''Nero'' is an Italian-British-Spanish television film, part of the ''

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'' series; it was made film available on DVD as of November 2005 in the U.S. and Canada. Produced by EOS Entertainment and Lux Vide for

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

and

Telecinco Telecinco is a Spanish free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset España. The channel was previously known as Tele 5, because it had first begun its experimental transmissions on 10 March 1989, and a year later, it was officially laun ...

Plot

As a young boy, future

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

witnesses the mad Emperor

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germani ...

kill his father and exile his

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

. While in exile in the

pontine islands The Pontine Islands (, also ; it, Isole Ponziane ) are an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Lazio region, Italy. The islands were collectively named after the largest island in the group, Ponza. The other islands in the arch ...

, Agrippina, his mother, sees a vision telling her that her son can become emperor, but she will have to die first. She accepts the proposal. Back in Rome, Nero, now being raised by emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

after Caligula's death, Agrippina returns. She poisons Claudius' food and Nero becomes emperor. At first, Nero cuts taxes and introduces successful programs and invades

Brittania Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

. Soon he meets a beautiful slave named

Claudia Acte Claudia Acte was a freedwoman of ancient Rome who became a mistress of the emperor Nero. She came from Asia Minor and might have become a slave of the Emperor Claudius, following his expansion of the Roman Empire into Lycia and Pamphylia; or she ...

, and marries her, throwing off his engagement with Claudius' daughter,

Claudia Octavia Claudia Octavia (late 39 or early 40 – June 9, AD 62) was a Roman empress. She was the daughter of the Emperor Claudius and Valeria Messalina. After her mother's death and father's remarriage to her cousin Agrippina the Younger, she becam ...

, telling her she can marry someone she will be happy with. Heartbroken, she arrives at an island and kills herself. Nero enjoys being married to Claudia Acte, but soon he gradually goes mad with power and sets fire to Rome. He divorces Acte, and forces the citizens to watch hour long recitals, and at one of these, accidentally kills his new pregnant wife,

Poppaea Sabina Poppaea Sabina (AD 30 – 65), also known as Ollia, was a Roman empress as the second wife of the Emperor Nero. She had also been wife to the future emperor Otho. The historians of antiquity describe her as a beautiful woman who used intrigues ...

. He kills several members of the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and orders his mother to be stabbed, where she says: "Strike the womb, for that is what bore him." Nero's madness soon causes a riot, causing himself to flee the city in disguise, and slit his wrists under the saddened embrace of Claudia Acte, his once passionate lover. The movie in many ways tries to show Nero as a good soul gone mad, beginning as a brilliant young prince enduring injustice, then hailed enthusiastically at the beginning of his reign, implementing much-needed reforms and enjoying immense popularity. Half the film concentrates on Nero's teenage years and his love life with Acte.

Historical flaws

His relationship with

is altered, and its influence on his divorce from

exaggerated. In fact after Nero's divorce from Octavia he married his pregnant mistress

who had married twice before marrying Nero ( Rufrius Crispinus and the future Emperor

Otho Marcus Otho (; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was the seventh Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etr ...

). Poppaea Sabina's death is portrayed differently than how it reportedly occurred. According to the historical sources, she was kicked to death by Nero in a vicious rage. The film also omits Nero's other reported attempts to kill his mother

Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius. Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Clau ...

, first by poisoning. In his second attempt he had his mother's mattress fixed so that when she lay down, a decoration on the ceiling would fall onto the bed. A third attempt involved sabotaging a ship Agrippina was traveling on, but she managed to swim to shore. The fourth attempt, in which a soldier killed her on the spot, is shown in the movie as Agrippina walks toward the soldier and tells him, "Strike the womb that bore him". In the film Nero is shown to have a fixation on playing the

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

, which is only partly true. In a late part of the movie Nero is shown playing his harp in the center of a Roman Theatre as

