Masada (miniseries)

Masada
Genre	Historical drama
Written by	Ernest Gann (novel) Joel Oliansky
Directed by	Boris Sagal
Starring	Peter O'Toole Peter Strauss Barbara Carrera Anthony Quayle Paul L. Smith and David Warner as 'Falco'
Narrated by	Richard Basehart
Composer(s)	Jerry Goldsmith
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	4
Production
Executive producer(s)	George Eckstein Jennings Lang
Producer(s)	Richard Irving
Editor(s)	Edwin F. England Robert L. Kimble Peter Kirby
Location(s)	Masada, Israel
Cinematography	Paul Lohmann
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Picture format	Film
Audio format	Monaural
Original run	5 April 1981 – 8 April 1981

Masada is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in April 1981. Advertised by the network as an "ABC Novel for Television," it was a fictionalized account of the historical siege of the Masada citadel in Israel by legions of the Roman Empire in AD 73. The TV series' script is based on the novel The Antagonists by Ernest Gann. The siege ended when the Roman armies were able to enter the fortress, only to discover the mass suicide by the Jewish defenders when defeat became imminent.

Masada was one of several historical miniseries produced in the early 1980s following the success of NBC's Shogun in 1980.

The miniseries starred Peter O'Toole as Roman legion commander Lucius Flavius Silva, Peter Strauss as the Jewish commander Elazar ben Ya'ir, and Barbara Carrera as Silva's Jewish mistress. David Warner, as Pomponius Falco, won an Emmy Award for his role. O'Toole was nominated for an Emmy for his performance. It was his first appearance in an American miniseries. Jerry Goldsmith composed the series' score, for which he received an Emmy.

Masada was filmed on location at the site of the ancient fortress, in the Judean Desert, Israel. Remains of a ramp, created during the filming to simulate the ramp built by the Romans to take the fortress, can still be seen at the site.

ABC, concerned that the audience would be unfamiliar with the historical background of the story, commissioned a 30 minute documentary, Back To Masada. Starring Peter O'Toole, the documentary recounts the history of the Jewish revolt against Rome. The network gave the documentary to its affiliates to run in the weeks prior to the premiere of the miniseries.

As was the case with Shogun, an edited, feature film-length version of the miniseries was made for theatrical release in other countries; this was also the version that became available on home video. The complete Masada miniseries first made it to the video market on four VHS tapes in 2001. A 2-disc DVD release entitled Masada — The Complete Epic Mini-Series was released on September 11, 2007. A Region 2 UK, 2-Disc DVD was released on 19 January 2009.

Cast

• Peter O'Toole - Lucius Flavius Silva
• Peter Strauss - Eleazar Ben Yair
• Barbara Carrera - Sheva
• Anthony Quayle - Rubrius Gallus
• David Warner - Pomponius Falco
• Nigel Davenport - Mucianus
• Timothy West - Emperor Vespasian
• George Innes - Titus
• Giulia Pagano - Miriam
• Clive Francis - Attius
• Warren Clarke - Plinius
• Vernon Dobtcheff - Roman Chief Priest
• Michael Elphick - Vettius
• Christopher Biggins - Claudius Albinus
• Nick Brimble - Milades
• Joe Sagal - Seth
• Paul L. Smith - Gideon
• David Opatoshu - Shimon
• Denis Quilley - General Marcus Quadratus
• W. Morgan Sheppard - Roman Sergeant
• Norman Rossington - Maro
• Joseph Wiseman - Jerahmeel, Head Essene
• Anthony Valentine - Merovius, Head Tribune
• Patrick Gorman - Tribune
• Ray Smith - Lentius, would be assassin
• Kevin McNally - Norbanus
• Richard Basehart - Narrator

See also

• List of historical drama films
• List of films set in ancient Rome

External links

• "Masada" at the Internet Movie Database
• Masada at TV.com
• Masada TV Mini-Series (ISBN 0-7832-2282-3)