Masada

1981
7.8| 6h34m| en
Details

After the destruction of the Second Temple, 900 Jewish zealots hold out against a 5000 man Roman legion on the mountaintop fortress of Masada.

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Tweekums This four part series tells to story of the siege of Masada; a seemingly impregnable mountaintop fortress were a small band of Jewish fighters attempted to hold off the might of the Roman Tenth Legion. The Zealots, under the leadership of Eleazar Ben Yair retreated to Masada after an uprising has been put down by the Romans; from here they strike out on a number of raids. Eventually Eleazar tries to negotiate a peace with Roman leader Lucius Flavius Silva. Silva thinks his terms are reasonable and takes them back to Rome; unfortunately politics gets in the way and he is ordered back to Judea. Here he lays siege to Masada and with the guidance of Rubrius Gallus, an expert in siege warfare, orders the building of a massive ramp and a siege engine topped by a giant battering ram. This will be a mammoth undertaking and while his men swelter in the heat the Zealots taunt them; the Romans are on minimal water rations and the Zealots and their families have so much water they can swim in it. This leads to rising tensions in the Roman ranks, not helped by the fact that Silva has taken a Jewish lover and is constantly drinking. Inevitably though the ramp is completed and the people of Masada must make a decision about what to do next; they know they can't defeat the Romans at this point.I really enjoyed this series; the story is told at a moderate pace, it isn't rushed but nor does it feel boring. We are introduced to the key characters early on and it is inevitable that one will grow to care about what happens to them as the story unfolds. Peter O'Toole dominates proceedings as Silva; a general who respects his enemy while also being frustrated by him. The rest of the cast, which includes Peter Strauss as Eleazar, Barbara Carrera as Silva's lover Sheva and Anthony Quayle as Gallus does a solid job. Since it was made for television in 1981 it isn't surprising that the violence is less gory than one might expect of a more modern production; this isn't a problem though; in fact it means it can be watched by those who don't like gory scenes. While the series was impressive I think it could have done without the prologue and epilogue where we see modern Israeli soldiers taking part in a ceremony at Masada while a less than subtle narration makes it clear that we are meant to be sympathising with the doomed Zealots in the fort not the besieging Romans… perhaps because we spent more time with the Romans I found them to be more sympathetic, especially Silva and Gallus. That said these scenes didn't spoil the series; they were only a few minutes out of six hours.
justin_james753 Masada is an average epic that has been treated generously. It's not horrible, but it could have been better. A good review must look at, aside from the basics, the film's themes, symbolism, and the quality of the plot. The film is inaccurate, but why? What is the film's message? And does the film's message and inaccuracy make it worth buying, renting, or ignoring? But first, the basics. The plot is simple: good guys versus bad guys. No clever twists, except in the end perhaps, and nothing original for its time. The setting is the Jewish Revolt of 66-74 AD. The Romans have just captured Jerusalem, but a handful of zealous freedom fighters escape to the fortress Masada. It is a spectacle in the mold of Spartacus and Ben-Hur, one of the last films of that style. The plot unfolds well but is not engaging or intellectual. Romance is included in the film between the Roman general Silva (O' Toole) and a Jewish whore. It was unnecessary.The acting is mixed. Americans were cast to play the underdogs, the Jews, and Englishmen were cast to play the Romans. As a result talent was concentrated on the Roman side which made for uneven cinema. Peter Strauss who played the Jewish leader is an exception, but the rest were nonentities. On the Roman side there were veteran British actors of tremendous quality such as Peter O'Toole (who occasionally overacts), Anthony Quayle, and David Warner. O'Toole is a real actor. He has actually gotten on stage and performed Shakespeare. In other words the bad guys are not cardboard stands, unlike Star Wars for example. However, the film is heavily biased in favor of the Jews. The film is poor history, but good propaganda. Becket and Lawrence of Arabia were epics that had good history but were still enjoyable. Masada is nowhere near their caliber. Issues have been raised about the mediocre costume and armor of the characters. In my opinion this is a non-issue, there are far more important problems with the film, and that is coming from a Roman military historian. If the film had a better script it would have been a better film regardless of what armor the Roman legionaries wore. Masada and the film's message should be placed into context. The Jews had religious freedom in the Empire, and this is indicated in several passages of Josephus, a Jewish historian (14.228, 1.194, 14.213-16, 14.225-7, 16.162-5). Roman procurators in Judaea also attempted to accommodate Jewish custom, especially towards Jerusalem and the Temple. What the Romans would not give was political freedom. But that status was true for all of Rome's subjects, and only some Jews actively sought independence. I say "some Jews" because the desire for violent resistance against Rome was not universal. There were, however, a number of self-proclaimed messiahs that were stirring up the masses. The film's message is that it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees. The Jews bravely (or foolhardily) attempted to throw off Roman yoke and suffered horribly as a result. A better philosophy is to live on your feet than to die on your knees, as the rest of Rome's subjects did. The film does not discuss this complicated dilemma, as I said it is anything but original. The Jews did not stand a chance. Whatever one thinks of the Romans they produced a superb fighting machine. Opposition against it was largely futile, or extremely