Masada

TV Series

1981

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

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Drama

Action & Adventure

A Roman general leads the epic 1st-century siege of Masada, the mountain fortress where more than 900 Jews made a heroic stand against 5,000 Roman soldiers.

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Stars

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Episodes4

Top-rated

Sun, 05 Apr, 1981

S1.E1Part I

First up: Raids on Roman garrisons lead to a showdown between the Zealot leader (Peter Strauss) and a Roman commander (Peter O'Toole).

Top-rated

Mon, 06 Apr, 1981

S1.E2Part II

While the Romans ready their offensive, Silva (Peter O'Toole) seeks comfort from a beautiful slave (Barbara Carrera) who plucks at his conscience.

Top cast

Peter O'Toole

Gen. Cornelius Flavius Silva

Eleazar Ben Yair

Sheva

Mucianus

Aaron

Miriam

Rubrius Gallus

Marcus Quadratus

Gideon

Merovius

Emperor Vespasian

Pomponius Falco

Attius

Titus

Shimon

Ephraim

Decurion

Jerahmeel

Creators

George Eckstein

Joel Oliansky

Ernest K. Gann

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Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

I remember watching this mini-series on the BBC and throughly enjoying every minute (I was 14!). It marries historical fact, legend and drama creating a cracking action adventure that sees nine hundred Jewish people take refuge in the eponymous and impregnable mountain fortress, fleeing the brutal regime of the Vespasianic legions under the command of Peter O'Toole's ("Silva"). The other principal casting maybe isn't the best - Peter Strauss didn't work for me at all and the seriously wooden Barbara Carrera also stretches the imagination just a tad, but the pace of the story builds well as the besieging Romans face all the desert environment and the Jewish freedom fighters can throw at them. There is an inevitability about it - the engineering prowess of the army soon starts to sound a death knell for the brave souls gathered above, and there are some strikingly brutal examples of just how ruthless the occupying forces could be - a whole new set of uses for catapults, for example. A solid cast including Sir Anthony Quayle, David Warner and Dennis Quilley give the proceedings extra gravitas and O'Toole manages to resist any temptation to ham it up delivering a strong, considered, performance as the reasonably minded general/governor who has long since tired of fighting never ending wars. It takes 6½ hours, give or take recaps etc., which might explain why it is rarely seen nowadays, but it is a taut and compelling grand scale historical epic that is well worth sticking through (and visiting should you ever get the opportunity).

Geronimo196727 Mar, 2022