Byzantium - The Lost Empire [VHS]

Byzantium - The Lost Empire [VHS]

Byzantium - The Lost Empire [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: John Romer (III)
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Color, NTSC
Release Date: 2001-10-23
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Live / Artisan
Studio: Live / Artisan

VHS Movie Reviews of Byzantium - The Lost Empire [VHS]

Movie Review: excellent
Summary: 5 Stars

Having just been to Istanbul and Turkey all I can say is I wish I had watched the series before going. Informative as well as entertaining! One of the best series of its type.

Movie Review: Outstanding!
Summary: 5 Stars

I had initial reservations about this DVD set, simply because it was produced for television, a holdover, I guess, from my perception that television productions are inferior to theater releases. However, there is nothing cheap about this production. In fact, I think "opulent" would be a more apt description. And, of course, not having to watch the commercials makes a vast difference in your viewing experience. At first I wasn't sure, either that I was going to like the narration style of the writer/producer John Romer. His presentation seemed somewhat florid and breathless, with a tendency to go into ecstasies about the mundane. But his enthusiasm soon became contagious, as the story began to unfold. Our culture has a common knowledge of ancient Rome, or at least some perception of it; but Byzantium, at least in my experience, seems to be practically unknown. My interest was whetted as I began to realize that Byzantium was not just some frontier outpost of the Roman Empire, but was in fact "the" empire for many centuries while Rome foundered and succumbed to the rule of the northern tribes of Europe. Byzantium was a repository and source of continuity for the legacy of Greek and Roman culture when all but traces of those cultures had vanished from their original homes. Another point of interest is that Christianity assumed a different flavor in Byzantium than in Europe. A different world-view, in which Christ is portrayed as the serene, powerful lord of the universe rather than the suffering, contorted, sacrificial man of sorrows. This difference in point of view originated from the Byzantine metamorphosis of the pagan gods into icons of Christianity. Not only Mr. Romer's enthusiasm, but also the magnificent musical score that accompanies the visuals of mosaics, ruins, paintings, and icons suggests that this was a culture inspired by lofty, majestic visions of the grandeur and supreme authority of the holy figures. So convinced of the power of their icons were the Byzantines that they carried them into battle, knowing they would assure victory. Byzantium maintained its powerful position for an amazing seven centuries, and lingered after that in a weakened condition for another four hundred years. Although Constantinople, its capital fell in 1453 to the Islamic Turks, it had ironically been mortally wounded by fellow Christians from Europe during the Crusades who were greedy for its riches. We owe the beginnings of our western culture, the Renaissance, to the ancient wisdom of Greece, Rome, and the East that was carried back to Europe as the Christian Byzantine empire was coming to an end. Even though the documentary is three and a half hours, I had the feeling that it was only enough time to cover the high spots of the history, culture, art, and people of this complex and rather exotic empire. The documentary is divided into four episodes of a little over fifty minutes. This was ideal for me to watch one episode at a time as I walked my treadmill. Highly recommended, and I hope you have the benefit of a good sound system and a large-screen TV.

Movie Review: Byzantium, The Lost Empire
Summary: 2 Stars

This DVD provides a rather brief introduction to Byzantium. The photograpgy is good. Unfortunately the commentary by Romer occasionally is drowned-out by unnecessary loud music. A few place and name subtitles would be helpful.

Movie Review: AWFUL!!!!!!!
Summary: 1 Stars

I could not wait for this DVD to arrive. Almost every review given on this site was positive. Now I must believe that all positive reviews must be from friends and relatives of Romer. This is one of the most boring documentaries I have ever watched. I was two hours into it before I finally gave up. I just could not believe something better wasn't on the horizon. I kept wondering if I had received the right DVD. The only reason to watch this documentary is if you need a really good nap.

Movie Review: The Roman Empire survived well into the fourteenth century.
Summary: 5 Stars

John Romer is the great Egyptologist, historian and archaeologist, who, along with his many books has created and appeared in some of the greatest documentaries ever to grace the small screen ... Byzantium: The Lost Empire is no exception. This masterful work details the greatest Empire of Europe and western Asia in the Middle Ages. The history, as you will learn, starts in 330 C. E. when Emperor Constantine founded a new capital of the Roman Empire near the town of Anatolia next to the Black Sea. This new capitol, Byzantium, was given the Greek name Constantinopolis shortly after Emperor Constantine's death.

After Rome lost its territories in 395, the now Constantinople became the capital of the Roman Empire. The main differences were the use of Greek as the main language and Christianity was now the lead religion. But John Romer will explain how many now acknowledge the Byzantine Empire as a direct continuation of the Roman Empire ... since many of the laws in Constantinople were the same laws in Rome. You'll learn that it wasn't the Arabs or the Irish that first preserved the ancient cultures, but Constantinople. From here, John Romer takes us to the tenth century, were the Byzantium was still a powerful empire with territories in Eastern Europe, Palestine, North Africa, Greece and Anatolia ... extending as far as Italy.

By the time the Byzantium Empire did fall, in the fourteen hundreds to the Ottoman Turks, Constantinople was renamed Istanbul, and became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. This is one of John Romer's acclaimed documentaries and you can't help but be drawn into this ancient culture and its greatest empire. If you'd like to know more about this dynasty I'd recommend checking out some of Romer's other work:

Christianity-The First Two Thousand Years

The Dark Ages (The History Channel )

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