Original subtitles

No, not here, Nero.

Why must you be so prosaic?

Your soul lacks poetry, Ate.

How can I make you understand that love and poetry know not time and place?

I like it when you say I'm your muse, your inspiration, too.

How often must I say it?

Well, I'll tell you one thing. You're my Circe.

Did you tell your wife that?

Octavia inspires me to one thing only.

What?

That death is beauty.

Oh, but let's not talk of her now.

We'll be leaving soon, and I took Eliza in wait for us.

Have you news for us?

Pardon this intrusion, Claudius Nero, but the

Emperor orders you to come to the palace immediately.

Duty calls, my dearest.

Claudius Nero is here to see you, divine Caesar.

Show him in! Show him in!

There is drink for all.

Here, little fishes, drink with me.

Do my little fishes please you, Nero?

I inherited a whole lot of them along with the rest of the court.

I'm here to command, divine one.

Oh, yes, I had forgotten.

Come, I will speak with you, dear nephew.

Sit here beside me.

You never worry about your mother, Nero.

Narcissus tells me that she plots against me.

You think there's truth in it?

Don't tell me you know not.

My throne, your loving mother is ambitious for you.

Plutonicus, you always come first.

How proud I am of you.

I find my boy well.

Come, light of my life.

Come on, come on.

Nero, why don't you recite some poetry for us?

You can see how Britannicus is depressed today.

Could you think of nothing to cheer us?

Go on, sing. Sing us one of your songs.

So she wooled for Rome, who suckled her for bread.

Now art thou tomb of Eden, the goddess of oil.

You who gave promulence life, were everyone's mother and nobody's wife.

Now no more than a statue, that stands upon Capitol Hill.

You began all this struggle and strife, you

gave me the mystery of eternity to conjure.

The heaven sends sun in the sky, and the dark of the night.

Poor little Paulina.

What a shame your head contained the

ambitious idea that you could stand in my way.

Lucano dared to say that Lolia Paolina had the whitest teeth in Rome.

Get out, all of you!

I, too, have been humiliated, Mother.

That stupid husband of yours and his son, they laughed at my composition.

How outrageous of them.

Orpheus himself is envious of your music, little copperbeard.

It's really inspired.

Those two Philistines could never appreciate the art of a true poet.

You don't appreciate my work, Mother.

You want to be recognized.

You want to be recognized.

I leave tomorrow for Attica, an exile of choice.

Exile?

You're not going anywhere. Your place is here in Rome.

My plans for your future are here. Soon you will be emperor.

You write songs.

You'll be Emperor.

The Seven Hills will be all yours.

All yours.

I promise you.

You like that?

Yes.

You like it?

Yes.

Yes.

That's you, LaCosta.

Come in.

Take no notice of Nero.

He's in the arms of Morpheus.

Nothing will disturb him now.

You're sure it'll have the desired effect?

This distillation of wild mushroom juice would kill even a bull, divine one.

I hope you're right.

Fear not, lady.

Go now, Lacusta. If I have further need of your services, I'll have you brought here.

I am your humble servant.

Sweet dreams, little copper-bearded son.

Rest while you can.

Soon you will be Emperor of Rome.

Summer is drawing near. Soon the heat of Rome will be unbearable.

So I have decided, my dear wife, to send you away to a place

far up in the hills where you will be cooled and protected.

Is it his husband or Emperor you ordered?

His Emperor.

I've had them prepare what you most prefer. It'll put you in a good humor.

Ah, wild mushrooms, how delicious.

The plate of which I dream.

Well Nero, will you take me to Attica with you?

No, my august mother has made other plans.

What other plans?

He's dead.

Agrippina, the emperor Claudius has taken his place among the gods.

Poor Britannicus, what cruel destiny.

The fates have gathered against our family.

First they struck my uncle Tiberius, then my brother Caligula.

And now my dearest husband Claudius has met his end.

I warned him that one day the mushrooms he so adored would do him harm.

But he didn't listen.

I warned him that one day the mushrooms he so adored would do him harm.

But you know how willful he was, Britannicus.

Your father could never resist a plate of wild mushrooms.

Nobody outside the palace must find out what's happened to the emperor.

