Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

MartinHafer Although I adore the wonderful British mini-series, "I, Claudius", I had no idea that decades earlier there was a movie version in the works...a movie project that never was completed. I am actually thankful for that, as a film never could have adequately captured Robert Graves' two novels about the early Roman emperors....plus, perhaps if the film HAD been made, the mini-series never would have been made.In this made for television documentary, the great British actor Dirk Bogarde not only talks about this aborted film but introduces many surviving members of the cast to talk about the film (including, among others, Josef von Sternberg, Merle Oberon, Flora Robson, Robert Graves and Emlyn Williams). Additionally, much of the existing scenes from the film are shown. And, through seeing them, you can only assume that the makers of the mini-series must have watched these clips and used them in writing this....some are nearly word-for-word...and some aren't even close (such as Messalina's reaction when she meets Claudius).This is a marvelous film...but one that folks who never saw the mini-series or read the books would not enjoy. But for fans, it is an absolute must-see and an extremely interesting television documentary.

mark.waltz "Clash of the Titans" has two things in common with "I, Claudius": two actresses who played the role of Roman empress Livia. Sian Phillips looked like a young Livia from the BBC production of Robert Graves' novel, playing a Greek queen, while Flora Robson from the unfortunate, uncompleted version had a cameo as a soft-spoken witch. Corruption in the courts of the ancient world were common place no matter what part of the world they were from, it was all the same. Poison was queen, figs could be dangerous when ripe, and fifteen year old girls could be insatiable nymphomaniacs. Such is the ancient world. Such was the renaissance world, and such is the modern world. The Alexander Korda production directed by Joseph von Sternberg never made it to completion, and this fabulous documentary explains why. What was filmed is presented, and four of the major characters are seen here: Charles Laughton's Claudius, Emlyn Williams' Caligula, Flora Robson's Livia and Merle Oberon's Messalina. So where are Tiberius, Antonia, Serjanus and Nero (among others)? Unseen here, either cut out of the final script or not yet cast or filmed most likely. What is here is a profile of British filmmaking, often overshadowed by Hollywood. Laughton's inability to find his character (although he had already played Claudius's adopted son/great nephew Nero), other principal casting, and ultimately Oberon's accident. What remains gives a glimpse into the four characters who made the later T.V. mini-series. Laughton, Williams and Robson are letter perfect in their parts, but Oberon is obviously wrong for the role of a teenaged girl. Dirk Bogarde adds class as the narrator with the surviving actors determined to share their experiences. This is a must, especially if you have just seen the T.V. production.

Matthew Kresal Having recently picked up the well known BBC miniseries of I, Claudius I was surprised to see this little documentary as a special feature. To describe it as a DVD special feature is an understatement of the highest order. The Epic That Never was is an amazing look at the first film attempt to make I, Claudius that reveals a lost film in all its splendor.Actor Dirk Bogarde hosts this collection of surviving footage, retrospective interviews and footage of the studio where it was filmed as it looked in the mid-1960's. The interviews reveal the thoughts and remembrances of several cast and crew members looking nearly three decades back on the doomed production with some interesting thoughts. All the while Bogarde gives linking narration and commentary on the surviving footage. Yet while all this is interesting it isn't the highlight of the documentary.The highlight of this documentary is of course the footage itself. The footage reveals a somewhat lavish production that could rival any of the epic films of the late 1930's. In particular is the performance of Charles Laughton in the title role especially in his speech in front of the Roman senate. If there is any shame to be found in the fact that the 1937 version of I, Claudius it is that most of the world never got the chance to see Laughton's performance and what influence it might have had.The Epic That Never Was is a fine documentary. With its interviews and narration it is better then many of the similar documentaries found on many dvds today. More importantly the footage reveals what could possibly have been a classic. For anyone who enjoyed the BBC miniseries or is curious to see how that tale might have looked go no further.

Doug-193 This is a good, entertaining and revealing document of the abandonment in mid-production of a film spectacle, begun in England in the mid-1930s, but which happily still saw the light of day thanks to the preservation of several reels of assembled footage in mint condition. Those involved in the production still alive by 1964 are interviewed with their slightly divergent points of view, and they are a colorful lot: Von Sternberg, Oberon, Emlyn Williams, Flora Robson. Dirk Bogarde is impeccable as the host-narrator who observes of Charles Laughton, immediately following a stunning monologue, that he was "kissed with genius." And so he was.