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

around 62 A.D. This is fiction, because Nero never played his

in front of a large audience. He usually played it in isolation or within a small group of friends. At the end, Nero escapes from the city by himself and slits his wrists where he is embraced by Acte. In reality, Nero escaped from the city in disguise to the house of one of his loyal freedmen; there he committed suicide by stabbing himself in the neck. However, he botched the job and had to have a slave finish him job off.Suetonius, ''Life of Nero'' The Emperor

is also altered. In the film, Caligula banishes

Agrippina Agrippina is an ancient Roman cognomen and a feminine given name. People with either the cognomen or the given name include: Cognomen Relatives of the Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa: * Vipsania Agrippina (36 BC–20 AD), first wife of the ...

, Nero's mother, as he did in reality, but in reality, both Agrippina and

Julia Livilla Julia Livilla ( – ) was the youngest child of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder and the youngest sister of the Emperor Caligula. Life Julia Livilla was the youngest great-granddaughter of Emperor Augustus, great-niece and adoptive grandd ...

were exiled, yet Livilla is not even mentioned in the film. The assassination of Caligula is also depicted inaccurately. In the film, Caligula is lured to a brothel by his attendants, where he is assassinated. Historically, he was killed in a cryptoporticus underneath a palatine theater by praetorian guards led by

Cassius Chaerea Cassius Chaerea () was a Roman soldier and officer who served as a tribune in the army of Germanicus and in the Praetorian Guard under the emperor Caligula, whom he eventually assassinated in AD 41. According to Tacitus, before Chaerea's servic ...

, Marcus Vinicius, and

Lucius Annius Vinicianus Lucius Annius Vinicianus (died AD 42) was a Roman senator during the Principate. He is best known for his involvement in the assassination of Caligula and a rebellion against Claudius. Family Vinicianus was probably the son of Gaius Annius Polli ...

. After Caligula was murdered, his

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

and

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups ...

were eliminated. The film's budget was around €800,000. It was filmed on location in

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and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in late 2004 and early 2005.

Cast

* Hans Matheson -

Laura Morante Laura Morante (born 21 August 1956) is an Italian film actress. Life and career Morante was born in Santa Fiora, province of Grosseto ( Tuscany), the daughter of lawyer and playwright Marcello Morante, who was the son of Irma (née Poggibonsi) ...

Rike Schmid Rike or Ryke is a given name and a surname. It may refer to: * Rike Boomgaarden (), German singer and songwriter * Ryke Geerd Hamer (1935–2017), German physician whose license was revoked for originating and practicing a system of pseudo-medicine ...

- Acte *

Simón Andreu Simón Andreu Trobat (born 1 January 1941) is a Spanish actor. He has appeared in more than 180 films and television shows since 1961. In 2013 he was awarded with the Nosferatu Award at the Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalu ...

- Porridus *

Sonia Aquino Sonia Aquino (born 10 July 1977 in Avellino) is an Italian actress. Biography A theatre, Film, cinema and television actress, Aquino graduated from the ''National School of the Cinema'' (Scuola Nazionale di Cinema) in Rome and attended Franc ...

Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation ...

* Maria Gabriella Barbuti - Licia * James Bentley - Young Nero *

Marco Bonini Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...

- Rufus * Robert Brazil -

Gaius Silius Gaius Silius (died AD 24) was a Roman senator who achieved successes as a general over German barbarians following the disaster of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. For this achievement he was appointed consul in AD 13 with Lucius Munatius Pla ...

Philippe Caroit Philippe Caroit (born September 29, 1959) is a French actor, painter, and writer. Early life Caroit was born in Paris, as the fourth of seven children. In his teenage years, he began to develop a passion for travelling, to discover new places a ...

- Apollonius * Todd Carter - Senator # 1 *

Massimo Dapporto Massimo Dapporto (born 8 August 1945) is an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Milan, the son of the actor and comedian Carlo Dapporto, he studied acting at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts. Dapporto began his ...

