Julius Caesar (2002)

Too bad they have the wrong video with this movie. You'd think they'd fix it.

more to entertain than to inform and, sadly it fails to do the former. in 82 BC when the film opens Caesar (born 100 BC) was 18, yet they would have you believe that he had an eight year old daughter. also seems to be an unknown which was not the case. as for Cato, he appears to be years older than Caesar in the film yet in reality was three years younger. also to clarify another reviewer's comments; Cato was Brutus's uncle. he--Cato--shared a mother with Servillia, the mother of Brutus. she was the sister of Livius Drusus, the tribune of the plebeians who was assassinated around 108. her original husband, Caepio father of Servillia, was killed in the east. she then took up with M. Porcius Cato's father. according to Plutarch, Sulla died after having relinquished the office of dictator and retired to the countryside to spend the end of his days in total debauchery.also missing from the film is Crassus and Cicero. to omit these characters is akin to omitting w.t. Sherman and Jefferson Davis from any story about the civil war. as a result the movie is careless in its regard for history. one of the early scenes in the movie involving the pirates is so ignorant of history as to make the viewer throw up their hands in disgust and say 'why was the primary text ignored?' the story of Caesar and the pirates is one of the best stories of his life and it was not given any justice. if one would be interested in roman history i strongly suggest reading up on the harrowing tale of Caesar and the pirates. in the end this movie was in terms of historical accuracy below even the HBO series Rome which was also fairly free in its interpretation of roman history but much more entertaining.

There is a problem with the Roman army's uniforms: in this movie (like in many others about the Roman Empire), the Roman soldiers are not properly equipped; I mean especially the helmets: they have Imperial Italic helmets, but these helmets appeared 40 years after Caesar's death, during the reign of Augustus! In this period (82 – 44 BC), the Roman army used Montefortino and Coolus A-B helmets. Also, in the movie there are some Praetorian soldiers, but these troops were created by Augustus. There are many books and data bases about the Roman army! The Montefortino helmets are much simplier than the helmets used in the movie; so, I think it's easier to "produce" such helmets. If a movie cannot show me the real uniforms, how could it show me the real facts?!

Having been obsessed by Cato the Younger for many years, I received my M.Phil from Oxford with my thesis: Cato the Younger: The Beginnings of his Political Career in the 60s BCE, and my PH.D on: Cato the Younger - Myth and Reality, I was apprehensive about watching this film. However, Christopher Walken was excellent in his portrayal of Cato the Younger. Shunning the more Ciceronian approach, the main thrust of the character was to warn against any individual assuming extraordinary power, in the first instance, Pompey, and much later in the film, Caesar. The warnings of Cato were well acknowledged by the Senate (contrary to the film) and indeed, his influence caused the Senate to refuse Caesar the opportunity to return to Rome as a free citizen, e.g. numerous individuals, including Cato, said that they would prosecute Caesar for his illegal activities whilst consul in 59 BCE. Regardless of the historical inaccuracies in this film (and there are many), nevertheless Walken's performance of Cato is what made this film excellent in my view.