Wednesday, April 8, 2026

I, CLAUDIUS (1976) - Episode 04 - What shall we do about Claudius

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

I, Claudius (1976)

 


I, Claudius (stylised as I·CLAVDIVS) is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' 1934 novel I, Claudius and its 1935 sequel Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it stars Derek Jacobi as Claudius, with Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed, George Baker, Margaret Tyzack, John Hurt, Patricia Quinn, Ian Ogilvy, Kevin McNally, Patrick Stewart and John Rhys-Davies. The series covers the history of the early Roman Empire, told from the perspective of the elderly Emperor Claudius, who narrates the series.

Among many other productions and adaptations, Graves' Claudius novels have also been adapted for a BBC Radio 4 broadcast (2010) and for the stage (1972).

Plot summary and episodes

Main article: List of I, Claudius episodes

I, Claudius follows the history of the early Roman Empire, narrated by the elderly Roman Emperor Claudius, from the year 24 BC to his death in AD 54. The series opens with Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, attempting to find an heir, and his wife, Livia, plotting to elevate her son Tiberius to this position. An expert poisoner, Livia uses the covert assassination and betrayal of her rivals to achieve her aims, beginning with the death in 22 BC of Marcellus. The plotting, double-crossing and murder continue for many decades, through the reign of Tiberius, the political conspiracy of his Praetorian Prefect Sejanus and the depraved rule of the lunatic emperor Caligula, culminating in the accidental rise to power of his uncle Claudius. Claudius' enlightened reign is marred by the betrayals of his adulterous wife Messalina and his boyhood friend Herod Agrippa. Eventually, Claudius comes to accept the inevitability of his assassination and consents to marrying his scheming niece, Agrippina the Younger, clearing the way for the ascent of his mad stepson, Nero, whose disastrous reign Claudius vainly hopes will bring about the restoration of the Roman Republic.

Cast

Major characters
Secondary cast

Note: episodes are the American cut not the original British cut - the difference is the first, double length, episode, A Touch of Murder, is split into 2, normal length episodes, A Touch of Murder & Family Matters, meaning that every subsequent episode number is 1 higher in the American cut than the British cut, so the total number of episodes is 13 in the American cut and 12 in the British cut.

Production

The series was produced by Joan Sullivan and Martin Lisemore, and directed by Herbert Wise. Production was delayed because of complex negotiations between the BBC and the copyright holders of Alexander Korda's aborted 1937 film version. This did, however, give the scriptwriter Jack Pulman more time to fine-tune his script.

The series was shot on videotape in the studios at BBC Television Centre, for artistic rather than budgetary reasons.[1] I, Claudius was made at a relatively low cost of £60,000 for an hour of broadcast material (£404,000 in 2025), in a series that had a total running time of 650 minutes.[2]

As alluded to in the 2002 documentary I, Claudius: A Television Epic, the original version of episode 8, "Zeus, by Jove!", included a closing shot after Caligula has cut the fetus from Drusilla's womb, which was considered very shocking. It was therefore re-edited several times, even on the day of its premiere, by order of Bill Slater, then head of Serials Department. After initial broadcast and a rerun two days later, the scene was edited again, so that the episode is now "somewhat attenuated". The "slightly nastier version" of the episode's closing (a scene that used "makeup on her belly") was allegedly shown twice in 1976, but is now lost since the BBC no longer has a copy of it. Pulman noted that the original script for the episode ended with "a long shot showing the butchered woman hanging on a chariot".[3][4][5]

The 2002 documentary, which features extensive interviews with all the principal cast members, revealed many previously unknown facts about the casting and development of the series, among them being:

