Masada, Flavius Silva, commander in Roman Judea, wants to reach a reasonable compromise with the Jewish Zealots and withdraw his legion. Events and personalities in Rome, however, lead to his besieging the fortress of Masada. There the engineering genius of the Romans must fight both the harsh climate and landscape, and the passion and ingenuity of Eleazar Ben Yair and his people. ACTORS : Peter O'Toole, Peter Strauss, Barbara Carrera YEAR OF RELEASE : 1981 RUNNING TIME : 394 min Color (Manufactured On Demand , Region 0.) This DVD will play in DVD players worldwide POSTAGE : Free In Australia. Rest Of The World at Table Rate Australia : All orders of two or more DVDs are upgraded to Tracked Shipping. Rest Of The World : All orders shipped with Tracking Delivery times for tracked shipping are halved compared to untracked shipping Australia 7 to 15 days : Overseas 18 to 22 days COMBINED POSTAGE : ONLY CHARGED FOR FIRST DVD ALL OTHERS IN A MULTIPLE ORDER ARE POST FREE All DVDs come in a DVD case with color artwork and printed Magnificent Spectacle Masada is amazing, in part, because it is a true story and also because it is truly a fascinating drama. Originally filmed as a mini-series, at 6 plus hours, it has been released in short (movie length) form but don’t bother with that edition. Even though it (the six hour video set) is quite long, not one minute will bore you. It is a story of the military…in a battle of wits against (Jewish) patriots. The cast is superb, with Americans playing the Jews and British actors as the Romans. The lowly soldiers speaking in “middle class” dialect while the officers sound more aristocratic…a really nice touch. Peter O’Toole has never been better in his role as Flavius Silva commander of the Roman regiment dispatched by Rome to capture the Jews holding out at Masada…a huge, almost impregnable mountain fortress. Anthony Quayle and David Warner also do some of their best work ever. Peter Straus as Eleazar, leader of the Jews is passionate in his convictions and the rest of the cast shines also. The mind games they utilize on each other are fascinating and make for engrossing drama. It is truly one of the best mini-series, or historical epics ever put to film. An inspiring saga Long-last on DVD, Masada depicts the true story of the Jewish struggle atop Masada following the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem. While visiting the site in 1989 I was told that Peter Strauss asked to spend a night atop the mount, then the Israeli Air Force flew overhead scaring him considerably. The film wisely starts with a documentary showing the significance this site has today. Peter O’Toole is superb and the script is well-written. You expect the Roman General to be the “bad guy” and you discover otherwise. Much of the conversation is quite clever, especially from the Roman bureaucrats and the political intrigue. You’ll want to read about the archaeological excavations and to visit Masada after seeing this wonderful movie. This is from the golden age of TV mini-series. The Greatest Story Ever Told
