The Borgias : The Original Crime Family , Seasons 1-3 [DVD]

A brilliant series, with twists and turns, murder and mayhem, crime, skulduggery and excellent acting. Holliday Grainger is a gem!

Oh my God, this is the best history series I have seen since The Tudors. Cunning, resourceful and diabolical, the Borgias bribe their way into absolute power, eliminating their enemies and negotiating alliances with ruthless precision. However, a momentary lapse allows a dangerous opponent to flee to France, threatening to unleash the might of the French armies to usurp their power, the contest has truly now began. Gripping, edge of your seat storylines, immersed in political intrigue in 15th century Italy. A lavish, unrivalled and spectacular production, a compelling historical drama unlike any other. A saga of intrigue, lust and murder, but most of all, power. Miss it at your peril.

I liked it but there were moments were I felt it lacked edge. Found myself getting a little bored towards the end, but definitely worth watching if you like the 'Tudors'.

Excellent series full of intrigue. It is good to see a historical viewpoint of another country - other than the uk - at a key point in its history. I hope it is factually correct - as a non-historian I have no way of knowing. In spite of the reputation for being terrible people, i found myself liking them, and they did not come across so very much worse that others of their time. (Mary Tudor also murdered many hundreds if not thousands of people - mostly burning them alive). I have only 1 serious complaint about this series - and that is is simply stops half way though as though a 4th season was planned then abandoned suddenly. There is not even a paragraph at the end detailing how much longer the Borgias lasted, what happened to them, when they died and who replaced them. Of course I can look this up on the net but to suddenly stop halfway though is annoying in the extreme. However it is still an excellent series and highly recommended.

Although it sometimes plays fast and loose with the historical facts, bending them to suit the storyline where needed, this is a great story, brilliantly told, and with a stellar cast. The year is 1492, the place Rome, Italy, with the sumptuous jewel-like brilliance of the Renaissance. Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia yearns to become Pope. By dint of the most shameless bribery and corruption and with the help of his two older sons, he gets himself crowned as Pope Alexander VI (though he was not in reality the first Borgia Pope. That honour went to his uncle, known as Pope Calixtus III). Can the cunning Rodrigo Borgia and his stop-at-nothing sons last the course and build a dynasty? We find out through three seasons of intrigue, murder and incest which leave only the fittest, meanest and most ruthless alive. Fine performances all round and fast-paced action make this series unmissable.( If you become frustrated with the apparent unkillable Cardinal Della Rovere, by the way, he has to survive. He becomes Pope later on as Julius II.)

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this series and shall do so again. It was also a brilliant acting cast, especially the performances from Jeremy Irons and Holliday Granger.

EXCELLENT service and product would totally recommend....

Suffering from withdrawal symptoms at the end of my DVD box set binge of The Tudors — superb pacy story-telling, complex characters you cared about, stunning costumes and jewllery — I looked for a replacement. One friend assured me that The Borgias with Jeremy Irons was as good as. How could it not be? The most infamous family in Christendom, politics, treachery and sex. I'm afraid my friend was wrong. Very wrong. It's like wading through wet cement and I'm having a problem staying with it in the 2nd season. I can see why it was dropped. Jeremy Irons is more a peeved country squire than the satanic but charming Pope Alexander. No matter how much he seethes and flashes his eyes, he does not have the gravity of Borgia. Same with Cesare Borgia. These are not bad actors, just sadly miscast. The real problem is the script. Ye gods: pompous, ponderous, on the nose, overlong. Scenes that outweight their welcome, the writing puts the bore in Borgias. I mean, how can you make Nicolo Machiavelli a smirking clerk? Neil Jordan needed someone on the team to give him a counter-balancing wit and verve, the sort that made The Tudors sparkle. Not just in the style, but the content. The Tudors is excellent in showing how complicated politics worked in Henry VIII's time and swings you with masterful ease around all the perspectives, so you always understand the motivation behind dodgy choices even if you don't agree with them. The Borgias just have one dreary linear one-damn-thing-after-another plot but with long gaps. It's mostly telling with little showing, and all on one note. The film set is the star. The bonus feature showing you how the vast beautiful St Peters was made is fascinating. If only the series was half as interesting.

EXCELLENT

Gefällt mir ist nicht so drastisch.

En mi opinión aborda un tema controversial que pocos se atreven a hacer, pues en mi opinión la Iglesia Católica aún tiene una enorme influencia que la hace casi intocable. Pero el esfuerzo de proyectos como éste nos brindan un panorama muy aproximado del pasado y tal vez del presenta de esa institución religiosa. Además la actuación, la ambientación, de la serie para mí es excelente. Es una lástima que le hayan cortado y no hayan llegado a la parte más controversial. ¿Me pregunto por qué?

De serie zelf is heel boeiend. Opgelet, de blu ray Borgia seria die ik van Amazon ontving is niet af te spelen voor regio Europa. Ook niet met Playstation Men moet daarvoor een multi regio blu ray speler hebben die alles kan afspelen.

This series is unbelievably enjoyable. I couldn't stop watching it. I never had Showtime only HBO so dare I say I didn't discover this series until 2015 on Netflix. I loved it so much, I bought the Blu Ray and Soundtrack. The music, especially the main title, is beautifully written. Rarely do I see such series like this made anymore. This series involves murder, corruption, bribery and sex and of course religion. So there is something for everyone, lol. I'm not Catholic so maybe that's why I listed religion last. Obviously no offense to those who are Catholic. If you have an interest in renaissance period movies, which this takes place in the late 1400's, I believe this may be up your alley. All the actors performed their art beautifully. There was not one bad actor or actress in this. Now.......... to my negative review of Showtime. Yes, I believe in touching all bases. I was at the end of the series which was the third season, and the last show which was roughly an hour long like the rest of the episodes per season. After it ended, Netflix went into a different movie. I was wondering what the hell happened. I clicked back on Netflix to discover that was indeed the end and discovered Showtime cancelled it after the third season. I can understand they have to make money etc. BUT, the ending was horribly done. It didn't seem like the end. It left you wanting more. They should have done a 2 hour finale or something along those lines to satisfy the loyal viewers of this series. Although a few viewers don't make money. Pope Alexander died in roughly 1503 which they were not far from after the third season. Perhaps they should have at least considered including that as part of a finale. Oh well, what's done is done. I'm sure my opinion means absolutely s*** to Showtime.