Call me musicians to perform in his honor, if you please.

And in honor of his successor.

Listen.

May I be allowed to offer you a taste

of this wine that was grown for you?

It is truly a nectar of the gods.

Accept the offer of this humble clod.

It must be good.

I am betrayed!

The traitor to the lions!

Claudius Nero, emperor of Rome!

Ave, Claudius Caesar!

Ave, Caesar!

Ave, Petrachor!

Hail, Caesar!

Ave, Caesar!

Ave, Imperator!

Ah, Atte.

Why don't you come and have a swim with us?

I'm afraid I'm too efficient.

Your mother's waiting to see you, Nero.

My mother?

My mother.

She'd never leave me in peace for a single second.

My faithful latte, I want you to come to my room tonight.

And I want you ready, willing and able.

Till tonight.

My dear brother.

Have no fear, Britannicus, have no fear.

You will share power over Rome with me.

And no one will harm a hair on your head.

At least for as long as I want them to.

I want you with me at the arena tomorrow.

We'll give them a show to please everyone.

Go on now.

Jump in the pool together with my little fishes.

Go on.

I want you to put your seal on this decree, making Palanti the Chancellor in place of

Narcissus.

As you wish.

Here we have a nomination to the Imperial Council for Sanofonte.

Yes, Mother.

And this decree condemns that courtesan, Atte, to exile.

No, Mother.

Nero an emperor must understand the workings of the state

You must consider your wife

You cannot prefer a concubine

The mere idea of sleeping with that fleabag Octavia makes me sick

But she is the Empress and you my son our Emperor. Oh

That's just what I'm getting at

Come to my arms little copper beard allow me to comfort you that nickname is reserved

Only my dear mother is permitted to call me that

She made up the name and I won't allow anybody else to use it not even you

Isn't my Nero feeling well?

I'm not your Nero. I know what's the matter. You've seen your mother

She's suffocating me. I'm not your Nero. I'm not your Nero

That's true your mother keeps a heavy hand on you

Snuggle up to me

Auntie will protect you and make you feel good

I

I

I

I'm sure you're pleased with Octavia today, Nero.

What did you say, Mother?

Nothing.

Britannicus, you saw your father's assassins and knew them all.

You recognized them.

Deny it.

It was the man you executed.

He was responsible.

Varus killed the corpse, no more.

He was murdered before that.

I am awaiting your answer.

Santa Fatia is often mentioned.

Tigellinus.

Your order, sir.

Tigellinus, you must arrest Senefonte and Palante.

Their servants, their friends, their children, and their slaves.

Put Senefonte under arrest.

No, Caesar.

No.

I'm a doctor.

I swear on Hippocrates I had nothing to do with it.

Thank you, Britannicus.

I am indebted to you.

How could he do this to his own mother?

Over the city an eagle takes wing,

While down in the circus an emperor will sing.

While holding his harp and plucking the string,

He studies his subjects doing their thing.

No, I get no inspiration from anyone,

Knowing you are all traitors deep down in your hearts.

You must not think such things, Nero.

Pindar, Saffo, even Homer himself would have been proud

to have penned verses of such splendor.

I'm grateful.

I know your compliments are sincere.

But if Venus herself is unable to inspire me,

what other muse may I turn to?

Oh, life's a bore!

Oh, yes, there's more.

Huh? Did you leave this?

Caesar, I want you to kill that creature.

His dreary lovemaking is getting monotonous.

Did you leave this?

Do it slowly. I want to study it.

No! See that?

Death, death, what sound will you make?

What form will you take?

When you creep into the room that leads to the tomb?

No, no! Not even death can inspire me.

Yet I'm on the threshold of creation.

Yes, I think birth is near.

I shall soon give birth to a creation, a masterpiece that posterity...

Did you mean us? Take that filthy thing away! Throw it to the dogs!

Where can I find inspiration?

From the gods!

Tomorrow we'll all go to the temple of Vesta.

I'm sure the sacred Vesta Rubria will give me inspiration.

I'll give you inspiration.

What's wrong, Lero?

Making love on an uptual bed gives me no satisfaction anymore.

Why is that? You always called me your nymph because I gave you such satisfaction.

