''Julius Caesar'' is a 2003 miniseries about the life of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

. It was directed by

Uli Edel Ulrich "Uli" Edel (; born 11 April 1947) is a German film and television director, best known for his work on films such as ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' and '' Body of Evidence.'' His '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' won a Golden Globe for ...

and written by Peter Pruce and Craig Warner. It is a

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

tization of the life of

from 82 BC to his death in 44 BC. It was one of the last two films of

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

, released in the year of his death. The series was originally broadcast on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

in two parts, airing June 29 and 30, 2003. The tagline for the miniseries was ''His Time Has Come''. The miniseries was nominated for 2

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Plot

The series begins in 82 BC when

is 18 years old. He is out in the town with his daughter

Julia Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

(who in real history was not yet born) when news comes that

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla ha ...

is just outside the city walls and intends to take the city with his army. The guards sent with the news post death lists on the senate door. When he sees his father-in-law's name he rushes to his house to try to help him escape.

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

arrests him and takes him to Sulla. Caesar's mother, Aurelia, asks Sulla to show him mercy; out of respect for her, he promises to let Caesar live if he divorces his wife, Cornelia but Caesar refuses. Sulla lets him go but orders Pompey to kill him and bring his heart to him. Pompey follows Caesar and tells him to leave Rome, which he does. Pompey buys a swine's heart from the market and tells Sulla that the heart is Caesar's. Caesar is captured by pirates who intend to ransom him for money. When the Romans crew sent with the message of the ransom don't return, the pirates plan to kill him. Caesar bargains to fight one of them for an extra day and wins, then has a

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with l ...

and the pirates believe him worthless, deciding to throw him in the sea; just in time the Roman boat returns with the money and they let Caesar go. Back in Rome, Sulla dies of a heart-attack and Caesar is allowed to return home. While he was gone Cornelia became very ill and Julia befriended the young daughter of Caesar's rival Marcus Porcius Cato, Portia, her brother Marcus and their cousin

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

. When Cornelia dies from her illness, Caesar swears at her funeral that he will make Rome a better place. Around this time the same pirates who held him captive cut off the grain supply. The senate send Pompey to deal with the problem after Caesar convinced them that he will not take the city with his army like Sulla did. Several years later Pompey returns to Rome and Caesar has achieved the consulship. On the day of Pompey's triumph Julia, Portia and Marcus decide to go and Portia insists on dragging Brutus along with them. At the triumph, Caesar has another seizure but is aided by Calpurnia, daughter of a wealthy man in Rome. At Pompey's welcome home party, while Pompey gets on well with Julia, Caesar notices Calpurnia who he doesn't remember from their encounter before. Caesar swears to his mother that he will make a name for himself. Julia realizes that her father needs an alliance and offers to marry Pompey in order to obtain his legions. Pompey agrees and he marries Julia. In marrying her, he agrees to allow Caesar to take his legions to Gaul, despite the fact that the senate wished to send Cassius. Calpurnia tells Caesar that she knows about his "falling sickness" and he confesses that it shames him. Before he goes to Gaul, Caesar marries Calpurnia and the two of them remain in contact through letters. While sacking a town in Gaul, Caesar comes across a strong-willed warrior who refuses to give in to the Romans attacking his home. He tells Caesar his name is

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite ha ...

. Caesar asks him why he is willing to die for something that will be destroyed no matter what, and the warrior replies "because it is mine". Admiring his strength of will, Caesar lets him go, giving him a horse. However, later on, the same warrior chief summons a huge army to fight Caesar's legions at the Battle of Alesia. Outnumbered and surrounded, Caesar's army nevertheless emerges victorious. Meanwhile, in Rome Julia dies in childbirth, and Pompey begins to turn against Caesar who he fears is becoming too powerful. He allies with Cato to attack Caesar politically. Caesar sends

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

to talk to the Senate, but this makes the situation worse. Pompey begins planning to attack Caesar before he can march to Rome, but is too late. Caesar makes his way back to Rome and crosses the river Rubicon with his army. Pompey, Cato and Brutus immediately decide to leave to regroup their own troops in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Upon his return to Rome Caesar is made

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

. He then catches up with and defeats Pompey at the

Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus in central Greece. Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the Roman Republic under the command of Pompey. P ...

, who then flees to Egypt. After the battle Caesar pardons the captured soldiers of Pompey, including Brutus to whom he says that if anyone wants peace they shall have it. Pompey arrives in Alexandria and is immediately killed by the regent for the boy king

Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Θεός Φιλοπάτωρ, ''Ptolemaĩos''; c. 62 BC – 13 January 47 BC) was Pharaoh of Egypt from 51 to 47 BC, and one of the last members of the Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC) ...

in Egypt. When Caesar arrives he is given Pompey's head as a gift but is not pleased to know of Pompey's death. Then

Cleopatra VII Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

meets and seduces Caesar, and before he leaves he installs her as rightful Queen of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

over her brother Ptolemy. Going on to Utica to find Cato and his son, Caesar wins the

Battle of Thapsus A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

. Upon hearing of his allies' loss Cato, who didn't fight in the battle, commits suicide by falling on his sword. With the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

over, Caesar returns to Rome with his new ally Cleopatra and their son

Caesarion Ptolemy XV Caesar). (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος ; 23 June 47 BC – August 30 BC), nicknamed Caesarion (, "Little Caesar"), was the last pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, reigning with his mother Cleopatra from 2 September 44 BC until her d ...

