User Reviews

"The Borgias" is a testament to what collaborative work under an able organizational mind can achieve: the wonderfully idiosyncratic, Academy Award winner Neil Jordan creates, writes and directs the first two episodes of "The Borgias" and his signature in on every second of this amazingly film-like pilot who boasts a breathtaking performance from none other than Jeremy "Academy-and-Emmy-and-Golden-Globe-Award-Winning-Superstar" Irons, who headlines a vastly talented cast.

"The Borgias" begin on the deathbed of Pope Innocent VIII who's about to be succeeded by one of the most questionable personalities in papal history, the Spaniard outcast by traditional noble Roman families, Rodrigo Borgia (Irons). As Rodrigo's reign begins, his whole family, comprised of three sons, a daughter and an aging mistress is propelled to a position of power, which will lead to deeds that still scandalize the Vatican.

"The Borgias" is exquisitely crafted, with atmospheric lighting, haunting music, lush set and costume design (each of those undoubtedly worthy of an Academy Award nomination, if they were on a feature movie) and superbly executed scenes by mastermind Neil Jordan. "The Borgias" writing and editing are to be thanked for the pilot's brisk pacing (Rodrigo's Pope by the first 20 minutes and by 50 minutes there's already a poisoned corpse in his wake), as well as the humour-injected story and dialogue (maitre Jordan does take into account that people possessed both wit and the ability to be amused by certain situations, straying from the assumption that characters in period pieces need to be dead-serious, as is the case with almost every other period piece).

Jeremy Irons spearheads the cast and his performance is indelible and a reason to watch all on its own. He plays Rodrigo as the smartest and coolest man in the room, knowing his own advantages and his opponent's weaknesses so good as to not panic when they attack him and treat them with sardonic disdain and sarcastic mockery. He has a comedic vein and timing, which he frequently taps into when the situation calls for it and can also prove fiery, villainous and downright terrifying all at the same time. His Pope Alexander VI (named after the great conqueror) is not however a man without depth: he hesitates to murder, especially his fellow clergymen, and is daunted by the task to be Christ's Vicar, an epiphany which spurs him to commit brilliant and atrocious acts alike.

The rest of the cast is also pure gold: As the Pope's children, Francois Arnaud (as Cesare, named after the great Roman dictator) exceeds expectations when burdened with most screen time than his siblings, Holliday Grainger and David Oakes, who nevertheless inhabit their roles ably. Joanne Whalley is the standout in her short scenes as the mother of the Borgia progeny, bringing to the table a mostly sober, restrained performance only to surprise you with her intensity in the more dramatic sequences. As Rodrigo's new-found mistress, Lotte Verbeek presents a character sometimes vulnerable, sometimes strangely alert and resourceful, always intriguing and making you wonder what's really her agenda. Colm Feore appears deliciously bad-ass and self-righteous as Rodrigo's nemesis, cardinal Giulliano Della Rovere, while the revered veteran, Sir Derek Jacobi, takes a small and relatively thankless role and turns him into something his own. Peter Sullivan and Simon McBurney shine in their brief scenes, while Bosco Hogan and Vernon Dobtcheff lend gravitas to their cameos. The fantastic Sean Harris manages to render a calculating and cold-blooded killer into someone with a sympathetic dimension and depth.

The plot is not new to history addicts, who are going to be the most hard to surprise, but presents nevertheless enough twists and tricks to satisfy and excite. All in all excellent, don't miss "The Borgias".

In 1492 while Columbus was sailing the ocean blue to discover the Americas things weren't so tidy in Rome. It was a time when the papacy was in disrepair with popes having wives and mistresses and all manner of scandal (sound oddly familiar...) and form this period in history highly regarded writer Neil Jordan has pasted together enough information about the infamous Borgias - 'the first crime family' according to the PR - to create what resulted in a fascinating account of world history, a fitting series whose first season of 9 episodes are tied together in this package of DVDs.

