I, Claudius Worth a blind purchase? (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Jr.]

Hi everyone,
Yes this is my first post and I am a newbie. WOO HOO! Now that I have made a fool of myself I have a question. Is the current I, Claudius dvd box set worth a blind purchase? I have always wanted to see this series and have never caught it on PBS. Also curious if this is a 5 or 3 disc set and how is the audio/video quality.
THANKS

 

[Jesse Leonard]

I had originally planned on blind purchasing this, also. But then I caught an episode on PBS and I am glad that I didn't. My opinion is that this is definetly a rental first (or hopefully catch an episode on PBS).

 

[Allan Petersen]

I love this series but I haven't gotten around to buying the DVD release yet (too many titles on my wishlist:b).
Don't expect great visuals, however. I know people who will never watch it because of the theatre-like production. The sets and costumes are nice but don't expect Gladiator-style production values. This is television drama, and very good drama IMO.
EDIT: Oh, where are my manners? WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

 

[Kevin M]

You can rent it through Netflix. I did and I loved it but it isn't for everyone.

 

[Peter McM]

I've loved this drama ever since it debuted in the '70s. The DVD is the full version with all the tidbits (read, nudity ) that American PBS always edits.
A wonderful transfer, the only noticeable age showing during the opening theme. Sound is good also.
Best fringe benefit of this series? Patrick Stewart with hair!

 

[Steve Schaffer]

The technical quality is probably as good as it can be considering the source. I'm under the impression that this was a videotaped program originally, not filmed, and 70s videotape quality wasn't as good as today's.

Production values are not high-budget movie level. This was basically a videotaped stage play, on a relatively low budget.

The story, writing, and acting are all excellent and more than make up for any shortcomings in production values or technical quality.

I think there were 3 and 5 disc sets because one set used dvd-18 and the other is dvd-9, content is the same on both sets.

 

[Julian Lalor]

Great series, which looks pretty OK for its age given the source material. Try to get the DVD9 Box Set though; I have the DVD-18 set and some of the discs pixelate, freeze and jump on certain scenes. I'll be replacing it with the R2 due later this year which has more extras than the R1.

 

[Johnny Jr.]

Thanks for the info. I will definitaly stick to the 5-disc set. my problem is that I am a HUGE patrick stewart fan and into the Roman Empire. I think I am leaning to a Blind Purchase...lol

 

[andrew markworthy]

I've been waiting for the R2 version for what seems like an eternity. Curious how Brideshead Revisited and I, Claudius, two of the biggest Brit TV dramas of their era are unreleased in the UK, but we get Friends before you guys. It's a funny world at times.

Anyway, to address the topic thread. If you've read and liked the books, then the TV series is a must-buy. Otherwise, rent it or watch it on a re-run first. However, make sure you watch it from the start - sure, you can dip into individual episodes, but you really have to watch this series in its intended sequence to get what all the fuss is about. This is also a series which repays repeated watching, because there are nuances planted in it which you won't get until you know what's going to follow.

 

[HienN]

I, Claudius is great. Great drama, great dialogue, and there is enough violence and nudity to keep things interesting. It is about 10 hours long, but I would recommend you watch it as a long weekend project becasue the plot is very well interwoven as andrew markworthy mentioned above.
Not sure if you have Borders bookstores in Canada, but they used to have this series on DVD on sale at a very low price. I missed it but later got it with a 20% off coupon. Well worth the money.

 

[Ken Stuart]

IMHO one of the two or three best TV series of all time.
If I had to recommend:
- just one thing that someone could do to understand human nature, or
- just one thing that someone could do to prepare themselves for life as an adult, or
- just one thing that someone could do to understand politicians, such as the Clintons,
that one thing would be to watch the TV series "I, Claudius".
PS Outside of all that, I generally don't recommend that people buy DVD's of anything they have not already viewed, because everyone's taste is different, and IMHO DVD purchases are for the purpose of collecting best-loved movies and programs, not unseen ones. On the other hand, there are people who never rent anything, and just sell off what they don't like on ebay...