Writers: Edward Canfor-Dumas, Peter Nicholson
Composer: Ty Unwin
Starring: Alisdair Simpson, Tim Pigott-Smith, Jim Carter, Jonathan Firth, Rebecca Clarke, Inika Leigh Wright, Martin Hodgson
More info: IMDb
Plot: A dramatized recreation of the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
My rating:7/10
Will I watch it again? No.
The good? The science and documentary portions of this picture. The bad? Well, it's not bad but the dramatic recreations tend to linger too long. At only 50 minutes, this docudrama does a great job of presenting what we know (which is a lot more than you'd think) of what happened to Mt. Vesuvius on August 25, 79 C.E.. That was fascinating. The dramatic "story" bits are interesting but only to a point. I found too many scenes hanging around longer than they should, making me anxious to get tot he real meat of the story. Finding out the details of what happened in the hours after the eruption was remarkable and it makes this a must-watch for fans of ancient history. The BBC DVD has a great anamorphic widescreen print. The DVD also includes another like film called COLOSSEUM: A GLADIATOR'S STORY (which is more fun to watch) and you get some good extras for each picture. The ones for this film include interviews with the producer/director and costumer (about 11 minutes in total). You also get 5 trailers for other BBC documentaries. You don't need the DVD to see it. It's available for free on YouTube (above).
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