Writers: Georgann Kane, steven Manuel, Chris Ould
Composer: Ilan Eshkeri
Starring: Robert Shannon, Derek Lea, Jamel Aroui, Lotfi Dziri, Hichem Rostom, Dorra Zarrouk, Ross Kemp, Michael Pennington
More info: IMDb
Plot: Verus, a slave captured in the Balkans, sees a gladiatorial career in the arena as a preferable alternative to life in a rock quarry.
My rating: 8.5/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
This fascinating documentary/drama tells the true account of a slave, Verus, who became a gladiator and fought in the opening games of the newly built Colosseum in 18 C.E.. Like the POMPEII: THE LAST DAYS (2003) film that accompanies it on the BBC DVD, I learned a lot from this, more than I already knew about this period and of the lives of gladiators (I really should pick up a book sometimes). Because of the nature of the subject, there's a lot of action and some violence so the fun factor is way up before it gets going. It's a lot of fun and I highly recommend taking 45 minutes out of your day to watch it (free on YouTube above). The DVD offers a nice anamorphic widescreen print and you get more extras for this one than you do the POMPEII film with close to a half hour of interviews with many folks involved with the many aspects of making the picture as well as 5 trailers for other BBC documentaries.
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