in a way that is engaging and interesting along with the historical reenactments. Loved it on tv will enjoy it on dvd with no commercials to teach my son with.

A lucid, succinct and amazingly substantive. A superlative presentation, particularly when one considers the daunting subject being addressed. Well worth adding to one's DVD library.