Maurizio Donadoni Maurizio Donadoni (born 7 January 1958) is an Italian film, stage and television actor. Born in Bergamo, Donadoni started his career on stage in the late 1970s, working among others with Luca Ronconi and Gabriele Lavia. He made his film debut in ...

Burrus ''Burrus'' is a genus of shield bugs in the tribe Podopini Podopinae, known as turtle bugs, are a subfamily of the insect family Pentatomidae. The type genus is ''Podops''. Tribes and Genera ''BioLib'' lists: Brachycerocorini Auth. Davidova ...

* Emanuela Garuccio - Claudia *

Matthias Habich Matthias Habich (born 12 January 1940) is a German actor who has appeared in more than 110 film and television productions since 1965. Habich was born in Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) and lives in Paris. In the 2001 film ''Enemy at the ...

- Seneca *

Klaus Händl Klaus Händl (born September 17, 1969) is an Austrian actor, writer and director. Biography Händl was born in Rum, Tyrol, Austria. He started his theater career as an actor in Vienna's Schauspielhaus. His first theatrical production, which h ...

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

Jochen Horst Jochen Horst (born 7 September 1961 in Osnabrück) is a German film, TV and theater actor. Horst graduated in 1986 from the state Academy of Music and Performing Arts (''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst'') in Graz, Austri ...

- Etius * Ruby Kammer - Marzia *

Ángela Molina Ángela Molina Tejedor (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish actress. Aside from her performances in Spanish films, she has starred in multiple international productions, particularly in a number of Italian films and television series. Family Mol ...

Domitia {{For, the genus of beetles, Domitia (beetle) Domitia is the name of women from the '' gens'' Domitia of Ancient Rome. Women from the ''gens'' include: * Domitia (aunt of Messalina), aunt of Roman emperor Nero and empress Messalina * Domitia L ...

* Mario Opinato -

Tigellinus Ofonius Tigellinus (c. 10 – 69) was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 62 until 68, during the reign of emperor Nero. Tigellinus gained imperial favour through his acquaintance wit ...

Vittoria Puccini Vittoria Puccini (born 18 November 1981) is an Italian film and television actress. Since her success as the lead actress in 2003-2005 costume drama television series ''Elisa di Rivombrosa'', she has continued to work in television and movie p ...

- Octavia *

Ian Richardson Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He portrayed the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy. Richardson was also a leading S ...

- Septimus *

Paolo Scalabrino Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American s ...

- Senator # 2 * John Simm -

* Liz Smith - Soothsayer *

Elisa Tovati Elisa Tovati born Elisa Touati is a French singer, actress and television personality. Early years Elisa Tovati was born in 1976 to parents of Russo-Moroccan Jewish origins in Paris, France. She showed interest in theatre early in her life, a ...

- Poppea *

Pierre Vaneck Pierre Vaneck (born Pierre Auguste Van Hecke; 15 April 1931 – 31 January 2010) was a French actor. During his career, he won a Molière Award in 1988 and received a César Award nomination in 2009. Biography Son of a Belgian army officer, Pie ...

Paul of Tarsus Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Francesco Venditti Francesco Saverio Venditti (born 27 August 1976) is an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Rome to singer-songwriter Antonello Venditti and actress Simona Izzo, Venditti made his acting debut on television as a child in 1985 and ...

Britannicus Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. For a time he was considered his father's heir, but that ...

Crew

* Directed by:

Paul Marcus Paul Coryn Valentine Marcus (30 May 1954 – 13 February 2011) was a BAFTA winning British television director and producer.Obituary '' London Guardian'', 4 March 2011. His most notable success was as producer of the television series ''Prime Su ...

* Teleplay by: Paul Billing & Francesco Contaldo * Produced by: Luca Bernabei * Director of Photography: Giovanni Galasso * Production Designer: Paolo Biagetti * Edited by: Alessandro Lucidi * Costume Designer:

* Music By: Andrea Guerra

References

External links