In few words : There are some battles after which, nothing is ever the same. The naval battle of Actium is one of these. Actium was a great naval battle that took place in ancient Greece on September 2, 31 B.C in the Ambracian Gulf (Gulf of Arta), south of Greece's Corfu Island; a fratricidal war between Romans. It brought together two powerful rivals and divided the Eastern and Western Roman Empire into to sides: those for Mark Antony and Cleopatra versus those for Octavian. 200,000 men fought in this spectacular battle that brought together over 750 ships and machines of war, and a treasure of gold.
Actium marks the end of a long battle between two camps with antagonistic visions. A bitter dual between the east and the west whose outcome would disrupt world order once and for all, signaling the end of the last Hellenistic kingdom and the Roman empire.
Director's Vision A crucial historical point, the battle of Actium is above all the story of a dual between two fascinating personalities: Octavian and Mark Antony. The relationship between these two men is built out passion, revenge, power struggles and clashes of ambition.
A crucial historical point, the battle of Actium is above all the story of a dual between two fascinating personalities: Octavian and Mark Antony. The relationship between these two men is built out passion, revenge, power struggles and clashes of ambition.
In this brutal struggle, two contrasting visions of how to exercise of power in the Roman Empire clash violently. On one hand, Octavian's has a roman-centric vision and dream of greatness that leads him to dream of governing alone, while on the other hand, Mark Antony and Cleopatra have a two-part conception of the empire, taking into account its "Greco-Roman" duality, and envision a "Roman style" of government in the West, and a "Greek style" of government in the East.
However, the film Actium also transports the viewer to the ancient world, back into Rome and its streets, into the Roman Curia, the Capitol and its villas, and also Alexandria and its lighthouse, its palaces. Viewing the film means taking a closer look at ancient lifestyles and seeing the way people lived and fought. Images, more than words, show land-based attacks of fortified camps, battles with huge catapults, violent confrontations between 100,000 men with two-edged swords, arrows, pilums and various projectile weapons.
Actium is a naval battle, with astonishing and impressive armor-plated ships propelled by multiple rows of oarsmen. Actium and its thousands of legionaries and cavalrymen is also a trip around the Mediterranean Sea in ancient times, into Greece, Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt. A trip through time, a trip into the Greek mountains, into the swamps and the plains of Macedonia, into the Corfu waters and antique cities. Actium is also a love story between Mark Antony and Cleopatra, a love story that comes to a tragic end.Actium is a great epic.