For starters, the opening title sequences are masterworks of graphics and art history albeit splatter or washed in blood. The series opens with the nefarious Spanish family taking over the important Roman power vested in the papacy: Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons in a splendid tour de force of acting), becomes Pope Alexander VI when Pope Innocent VIII dies. As Pope, the elder Borgia gains election of his son Cesare (François Arnaud, a stunningly gifted young and handsome actor in one of his very first roles) to the College of Cardinals while his other son, the libidinous Juan (David Oakes) is made head of the military: these sons and the daughter Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) are the children by the pope's 'wife' Vanozza Cattaneo (Joanne Whaley), though the pope is now in the throes of a sordid relationship with Giulia Farnese (Lotte Verbeek). One cardinal - Giuliano Della Rovere (Colm Feore) - is out to depose the unctuous Borgia reign and works with outside forces to overthrow Pope Alexander VI and makes alliances with King Charles VIII of France (Michel Muller). In the meantime Lucrezia is married off to the rather piggish Giovanni Sforza (Ronan Vibert) for monetary gain for the papacy but prefers sleeping with the illiterate commoner groomsman Paulo (Luke Pasqualino). Cesare appears to be the wisest of the descendants (despite a love affair with a married woman) but the entire family wiles its way into the role of oily evil that sets the stage for the episodes to follow.

The cast is uniformly excellent: there are cameo roles for the likes of Derek Jacobi, Sean Harris, Steven Berkoff, etc. The settings and costumes are enormously successful and the pacing of the action is fast - but not too fast to pause here and there for some rather graphic sensual scenes and gross and bloody fighting. it has the flavor of the times down to a fare- thee-well, making us eager for the next season to begin. Very worthwhile watching on every level.

Grady Harp

I am giving this show 6 out of 10 stars because it *is* a visually striking example of entertainment, and even I consider it to be an entertaining series. However, it has been falsely marketed to viewers, since before the beginning. First off, it is not very historically accurate, which wouldn't be so much of a problem, as so many films and television shows depicting actual historic events and people forsake the facts for dramatic purposes. The problem here is that, again, almost from the beginning, we are lured into watching, believing that we what will be getting is a more factual portrayal of one of history's most notorious families. That is false. We are being given nothing more than typical Hollywood fare, with characters dressed in pretty costumes, sets that are visually pleasing, and situations glossed over in favour of the sexual or titillating. Even in that, though, the show does not deliver.

Character development is deplorable, and once more falls into making each nothing but a tired cliché, from the emotional tormented heart-throb as one of the lead characters, to the innocent and cutely childish lead female. However, while Francois Arnaud still manages to convey a subtle intensity that one imagines the actual Cesare Borgia to have possessed, poor Holiday Grainger makes Lucrezia Borgia seem almost mentally challenged in her over-the-top childishness and unbelievable sickeningly sweetness. Even her attempts to portray a tad of feminine manipulation seemed unnatural and forced, but then again it isn't all her fault, as much of the writing is left to be desired.

Speaking of the writing, it really is atrocious and I am at a loss in trying to understand how any of the people who were hired to write this got the job in the first place. One mistake they seem to have made is to change around many actual known historic facts, such as the birth order of the oldest Borgia male children, and the family relationship between Ludovico Sforza and Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. Again, changes such as these would be completely understandable had they anything whatsoever to do with the overall plot and story, but ultimately, these changes serve absolutely no purpose at all and would have served the same purpose, which is nothing, had they not been changed.

Another mistake was to have brought in the character of Niccolò Machiavelli. Historically, Machiavelli would not have entered into the picture until much later, but again, this can be brushed aside in favour of dramatics. The issue is that they try so hard to convey a sense of intellect and wit about him, and utterly fail in his portrayal and especially his dialogue. It's as though none of the script writers possess any sort of marked intelligence themselves so have no idea how to write a character that does, except to just say that he is, in the most uninspiring, brusque manner.

My last example goes back to my earlier statement of false marketing. Anyone who is familiar with the Borgia history will also be aware of the notorious rumours of incest that still persist to this day. Neil Jordan and Showtime are milking those rumours for all they are worth with the promo shots and photos showing the characters of Lucrezia and Cesare posing in a variety of un-sibling-like poses, teasing viewers with the idea of an incestuous bond. Nothing like that actually occurs in the show at all, and Neil Jordan himself has said in at least one interview that the siblings are not incestuous. However, they still seem to be profiting by manipulating viewers with the possibility of watching something lurid and forbidden.

In conclusion, if you are looking for an hour of mindless historical drama once a week, or looking for a bit of bare ass, you'll probably give The Borgias 10 out 10 stars. However, if you're looking for something that might teach you a little history, or are expecting to get some intelligent political tension, you will be sorely, sorely disappointed. It's fluff, plain and simple.

A great cast with strong performances. This is really an excellent show. However, why the producers had to invent so much gore and evil I don't know. If the real Borgia's were still around they would probably sue for defamation of character.

