Pompeii:the Last Day

 

 

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The documentary/drama of Pompeii is one of the more dramatic of BBC historical productions of recent note. The last day of Pompeii, just before and during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. This is no mere documentary presentation, nor is it a docu-drama in which things are enacted and carried along soley by the narrative. This production weaves together historical narration and live-action progress, together with very impressive CGI recreations of the cities of around the bay of Naples, including Misenum, Stabiae, and Herculanium, a city buried by Vesuvian flows before Pompeii's final fate.

Perhaps the best-known actor here is Jim Carter, followed by Jonathan Firth, both well recognisable from television and cinematic film. The other actors are lesser known, but good actors who play their parts well, both in terms of presenting a believable picture of Pompeii as a typical Roman city, as well as the kind of struggle and fear one has against the unknown. Included in the teleplay are clips of actual artifacts of the archaeological digs and reconstructions of Pompeii; these often fade into or fade out from the action in the plot narrative.

Many characters are featured -- Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, watching from afar; Polybius and Stephanus, local politicians and merchants or workers part of large households; various gladiators, slaves and other local figures whose identities are now lost, but whose presence is known from the remains found in Pompeii.

The narrator overlay tells the progress of the eruption (Vesuvius, a major volcano, erupted for in excess of 20 hours at least, according to accounts from Pliny the Younger, accounts that were not believed at the time) -- this progress is recounted hour by hour, as the first earthquakes occurred, the pillar of smoke rising (up to 15 miles into the atmosphere) -- as Pompeii's inhabitants had never seen a volcanic eruption, they had no idea what they were witnessing, and thus most did nothing to escape. The falling pumice, then rocks and coals, then the air thinning, the volcanic lightning, and the gaseous mixture into the air are all chronicled. The narrator talks about the finds later, such as looters who remained in the streets long past time there was any hope for escape.

Pliny the Elder, across the bay a bit from Naples, was too fascinated by the developments to flee for his life. A naturalist (he wrote an encyclopedia of natural history which is one of his only surviving works), he observed the collapse of the volcanic column as a piece of rare history indeed. Pliny the Younger recounted much of the details from which this particular history is reconstructed.

The piece shows a bit of the archaeological reconstruction -- Pompeii lay buried and forgotten for some 1500 years, until rediscovered accidentally during excavations for an aqueduct. The documentary also recreates what would happen to modern cities around Vesuvius today given a similar catastrophe, with literally millions living around the volcano today.

Dramatic, impressive, and historically fairly accurate (so far as my reading of Roman histories permits me to judge), this is an impressive production by any standard.

Like many others, I've always been fascinated with the story of the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy back in ancient Roman times and the havoc it wreaked upon the cities and citizens that lived around it. Recently I had the opportunity to actually visit the world heritage sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum - the two communities that suffered the most in the volcanic eruption and were amazingly preserved by the catastrophe to be re-discovered centuries later and restored to the light of day so that present generations could have a unique appreciation of a vanished way of life. I bought a copy of this DVD prior to visiting Pompeii and really enjoyed it, but it took on a whole new dimension after having actually walked around the excavations.

This documentary does an excellent job of re-creating the everyday aspect of ancient Pompeii, bringing to life the characters and places that archaeologists have pieced together from the remains that have been found at both Pompeii and Herculaneum. Based on the architectural remains of a politician's house, a fullery (ancient laundromat), and the coloseum the documentary re-imagines the individuals who would have populated these sites and the human drama they would have experienced during the events of the great natural disaster. Also portrayed is the noted Roman historian Pliny the Elder, & his nephew Pliny the Younger, who provided eye-witness reports of Vesuvius's eruption that helped to guide the accurate re-creation of the various events pictured.

The production values of this DVD are really amazing and the CGI effects of the volcanic eruption(s) are totally realistic and awe inspiring / horrifying. This is no sad little model mountain with laughable smoke and fire effects - the computer imagery accurately captures the massive scale and nature of the explosions and pyroclastic flows that decimated the surrounding areas and buried the cities over the course of just a few days.

After telling the story of the ancient eruption the DVD goes further by examining the potential for a similar eruption in our modern time - when the population around the Bay of Naples now numbers in the millions rather than thousands. There is a cool scene where (via CGI effects) the modern narrator is sitting on a deck in Naples and in the distance Vesuvius begins a new massive eruption. The special effects crew provides some imaginative visions of pyroclastic clouds sweeping over the contemporary city scape to emphasize the message that 'the clock is ticking!'. Anyone who has a penchant for historic volcanic action will doubtless find this an enjoyable watch - definitely the most realistic depiction to date of this cataclysmic event.

I found this to be an excellent documentary. And very detailed but not at all boring. Definate 5 stars.

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5.0 out of 5 stars when combat was entertainment
A realistic docu-drama, this is a telling of the building of Rome's Colosseum which started under the rule of Emperor Vespasian and was completed by his son and heir Titus in 80... Read more

Published on Mar 26 2004 by Alejandra Vernon

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