  • Derek Jacobi was well down the list of those considered to play Claudius. Among those considered for or offered the part before him were American film star Charlton Heston and British actor-comedian Ronnie Barker. Jacobi explained that he secured the role only after another prominent (unnamed) British actor who had taken the part proved to be unsuitable, and had to be replaced at short notice.
  • Brian Blessed originally auditioned for the role of Tiberius, but was eventually persuaded to play Augustus instead. He recounted some of director Herbert Wise's key pieces of advice on how to play Augustus: Wise told Blessed that he should "be as you are – full of flannel", and that he should always play Augustus as an ordinary person, because the reactions of those around him would make him the Emperor.
  • John Hurt said that he declined the role of Caligula when it was first offered to him. Because of the time-span of the production, the fact that Derek Jacobi would be the only actor to appear in every episode, and the subsequent commitments of the other actors, it was decided that rather than the customary "wrap party" at the end of the series, there would be a special pre-production party instead, to give the entire cast and crew the chance to meet. Hurt explained that series director Herbert Wise deliberately invited him to attend the party, hoping he would reconsider, and that he was so impressed on meeting the cast and crew that he immediately reversed his decision and took the part.
  • Siân Phillips has spoken about her initial struggle to perform the character of Livia, because she focused more on making the character sympathetic and justifying her motives than playing her as straightforwardly evil. "I wasn't achieving anything much... I knew it, and they knew it. They would stand there and look faintly worried."[6] Eventually Herbert Wise told her not to be afraid of playing her camp, saying to "Just be evil. The more evil you are, the funnier it is, and the more terrifying it is."[6]

Music

Wilfred Josephs wrote the title music. David Wulstan and the Clerkes of Oxenford ensemble provided the (diegetic) music for most episodes.

Home media

Cover of the US release of the first I, Claudius DVD

Most VHS and DVD versions of the TV series include the BBC documentary The Epic That Never Was (1965), about the unfinished 1937 Korda film version of the first book, featuring interviews with key production staff and actors, as well as most of the surviving recorded material. The 2002 UK DVD edition also contains a documentary on the series, I, Claudius – a Television Epic, as well as some alternative and deleted scenes. The US DVD release was updated on 2 December 2008 with superior audio and video to the 2000 US DVD version, but it was met with hostile reviews from some customers, citing that some parts were either cut or censored from the original version, and no subtitles or closed captioning were included.[7]

On 27 March 2012, a 35th anniversary edition was released. It includes all 13 episodes (uncut except for the lost footage in "Zeus, by Jove!") on four discs, with SDH subtitles and one disc of bonus features.[8]

Awards and reception

United Kingdom

The initial reception of the show in the UK was negative.[6] However, the series went on to become a huge success with audiences. During its original airing in 1976, the BBC estimated that I, Claudius had an average audience of 2.5 million viewers per episode, based on rating surveys.[9] Among other awards, the series won three BAFTAs in 1977: Derek Jacobi, Best Actor (TV); Siân Phillips, Best Actress (TV); Tim Harvey, Best Design (TV). Director Herbert Wise won Outstanding Contribution Award at BAFTAs in 1978. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, I, Claudius placed 12th.

United States

The series was subsequently broadcast in the United States as part of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre series, where it received critical acclaim. Tim Harvey won a 1978 Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction. The producers and director received Emmy nominations.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a rating of 100% based on 24 critic reviews. The website's consensus reads: "Marrying a trove of terrific actors at their peak with a masterful script that draws from irresistibly juicy source material, I, Claudius transcends its paltry production values to become a gold standard for historical dramas."[10]

Legacy

I, Claudius is frequently cited as one of the best British television shows and one of the best shows in history.[11] In 2007, it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME",[12] and placed at #9 on BBC America's poll of the 10 best British dramas of all time.[13] In 2016, it was ranked #8 out of 11 on The Daily Telegraph's list of groundbreaking British TV moments.[14]

Modern critics are unanimous in their praise for the quality of the screenplay and the actors' performances, particularly those of Siân Phillips and Derek Jacobi.[15][16] The Daily Telegraph opined that the "...lust for power, devious plotting and mesmerising machinations" displayed in the show foreshadowed later series like The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, and House of Cards.[17] The creators of the hit 1980s soap opera, Dynasty, acknowledged that they were seeking to make a modern-day version of I, Claudius.[15] Jace Lacob of The Daily Beast compared the character of Livia Soprano to the character of the same name in I, Claudius, saying that "... there is a whiff of familiarity about his Livia, as though the ghost of Phillips' ancient Roman empress had echoed through millennia to rain chaos upon yet another dynastic clan."[11]