costly, as the Germans learned earlier in the century.The film is neither creative nor enlightening. The goal of propaganda is not to be truthful. The film is Israeli propaganda. The cast and production were American and British, Israel is America's most important ally in the Middle East, and the film had complete support from the Israeli government. At the beginning and end of the film it shows Israeli soldiers climbing Masada, raising Israel's flag, and claiming Masada will never fall again. Did the Romans only represent Romans? Of course not, just as Jurassic Park was a not movie about dinosaurs. The Jews faced a vastly superior force in the 66-74 revolt against Rome. This was also true for the Israeli Defense Force in 1948-9 against the coalition of Arab states. It is symbolism, but unimaginative. It is highly melodramatic. Silva is also overly sympathetic to the Jewish cause, and there is no evidence that he an Eleazar had any sort of contact.The film is historically inaccurate, about 3/4s of it. This is also not surprising. It was based off a fictional novel and not the ancient authorities. It perpetuates the national myth that Masada was garrisoned by the Zealots. It was not, it was garrisoned by Sicarii. The Sicarii were terrorists, or freedom-fighters, depending on your perspective. They murdered 700 women and children at Engaddi (4.7.1). They actively murdered and plundered the property of Jews that accepted Roman rule (7.8.1). These tactics are used by the modern terrorist groups of Hamas, PLO and others against the Israelis. The same is true for insurgents against the U.S. occupation in Iraq. So are these people freedom-fighters and heroes as well? Another interesting dilemma that the film could have explored but did not, for obvious reasons. If you asked the Palestinians, who are held in an economic stranglehold by Israel, the new Romans are ironically the Israelis. The Sicarii most resemble the Kach party in modern Israel, the criminal, antidemocratic, racist party that wants all Arabs expelled from Israel.The film was released in 1981, the same year Israeli aircraft destroyed a multi-story apartment block that contained PLO. The attack killed around 300 civilians and resulted in worldwide condemnation and U.S. embargo on aircraft to Israel. Thus governments can also be terrorist groups. To return to Masada, I own the film because I enjoy watching the Roman army in action. That is the only reason why I own it.
gcapp-1 **Spoiler Warning** This series was very informative and spellbinding. It gave me insight to the Romans' technological abilities, for example, the assault tower which could be adjusted to tilt straight up while being drawn up the ramp.The engineer who designed it would have been quite at home in the US Army Corps of Engineers, in terms of using science and engineering know-how to accomplish military objectives. His dying words included vital information about the moon, reminiscent of D-Day being planned for the right tides and moonlighting for the Normandy assault.One person commented about the zealots blowing a good deal. This is the nature of zealots: to want it all, or at least to have more than they now have. The zealots didn't want Rome in their land at all, not now, not when Christ came (Judas Iscariot was a zealot). Eleazar was willing to cooperate with Rome, asking for home-rule during his hillside late-night meeting with Silva. Silva could not get the Caesar to agree.It must have been galling, when Silva was sitting in with the Senate, to have critical questions asked about him but he could not speak to them because he was a guest, not a member of that legislature.I eagerly await this series' uncut release onto DVD for Region 1. I don't have the VHS, simply because I expect a DVD release. If the miniseries "The Martian Chronicles", "V" and such merit a DVD release, then the true history of "Masada" is at least ten times worthier.
jtpaladin WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!! The Masada story is interesting only as far as so many cultures, societies, religious groups, etc. have all had some sort of similar experience, especially under the yoke of the Roman Empire.The bizarre thing about the uprising surrounding Masada was the simple numbers involved. How the Zealots thought they could defeat the most powerful military in the civilized world is unclear.While no group was thrilled with Pax Romana, at the very least, the Jews had a great deal of control over their internal affairs including their religious matters. In fact, Judiasm was a protected religion in the Roman Empire. This was in great contrast to Christians who were persecuted throughout the empire, were not a protected religion, and blamed by authorities for all sorts of things. Sadly, because Christianity was considered a cult of Judiasm, the Jewish authorities gave orders to all Synagoges around the empire to support the local Roman authorities to help hunt down and slaughter every Christian that could be found.When the Romans were not actively persecuting Christians, the Jewish authorities still gave the order to kill as many Christians as possible.So, what the heck does this extra info have to do with Masada? Only that you can't feel a lot of sympathy for the Zealots. Here they had a relatively semi-autonomous existence, working with the Romans to eliminate "enemies of the state" by finding and killing Christians, and running the govt. without much interference from the Romans. Then, the Jews decide to break their agreement with the Roman authorities, slaughter the garrison, fight a protracted war where innocent civilians are killed by both sides, and at the end of the Masada battle, everyone commits suicide.The Romans destroy Jerusalem, including Solomon's Temple, and the population is sold off into slavery. Not a very well-crafted strategy by the Zealots. Actually, just plain stupid and the more you think about the innocent loss of life, the more you think that not only was the mini-series bad but the very premise of the story was idiotic.I remember seeing this mini-series when it came out on TV and it was bad back then and it's still bad after all these years.

Similar Movies to Masada