- published: 05 Feb 2016
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Claudius (Latin: Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office until his consulship, shared with his nephew Caligula in 37. Claudius' infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.
Despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign the Empire conquered Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia and Judaea, and began the conquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day. However, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position; this resulted in the deaths of many senators. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised this opinion. After his death in 54, his grand-nephew and adopted son Nero succeeded him as Emperor.
The Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794) (the latter is date 10 Thermidor, year II of the French Revolutionary Calendar), also known simply as The Terror (French: la Terreur), was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution." The death toll ranged in the tens of thousands, with 16,594 executed by guillotine (2,639 in Paris), and another 25,000 in summary executions across France.
The guillotine (called the "National Razor") became the symbol of the revolutionary cause, strengthened by a string of executions: Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI, the Girondins, Philippe Égalité (Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans) and Madame Roland, as well as many others, such as pioneering chemist Antoine Lavoisier, lost their lives under its blade. During 1794, revolutionary France was beset with conspiracies by internal and foreign enemies. Within France, the revolution was opposed by the French nobility, which had lost its inherited privileges. The Roman Catholic Church was generally against the Revolution, which had turned the clergy into employees of the state and required they take an oath of loyalty to the nation (through the Civil Constitution of the Clergy). In addition, the First French Republic was engaged in a series of wars with neighboring powers intent on crushing the revolution to prevent its spread.
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English-born American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.
Laughton was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the son of Robert Laughton and his wife Elizabeth (née Conlon), Yorkshire hotel keepers. His mother was a devout Roman Catholic of Irish descent. He attended Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit school, in Lancashire. He served during World War I (in which he was gassed) first with the 2/1st Battalion of the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Regiment and later with the 7th Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment.
Actors: Zack Godshall (producer), Zack Godshall (director), Zack Godshall (editor), Zack Godshall (writer), Bria Hobgood (actress), Justin Bickham (actor), Renee King (actress), Ross Brupbacher (producer), Ross Brupbacher (writer), Ross Brupbacher (composer), Joseph Diaz (actor), Katryn Schmidt (actress), Kayla Lemaire (actress), Rosco Hall (actor), Eric Schexnayder (actor),
Plot: Byron lives with his ex-wife, her kids, and her boyfriend, and when he's not pursuing his primary passion, women, he spends his time smoking weed and loafing around. But he's grown restless in his middle-age, and he feels the need to escape. He just doesn't know where to go. Filled with a cast of eccentric characters, each pursuing dreams and missions of their own making, LORD BYRON paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of the bizarre and lonely world of its title character, a middle-aged, late-20th century romantic who's confused and torn about his own ambitions and desires. Made on a micro-budget with a cast of non-professional actors from South Louisiana, LORD BYRON combines tragedy with bizarre comedy, naturalistic performances with outright madness.
Genres: Comedy, Drama,Actors: Brian Voelkerding (producer), Brian Voelkerding (editor), Brian Voelkerding (actor), Cecilie Bull (actress), Rich Knight (actor), Barry J. Neely (composer), Emerson Brooks (actor), Justin Talley (producer), Macauley Gray (actor), Istvan Criste (producer), Istvan Criste (writer), Istvan Criste (director), Robert Smith (actor), Robert Wesley Knight (actor), Ian Dunn (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: Outside the forgotten desert mining town of Darwin, getaway driver Chooch O'Grady is stranded with a busted car and a bag of stolen cash. He's picked up by J.T., a predatory psychopath who murders Chooch and abruptly disposes of the body, leaving signs on the trail. J.T. and his meth-addicted boss, Archie, butt heads over the incident, but the real tension lies with Archie's girlfriend, Rebecca O'Grady. Her affair with J.T. contains false hope that he would be her ticket to freedom. Chooch's murder is all but forgotten until a quiet Stranger shows up looking for the money. Before he can leave behind the isolation that is Darwin, the Stranger must navigate the bizarre ghost town and bring its outlaw inhabitants to justice.