In 2012, Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times credited I, Claudius with transforming the quality of television drama:

With its complex characters and multi-toned narrative, not to mention the high quality of writing, performance and direction, I, Claudius established a timeline that would eventually include the rise of HBO and all its cable competitors. This in turn expanded the palette and quality of network drama and, most recently, persuaded AMC executives to begin original programming.[18]

However, criticism is sometimes levelled at the series over its relatively primitive production quality compared to modern TV drama,[19] with Charlotte Higgins of The Guardian writing that "it's hard to suppress a giggle in the opening scene at Derek Jacobi's make-up and stringy wig."[16]

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Hitchcock (2012)

 


Hitchcock is a 2012 American biographical romantic drama film directed by Sacha Gervasi. Based on Stephen Rebello's Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, it charts the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, during the filming of Psycho in 1959. Hitchcock premiered at the AFI Fest on November 1, 2012, and was released in the US on November 23 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. It grossed $27 million against a $15 million budget.

Plot

In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock opens his latest film, North by Northwest, to both critical and commercial success, but is troubled by a reporter's insinuation that he should retire. Seeking to reclaim the artistic daring of his youth, Hitchcock turns down film proposals, including Casino Royale and The Diary of Anne Frank, in favor of a horror novel called Psycho by Robert Bloch, based on the real-life crimes of murderer Ed Gein. Gein appears in sequences throughout the film, in which he seems to prompt Hitchcock's imagination regarding the Psycho story or act as some function of Hitchcock's subconscious mind.

Hitchcock's wife and artistic collaborator, Alma, is no more enthusiastic about the idea than his colleagues, especially since she is being lobbied by their writer friend, Whitfield Cook, to look at his own screenplay. However, she warms to Hitchcock's proposal, suggesting the innovative plot turn of killing the female lead early in the film. The studio heads at Paramount Pictures prove more difficult to persuade, forcing Hitchcock to finance the film personally and use his Alfred Hitchcock Presents television crew (over at competitor Revue/Universal) to shoot the film, his last under contract to Paramount.

The pressures of the production, such as dealing with Geoffrey Shurlock of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Hitchcock's lecherous habits, such as when they confer with the female lead, Janet Leigh, annoy Alma. She begins a personal writing collaboration with Whitfield Cook on his screenplay at his beach house without Hitchcock's knowledge. Hitchcock eventually discovers what she has been doing and suspects her of having an affair. This concern affects Hitchcock's work on Psycho.

Alma temporarily takes over production of the film when Hitchcock is bedridden after collapsing from overwork, working on a sequence which included a complicated process shot showing Detective Arbogast's demise, with Alma's specification of a 35 mm lens, instead of the 50 mm lens preferred by Hitchcock for this film. Gein draws Hitchcock's attention to sand on his bathroom floor, the quantity of which reveals how much time Alma has been spending at the beach house with Whitfield Cook. Hitchcock eventually confronts Alma and asks her if she is having an affair. Alma angrily denies it.

After his recovery, Hitchcock expresses his disappointment to Vera Miles at how she didn't follow through on his plan to make her the next biggest star after Grace Kelly, but Miles says she is happy with her family life.

Hitchcock's cut of Psycho is poorly received by the studio executives, while Alma discovers Whitfield having sex with a younger woman at his beach house. Hitchcock and Alma reconcile, and they work together in the film's editing room. Their renewed collaboration yields results, culminating in Alma persuading Hitchcock to accept Bernard Herrmann's suggestion for adding harsh strings score to the shower scene.

After maneuvering Shurlock into leaving the film's content largely intact, Hitchcock learns the studio is only going to open the film in two theaters. Hitchcock arranges for special theater instructions to pique the public's interest such as forbidding admittance after the film begins. At the film's premiere, Hitchcock first views the audience from the projection booth, looking out through its small window at them. Hitchcock then waits in the lobby for the audience's reaction to the shower scene, conducting slashing motions as they scream on cue. The film is rewarded with an enthusiastic reception.

With the film's screening so well received, Hitchcock publicly thanks his wife for helping make it possible and they affirm their love and partnership. At the conclusion at his home, Hitchcock addresses the audience noting Psycho proved a major high point of his career and he is currently pondering his next project. A raven lands on his shoulder hinting at his next motion picture, The Birds.