OK, I'll admit that much of the Borgias' history is cloaked in legend and "urban myths" but even so, the series does take this to extremes. Take episode three, for example (spoiler alert), where Sultan Bayezid II's brother Cem is transferred to the custody of Pope Alexander and then murdered by the Borgia's. This never happened. In fact Cem was transferred in March 1489 to the custody of Pope Innocent VIII, Alexander's predecessor. He died in Capua on February 25, 1495, while on a military expedition to conquer Naples under the command of King Charles VIII of France.

Episode one (spoiler alert) shows Cardinal Orsini being poisoned at a banquet, ostensibly by Cesare Borgia. It didn't happen this way - He was arrested by order of the pope and taken to Castel San Angelo where he fell ill and died after twelve days on 22 February 1503. He may have been executed, nobody knows for sure.

Granted, historical accuracy may not be a big thing for everybody. Personally I prefer accurate historical dramas.

So, a show by Neil Jordan and starring THE Jeremy Irons? Must be a hit, don't you think? Not really, unfortunately.

I have pondered what was wrong about the pilot and I found it was simply not immersive enough. The opening sequence is passable but it's not a piece I would yearn to see again. Then we see some evidently (in a bad sense) CGI'ed Renaissance Rome which serves as a background for the short written (but IMO redundant) introduction. And then the characters drown in completely off-character dialogue to explain to the viewers what is going on.

After that I was completely turned-off and didn't even care much that the cardinals' names were in some part made up (Orsino Orsini? the guy that never was a priest and was married to Giulia Farnese?), the fighting sequences were really bad and the pope's coronation theme is Haendel's (sic!) Coronation Anthem No. 1. Oh wait, and they had apparently blunt daggers, as Micheletto doesn't get a scratch from them (or maybe he is just a really tough guy). As for the acting, Feore and Irons rock but the rest of the Borgias family seems bleak in comparison. Arnaud's performance is good but not superb and Grainger's Lucrezia is stiff and not convincing. And this is THE Lucrezia we're talking!

Long story short, watch if:

+ you like costumes; they are amazing in this one, Gabriella Pescucci has done a superb work here

+ you haven't seen The Sopranos or The Godfather, they eat Showtime's Borgias for their breakfast

+ you don't care about historic accuracy and are not turned-off by off- character explanations

Don't watch if:

• you didn't like The Tudors

• you know the real history

• you are a martial arts geek

• you expected abundant and very graphical sex scenes

Let me start by saying that I was hoping for the best but not expecting much. I was so surprised. One word could describe the pilot; "Beautiful". First of all, the credits sequence images and music were mystifying and haunting. The greatest accomplishment of this pilot was the setting, the atmosphere with the music, the lighting, the production design and the cinematography, all of which reminded me so much of what you would see in a feature film! Some scenes were just breath-taking. One that jumps to my mind specifically would be the Pope's coronation. Words can't possibly do it justice.

Some scenes can feel a little long winded but things happen so quickly and yet so subtly that it leaves you feeling like, "Wait, what just happened?" in a very good sense, of course. Keeps you on your toes and demands your attention. In a very similar way, Jeremy Irons owns every scene he's in. A paper bag could play opposite of Jeremy Irons skills and leave you believing it was a worthy actor.

As for the rest of the cast, everyone has superb chemistry with one- another (as evidenced by the many gifs and youtube videos of Lucrezia and Cesare together.) They are all incredibly believable. For example, I had no knowledge of the story of the Borgias before watching this Pilot and Francois displays an intense internal turmoil between the good and bad. In what direction he goes remains to be seen. Although we are given a lot of foreshadowing.

I could go on and on about this show. It is a must watch. So much intrigue and so many intertwining story lines. The possibilities are endless and I'm loving all the directions my mind is taking them.

The Borgias is a series of episodes that would most appeal to those who are 21 and up and for those who enjoy intrigue and historical type drama. The Borgias is not for the faint of heart. The series reminds me of "The Godfather" with a papal twist. However, the pope is not the Godfather, Cesare Borgia is. The pope's daughter in the series comes off sweet and innocent. Yet, in reality, she was more like Cesare and extremely ruthless. In essence, she was her brother's sister. I enjoyed all three seasons of the Borgias. It was good to keep most of the episodes just under an hour in length. Each episode made me look forward to the next. I was disappointed not to see a fourth season which would hopefully take me to the death of Pope Borgia. The episodes demand your entire attention. These episodes are good for prime time and anytime. So enjoy with a glass of wine.