Genres: Action, Western,Actors: Dan Wedeking (writer), Dan Wedeking (director), Dan Wedeking (editor), Nick Gripenstraw (composer), Drew Amavisca (actor), Tom Boozan (actor),
Genres: Comedy, Short,Actors: Karen Shatzkin (miscellaneous crew), Alexander Emmert (producer), Michael Richard Plowman (composer), Alexander Emmert (writer), Peter Weller (actor), Vincent Kralyevich (producer), Dolores Gavin (producer), Kristine Sabat (producer), Christopher Cassel (producer), Christopher Cassel (writer), Christopher Cassel (director), Jennifer Honn (editor), Michael Carroll (actor), Shannon Mechutan (miscellaneous crew), Bill Hunt (producer),
Genres: Documentary, History,Actors: William Shakespeare (writer), Bruce Davey (producer), Christopher Fairbank (actor), Alan Bates (actor), Pete Postlethwaite (actor), Helena Bonham Carter (actress), Glenn Close (actress), Mel Gibson (actor), Vernon Dobtcheff (actor), Ian Holm (actor), Stephen Dillane (actor), Michael Maloney (actor), Roy Evans (actor), Ennio Morricone (composer), Franco Zeffirelli (writer),
Plot: Hamlet returns to Denmark when his father, the King, dies. His mother Gertrude has already married Hamlet's uncle Claudius, the new King. They urge Hamlet to marry his beloved Ophelia. But soon the ghost of Hamlet's father appears and tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius and Gertrude. Hamlet must choose between passive acquiescence and the need for a vengeance which might lead to tragedy.
Keywords: adultery, anger, assassination-plot, barefoot, based-on-book, based-on-novel, based-on-play, brother-sister-relationship, burial, castleActors: Peter O'Toole (actor), Adriana Asti (actress), Helen Mirren (actress), Osiride Pevarello (actor), Leopoldo Trieste (actor), Pino Ammendola (actor), John Steiner (actor), Giancarlo Badessi (actor), John Gielgud (actor), Patrick Allen (actor), Paolo Bonacelli (actor), Eolo Capritti (actor), Malcolm McDowell (actor), Bruno Nicolai (composer), Gore Vidal (writer),
Plot: The rise and fall of the notorious Roman Emperor Caligula, showing the violent methods that he employs to gain the throne, and the subsequent insanity of his reign - he gives his horse political office and humiliates and executes anyone who even slightly displeases him. He also sleeps with his sister, organises elaborate orgies and embarks on a fruitless invasion of England before meeting an appropriate end. There are various versions of the film, ranging from the heavily- truncated 90-minute version to the legendary 160-minute hardcore version which leaves nothing to the imagination (though the hardcore scenes were inserted later and do not involve the main cast members).
Keywords: actual-animal-killed, affection, alternate-version, ambush, anal-fisting, ancient-rome, ancient-world, animal-love, animal-lover, animal-sexActors: David Croft (producer), David Croft (director), Frankie Howerd (actor), Lindsay Duncan (actress), Mark Dignam (actor), Talbot Rothwell (writer), John Cater (actor), Leon Greene (actor), Olwen Griffiths (actress), Cyril Appleton (actor), Elizabeth Larner (actress), Jeanne Mockford (actress), Alan Braden (composer), Jennifer Lonsdale (actress), Kerry Gardner (actor),
Genres: Comedy,Actors: Benoît Allemane (actor), Amidou (actor), Jean-Claude Bouillon (actor), François Chaumette (actor), Léonce Corne (actor), Clément Harari (actor), Jean-Louis Le Goff (actor), Judith Magre (actress), William Shakespeare (writer), Maria Laborit (actress), Mario Pilar (actor), Michel Puterflam (actor), Jean-Pierre Bernard (actor), Claude Confortès (actor), Jean Prat (writer),
Genres: Drama, History, Romance,Actors: Alfredo Alcón (actor), José Soriano (actor), William Shakespeare (writer), Ernesto Bianco (actor), Juan Carlos Gené (actor), Bárbara Mújica (actress), Guillermo Bredeston (actor), David Stivel (director), Eva Donge (actress),
Genres: Drama,Actors: Karl Michael Vogler (actor), William Shakespeare (writer), Paul Verhoeven (actor), Maximilian Schell (actor), Hans Caninenberg (actor), Alexander Engel (actor), John Banner (actor), Johannes Buzalski (actor), Herbert Bötticher (actor), Dieter Kirchlechner (actor), Karl Lieffen (actor), Ricardo Montalban (actor), Rolf Boysen (actor), Franz Schafheitlin (actor), Franz Peter Wirth (writer),
Plot: Hamlet returns to his remarkably minimalistic palace in Denmark and finds out his father is dead and his uncle Claudius has married his mother Gertrude. His father's ghost appears, and tells Hamlet to avenge him forthwith. Hamlet stages a play to confirm Claudius' guilt and his mother's compliance, but then inadvertently kills his girlfriend Ophelia's father, Polonius. This drives her insane, while her brother Laertes sets out to avenge his father's death. In a climactic swordfight, Claudius tries to poison Hamlet with Laertes' sword and a poisoned cup. Gertrude takes the poison cup out of guilt, while Hamlet realizes Laertes' sword is poisoned...
Keywords: based-on-play, brother-sister-relationship, castle, character-name-in-title, clown, cross, dancing, death, denmark, duel