More on The Eagle of the Ninth

The Times has a long piece looking at the various Roman films coming up - specifically the Kevin Macdonald film The Eagle of the Ninth. What is interesting is the overtly political stance taken by the film.

In The Eagle of the Ninth, all the Romans will be played by Americans and “look like GIs” to emphasise the parallels with modern politics, while British actors will play the Picts.

“In a way it is an Iraq or Afghanistan war film taking place in the second century,” Macdonald said.

The best overview of Legio VIIII Hispana is at Livius.org.

Comments

[Gabriele]

That doesn't sound good. I hate it when political parallels are stretched too far, and 'Romans looking like GIs' makes me wonder if they'll get the armour right at all. I doubt it.

[David]

For the most part, I've had my fill of the America/Rome discussion, but I think I prefer this filmmaker's stance to the pretensions of subtlety one usually sees in such cases.