A 2003 Historical Drama Directed by Roger Young that has the titular Augustus (Peter O'Toole) telling his daughter (Vittoria Belvedere) of his rise to emperor of Rome.
The movie also stars Benjamin Sadler, Charlotte Rampling, Juan Diego Botto, Ken Duken, Gerard Klein, Gottfried John, Anna Valle, Massimo Ghini, and Martina Stella.
It was released on November 30, 2003.
Tropes for the film:
- The Ghost: Augustus' wife Scribonia is never shown onscreen. His marriage and divorce with her is only briefly mentioned in the aging Augustus' narration. This is despite the fact that one of the movie's main plot points is Augustus' attempt to rise to power by marrying her for the money and later leaving her for Livia.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: Done heavily with the eponymous Emperor Augustus and his rise to power. The movie presents him as an idealist whose goal was for the good of Rome. He also never wanted to do all the ugly things he did but was forced to because of the actions of his enemies. This was also done to a lesser extent with Julius Caesar, who is presented as a Wide-Eyed Idealist.
- Jumped at the Call: The titular character is shown to be so eager to answer The Call from his uncle Julius to fight in the Civil War that he decided to do so even though he was sick and remains so on the way to battle.
- Tagline: "History will bear the mark of his rule".
- Time-Shifted Actor: Sadler also plays a younger Augustus and Martina Stella plays a younger Livia.
