You won't be disappointed!

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

In 66 CE, set in Judea , a group of Jewish rebels, the Sicarii, overcame the Roman garrison of Masada with the aid of a ruse . After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, additional members of the Sicarii fled Jerusalem and settled on the mountaintop after slaughtering the Roman garrison . According to Josephus , the Sicarii were an extremist Jewish splinter group antagonistic to a larger grouping of Jews referred to as the Zealots led by Eliazar (Peter Strauss), who carried the main burden of the rebellion . Josephus said that the Sicarii raided nearby Jewish villages including Ein Gedi , where they massacred 700 women and children . In 73 CE, the Roman governor of Iudaea , Lucius Flavius Silva (Peter O'Toole , the only cast member who didn't fall ill) , headed the Roman legion X Fretensis and laid siege to Masada . The Roman legion surrounded Masada, built a circumvallation wall and then a siege ramp against the western face of the plateau .This is an interminable , but still good version , adapted from Ernest K. Gann's novel titled ¨The antagonists¨ during the first Century AD about a handful of Jews fighting to retrieve their freedom , recreating faithfully the siege of the impregnable fortress . The series is formed by 4 episodes , but there is an abridged rendition from the original TV presentation . This is a sort of would-be Jew epic with propaganda and jingoist overtones . The main cast is frankly well , though they give rating interpretations . The Jewish leader is well played by Peter Strauss , he is nice and as tough and two-fisted as a brave Zionist guerrilla should be ; while the Roman commander who feels of the loneliness colonial administrator , finely performed by Peter O'Toole , ponders the badness and goodness of the attacks . Support cast is pretty good , plenty of known and prestigious secondaries , giving enjoyable acting , as American actors are playing the Jews and British actors are cast as the Romans , such as : Barbara Carrera , Anthony Quayle , Paul L. Smith , David Warner , David Opatoshu , Joseseph Wiseman , Denis Quilley , Alan Feinstein , Clive Francis , Warren Clarke , Nick Brimble , and Timothy West as emperor Vespasiano , among others. This ¨Masada¨ film displays a rousing and imaginative musical score by the great Jerry Goldsmith . And an evocative cinematography by Paul Lohmann , being shot on location in Israel, where the historic events took place . The series was compellingly directed by Boris Sagal . Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau , akin to a mesa , being the Zionist headquarter for a group of Jews freedom fighters . It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert , overlooking the Dead Sea 20 km east of Arad . Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE . After the sack of Jerusalem Jews fled to Masada to get their freedom and their homeland . According to Josephus , the siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire at the end of the First Jewish–Roman War ended in the mass suicide of 960 people, the Sicarii rebels and their families hiding there.

By casting Americans as the Jews and Brits as the Romans the original intention must have been to make the Romans the bad guys, but despite a highly effective "bad guy" supporting performance by David Warner (who won an Emmy for this) the Romans come across as reasonable and fair-minded and with the exception of a radiant Barbara Carrera the Jews come across highly unsympathetically as religious fanatics and terrorists. This is largely due to casting the cream of British theater acting as the Romans and comparatively weak US television actors as the Jews, the best of whom is Peter Strauss, who although a decent actor, has his limitations shown up in every scene he shares with O'Toole, who is at the top of his game throughout. O'Toole's penultimate soliloquy at Strauss's house is wonderfully written and breathtakingly accomplished; it is so powerful, and his disgust at the fate of the Jews so profound, that the closing real-life scenes at Masada are greatly diminished in impact and fail to achieve their intended emotional effect, coming across instead as banal and jingoistic. Still, well worth your time and money

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!! The Masada story is interesting only as far as so many cultures, societies, religious groups, etc. have all had some sort of similar experience, especially under the yoke of the Roman Empire.The bizarre thing about the uprising surrounding Masada was the simple numbers involved. How the Zealots thought they could defeat the most powerful military in the civilized world is unclear.While no group was thrilled with Pax Romana, at the very least, the Jews had a great deal of control over their internal affairs including their religious matters. In fact, Judiasm was a protected religion in the Roman Empire. This was in great contrast to Christians who were persecuted throughout the empire, were not a protected religion, and blamed by authorities for all sorts of things. Sadly, because Christianity was considered a cult of Judiasm, the Jewish authorities gave orders to all Synagoges around the empire to support the local Roman authorities to help hunt down and slaughter every Christian that could be found.When the Romans were not actively persecuting Christians, the Jewish authorities still gave the order to kill as many Christians as possible.So, what the heck does this extra info have to do with Masada? Only that you can't feel a lot of sympathy for the Zealots. Here they had a relatively semi-autonomous existence, working with the Romans to eliminate "enemies of the state" by finding and killing Christians, and running the govt. without much interference from the Romans. Then, the Jews decide to break their agreement with the Roman authorities, slaughter the garrison, fight a protracted war where innocent civilians are killed by both sides, and at the end of the Masada battle, everyone commits suicide.The Romans destroy Jerusalem, including Solomon's Temple, and the population is sold off into slavery. Not a very well-crafted strategy by the Zealots. Actually, just plain stupid and the more you think about the innocent loss of life, the more you think that not only was the mini-series bad but the very premise of the story was idiotic.I remember seeing this mini-series when it came out on TV and it was bad back then and it's still bad after all these years.

This story brings out the idealist and the need for faith in me whenever I view it. The historical accuracy and the sheer information provided about the Roman Empire, the province of Judea circa 70AD, and the Roman Legions, are truly astonishing. Every semester, whenever I teach World Civilizations I at Essex County College in Newark NJ, I always include a classroom viewing of the 2 hour version for my students (and lament not time enough to show the full saga). Peter O'Toole's performance as the competant but troubled Flavius Silva I humbly believe is his masterwork and the life he places in his character is thought provoking and emotionally stirring. The music, the material, the true story and the detail from building the ramp to the costumes and location re-create what actually happened better than any textbook or lecture could. By the way, Barbara Cararra almost steals the show from Peter O'Toole and her acting performance also deserves special mention. I proudly own the full saga on VHS and eagerly await the DVD edition. This is a must-see for anyone interested in Roman, Israeli, or general history.