The final title cards say that Hitchcock directed six more films after Psycho, none of which would eclipse its commercial success, and although he never won an Oscar, the American Film Institute awarded him its Life Achievement Award in 1979: an award that he claimed he shared, as he had his life, with his wife, Alma.

Cast

Production

Development

In 2005, it was reported that A&E would produce a television film or miniseries based on Stephen Rebello's book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho.[5] Subsequently, the book was optioned as a major motion picture. In 2007, the Montecito Picture Company, owned by Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock, set up a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures, the original distributor of Psycho. However, after four years of development at Paramount, production moved to Fox Searchlight Pictures.[6]

Sacha Gervasi was in negotiations to direct the dramatic motion picture in November 2011. Early the next month, Gervasi signed on as director with Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren attached to star as Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville, respectively.[6] Black Swan co-writer John J. McLaughlin wrote the first screenplay drafts; subsequently, Rebello wrote additional uncredited drafts that shifted the story's focus away from Ed Gein and instead toward the complex personal and professional relationship of Hitchcock and his wife, Reville, during the filming of Psycho.

Casting

Much of the film's casting was announced in March 2012. Scarlett Johansson and James D'Arcy played the stars of Psycho, Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins.[7] Later that month Jessica Biel was cast as Vera Miles.[8] Additional cast members included Toni Collette as the director's trusted assistant Peggy Robertson, Danny Huston as screenwriter-playwright Whitfield Cook, Michael Stuhlbarg as powerful agent and studio boss Lew Wasserman, Michael Wincott as serial killer Ed Gein, Ralph Macchio as screenwriter Joseph Stefano, Richard Portnow as Paramount Pictures boss Barney Balaban, and Wallace Langham as graphic designer Saul Bass.[9][10]

Filming

Principal photography for the film began on April 13 in Los Angeles, with the film retitled as Hitchcock.[11] Filming was wrapped up on May 31 after the completion of a scene set during Psycho's New York City premiere on June 16, 1960.[12]

Music

Main article: Hitchcock (soundtrack)

Danny Elfman composed the film's score.[13] Elfman had previously rerecorded Bernard Herrmann's original score to Psycho in 1998 for Gus Van Sant's 1998 shot-for-shot remake.[14]

The soundtrack album to the film was released by Sony Classical on December 14, 2012.[15]

Release

Hitchcock had a limited release on November 23, 2012, for the film to contend during Oscar season.[16] The film had its world premiere as the opening film of AFI Fest 2012 on November 1 with a gala at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.[17][18]

Hitchcock was released onto DVD and Blu-ray on March 12, 2013, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The home media releases contain several making-of featurettes as well as a commentary between director Sacha Gervasi and author Stephen Rebello, a deleted scene, and the film's theatrical trailer.[19]

Reception

Box office

Hitchcock has earned an estimated $24.7 million worldwide.[4] During its opening on Thanksgiving weekend, the film debuted in 17 theaters and grossed an average of $16,924 per theater.[20]

Critical response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives an approval rating of 59% based on 214 reviews and an average rating of 6.19/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Though it suffers from tonal inconsistency and a lack of truly insightful retrospection, Hitchcock is elevated by inspired performances from its two distinguished leads".[21] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[22]

Soon after the film's world premiere at the AFI Fest 2012, the first reviews of Hitchcock were published. Tom O'Neil of The Huffington Post wrote: "When the film unspooled at AFI Fest on Thursday night, the audience burst into wild huzzahs at the end. This Hitchcock is so well made, so much fun and so suspenseful that it would make the original Hitchcock proud ... It's a serious contender for Best Picture, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Makeup, Music Score, and maybe Art Direction".[23] John Patterson of The Guardian called the film "clever and witty"; "the making of Psycho is depicted in detail without our seeing one frame of the completed movie" and concluding "it lives and breathes through Hopkins and Mirren".[24]