. This disturbs several of the senators, who plot against Caesar thinking he wants to become King. Cassius, the principal mover of the plot, convinces his brother-in-law Brutus, who was spared earlier by Caesar, to join them and end Caesar's reign as Dictator. Calpurnia has a dream about Caesar's death and begs him not to attend the Senate that day but he ignores her advice. When he takes his seat on the

Ides of March The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became ...

, the plotting senators mob Caesar, stab him several times and then flee from the building. Calpurnia learns of the plot from Brutus's wife Portia and rushes to the Senate to find him dying alone on the floor.

Cast

Jeremy Sisto Jeremy Merton Sisto (born October 6, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Billy Chenowith in HBO's '' Six Feet Under'', NYPD Detective Cyrus Lupo in NBC's ''Law & Order'', George Altman in the ABC sitcom '' Suburgatory'', ...

, second Dictator for Life *

Lucius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

, Rome's strongman who disliked Caesar but ultimately paved the way for his

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

* Christopher Walken as

Cato the Younger Marcus Porcius Cato "Uticensis" ("of Utica"; ; 95 BC – April 46 BC), also known as Cato the Younger ( la, Cato Minor), was an influential conservative Roman senator during the late Republic. His conservative principles were focused on the ...

, ardent Republican who fought Caesar in the Senate and the battlefield *

Valeria Golino Valeria Golino (born 22 October 1965) is an Italian actress and film director. She is best known to English-language audiences for her roles in '' Rain Man'', ''Big Top Pee-wee'' and the two '' Hot Shots!'' films, particularly the olive-in-the-be ...

as Calpurnia, final wife of

* Christopher Noth as

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, Rome's greatest General outdone by Caesar * as Aurelia, Caesar's mother * Heino Ferch as

, Chief of the Arverni tribe of the

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

who tried to stop Caesar's Gallic War * Tobias Moretti as Gaius Cassius, led Pompey's fleet in

Caesar's Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts of the Roman Republic before its reorganization into the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations between Gaius Julius Caesar and ...

and prime plotter of Caesar's murder * as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt and lover of Caesar * as Cornelia, wife of Caesar and mother of

* Nicole Grimaudo as

, daughter of Caesar, wife of

and dies after her son is born *

Sean Pertwee Sean Carl Roland Pertwee''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 4 June 1964) is an English actor, narrator and producer with an extensive career since the 1980s in television and cinema productions. He is known ...

Titus Labienus Titus Labienus (c. 10017 March 45 BC) was a high-ranking military officer in the late Roman Republic. He served as tribune of the Plebs in 63 BC. Although mostly remembered as one of Julius Caesar's best lieutenants in Gaul, mentioned freq ...

, a lieutenant under Caesar; he defected to Pompey once he knew Caesar was marching on Rome and died in the

Battle of Munda The Battle of Munda (17 March 45 BC), in southern Hispania Ulterior, was the final battle of Caesar's civil war against the leaders of the Optimates. With the military victory at Munda and the deaths of Titus Labienus and Gnaeus Pompeius (elde ...

, the last battle of the war * Paolo Briguglia as

Marcus Cato Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, Roman Senate, senator, and Roman historiography, historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenizati ...

, son of Cato * Kate Steavenson-Payne as Portia, wife of

* Ian Duncan as

, Senator and friend of Caesar who is the most famous for turning on Caesar and participating in his murder * Jay Rodan as

, a cousin, friend, and military commander of Caesar who would eventually get revenge on Caesar's murderers * Christian Kohlund as Lepidus, Caesar's best supporter in the Senate who allied with

after his murder * David Foxxe as

Pothinus Pothinus or Potheinos ( grc-gre, Ποθεινὸς; early 1st century BC – 48 or 47 BC), a eunuch, was regent for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. He is most remembered for turning Ptolemy against his sister and co ...

, regent of King

* Anna Cachia as

Atilia Atilia (sometimes spelt Attilia) was the first wife of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis and mother of his two eldest children. Biography Early life It is not known for certain who Atilia's father was, but he was from the Atilii Serrani. He may have b ...

, wife of Cato and mother of

* Christopher Ettridge as Apollonius Molon, Greek philosopher and teacher * Colin Maher as Casca, Senator who was actually the first man to stab Caesar * Brendan Hooper as Bibulus, son in-law to Cato who fought against Caesar in the war * John Suda as Tillius, Senator and assassin of Caesar * Chris Gatt as Ligarius, Senator and conspirator *

Clive Merrison Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a British actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 ...

Metellus The gens Caecilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in history as early as the fifth century BC, but the first of the Caecilii who obtained the consulship was Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, in 284 BC. ...

, Senator killed by Sulla as an example to the others *

Denys Hawthorne Denys Vernon Hawthorne (9 August 1932 – 16 October 2009) was an actor from Northern Ireland who was known for his work in theatre, film, television and radio. Life Denys Hawthorne was born into an upper middle-class Protestant family in Portad ...

as Spurinna, soothsayer who warned Caesar of the

* Manuel Cuachi as Cinna, Caesar's father-in-law, anachronistically killed in Sulla's purge (the real Cinna was murdered by his own soldiers before Sulla's return) Cast details
IMDb.com. Retrieved 11 February 2020

Production

Filming took place in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Home media

The miniseries was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in 2004 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and in 2005 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The DVD contains a making-of featurette.

References

External links