Upon its theatrical release, Mary Pols of Time called the film "a feel-good frolic, which is fine for anyone who prefers their Hitchcock history tidied up, absent the megalomania, the condescending cruelty and tendency to sexual harassment that caused his post-Psycho blonde discovery Tippi Hedren to declare him 'a mean, mean man'".[25] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a positive review and felt that the film depended most on Helen Mirren's portrayal of Alma Reville, which he found to be "warm and effective".[26]

The Atlantic's Govindini Murty called the film "smart and entertaining" and also provided a cultural guide to the themes, personalities, and cinematic references in the film, from German Expressionism to the paintings of Edward Hopper.[27]

Many critics compared the film to the HBO biopic The Girl, which was released a month earlier and detailed Hitchcock making The Birds and Marnie. Justin Chang of Variety wrote that "the comparatively frothy Hitchcock offers a more sympathetic, even comedic assessment of the man behind the portly silhouette".[28] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter also made note that the film "brings a measure of authenticity entirely missing from The Girl". When writing about the film as a whole, McCarthy said, "Hitchcock might be a work of fantasy and speculation as much as it is history and biography, but as an interpretation of a major talent's inner life and imagination, it's undeniably lively and provocative".[29]

Accolades

Award Category Recipients Result Ref.
Academy Awards Best Makeup and Hairstyling Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel Nominated
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Actress Defying Age and Ageism Helen Mirren Nominated
British Academy Film Awards Best Actress Helen Mirren Nominated
Best Makeup and Hair
Nominated
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Actress Helen Mirren Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture Actress – Drama Helen Mirren Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society Best Score
Nominated
London Film Critics Circle British Actress of the Year Helen Mirren Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Best Actor Anthony Hopkins Nominated
Best Original Score Danny Elfman Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Independent Film
Nominated
Best Actress Helen Mirren Nominated
Best Make-Up Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Julie Hewitt Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Best Actress Helen Mirren Nominated [30]
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Actress Helen Mirren Nominated
Best Scene Anthony Hopkins in lobby conducting to music/audience’s reaction during “Psycho” shower scene Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Best Actress Helen Mirren Nominated
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

NBC New York: Rex Heuermann admits to Gilgo Beach killings in guilty plea twist | NBC New York

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Network Device Interface (NDI)

 NDI is designed to run over gigabit Ethernet[1] with the NDI codec.[2] It delivers 1080i high-definition video at variable data rates typically around 100 Mbit/s.[3]

By default, NDI uses multicast DNS to advertise sources on a local area network, such that NDI receivers can automatically discover and offer those sources. It also supports two other discovery modes (NDI Access, NDI Discovery Server) that allow for operations across subnets and without multicast DNS. Sources are created using an arbitrarily selected TCP port from a range of ports on the NDI senders. When a source is requested, a TCP connection is established on the appropriate port with the NDI receiver connecting to the NDI sender. NDI 3.x has options to use UDP multicast or unicast with forward error correction (FEC) instead of TCP, and can load balance streams across multiple network interface controllers (NICs) without using link aggregation. NDI version 4.0 introduces the Multi-TCP transport.

NDI carries video, multichannel uncompressed audio,[citation needed] and metadata. Metadata messages can be sent in both directions allowing the sender and receiver to message one another over the connection with arbitrary metadata in XML form.[4] This directional metadata system allows for functionality such as active tally information fed back to sources to understand that they are on-air. NDI also allows senders to determine the number of connected receivers, so they can skip unnecessary processing and network bandwidth utilisation when there are no NDI receiver clients connected. NDI Receivers can opt to connect to various combinations of streams, to support, for instance, audio-only or metadata-only connections where video is not required.

The NDI software development kit (SDK) is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS,[5] and has also been ported to iOS, tvOS, Android, Raspberry Pi, and FPGA.[citation needed] The Standard NDI SDK is available via a royalty-free proprietary license.[6] The NDI Advanced SDK offers OEMs direct access to and from compressed data and other features, with a commercial license.
Comparison of common IP video protocols

Other IP video protocols for use in professional video production (rather than IP video used for distribution to end users) include SMPTE 2022, SMPTE 2110, ASPEN (largely superseded by SMPTE 2110) and Sony NMI. There are clear differences in the technology used by these protocols.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)