The satisfaction you gave me is finished. You don't inspire me anymore, Artie.

I feel the need for divine sex.

If only I could copulate with a goddess.

And then at last I could finish an ode.

But Nero...

Nero!

That'll do.

I don't want you to ever come to my bedchamber again.

I think I'll have you exiled, Artie.

But today I'm in a good mood.

I'll turn you over to my eunuch.

But...

You're never to have sex with anyone else at all.

Get out of here!

I feel the call of Morpheus.

The divine origins of Caesar are known to the gods.

Isn't that marvelous?

If I'm a god, then I must surely copulate with a version of Vesta.

The Vestal virgins are sacred.

They maintain the fire of Venus.

Even to touch one would be a sacrilege, divine one.

But you tell me that I'm a god.

How then can I, a god, be sacrilegious to myself?

Tell me that.

No! No!

Go on, Caesar, cast the first egg.

All right, everybody on with rotten fruit?

Of course, yes, Caesar.

All right, begin.

Now comes the part I like best.

No!

No!

No!

Tigellinus.

Your order, Caesar.

Could you tell me, who's that fair boy?

The one you're looking at is Senefontes.

Tigellinus, do you think if I were to defend the rings?

Wonderful.

You're so beautiful.

Your breasts.

Your legs.

I adore you.

No!

Here!

Seneca!

Oh, look, Seneca, is it not the reincarnation of Venus you see?

Indeed, Venus would die of envy.

He's a beauty, but...

I want to marry him, Seneca.

I will make him my new empress.

I don't think the Senate would ever permit you to do that, Caesar.

Oh, that bunch of middle-aged fools,

they'll have to wake up their ideas, Seneca.

Consider what the populace will say.

The populace, the populace.

It's absurd that an emperor must listen to the crowd.

I'm always bound to the will of the people.

It's extremely unfair.

How can the spirit of a talented artist survive in the role of an emperor?

I have the soul of an estate.

The ancient laws of Rome say you can only marry a woman, Caesar.

And these stupid laws are the only things that stand in my way.

Yes, they are.

Claudius Nero Augustus.

To order all doctors of medicine in the empire,

Roman, Jewish, even Chaldean, to get together,

give this their thought, and find a solution, so that I can have him.

And that's an order.

Sing to me, boy. Oh, Sporus, your joy will be mine when you're mine.

Soon, I'll be entwined in a pain I will

not, but a sacrifice, wrought and forgotten,

when we sip the wine, the wine, the wine, red as blood divine.

Ah, Sporus, your sex will be no longer that of a boy.

We can marry.

A splendid feast. Is it not, Julius?

Have you come here to spoil my feast, mother?

If my presence upsets you, I can easily move.

Oh, stay as long as you wish.

Petronius. Who is that fair creature?

That one there, that's Poppaea Sabina, wife of Rufrio Crispino.

Is that her lover, the one she's with?

No, Caesar, that's her husband, Rufrio.

Oh, marital fidelity makes me feel absolutely nauseated.

Tomorrow, we will transfer the entire court to our residence at Anzio,

where we'll be purified and make sacrifices to the gods.

Farewell, mother dear.

Britannicus, dearest brother.

Sit yourself down here on my throne.

Sit down, go on.

And now, mother, kiss the face of my successor.

There she is.

You still believe I was involved in the murder of your father?

Such a suspicion never entered my head for a minute.

You saw how Nero behaved at the feast.

He wants to see both of us dead.

Both of us?

The emperors matter every day.

The legions are searching everywhere for a successor to place on his throne.

What then is your plan?

Nero is about to take his entire court down to Anzio.

Yes, I know.

He is to purify himself and pray there.

My son is superstitious and he wants no one near him when he communes with his gods.

He's so easy to kill.

Yes.

Oh, I understand.

Nisili-la-i-tamma, Nisili-la-i-tsa-gi.

Nisili-la-i-tamma, Nisili-la-i-tsa-gi.

Repeat after me.

I take this man for my noble husband.

I take this man for my noble husband.

Quiet!

Where is Nero? Where is he hiding?

I know not, I swear to you. He's not been seen here at Anseo by anyone.

You're lying!

No, it's the truth, I swear. I swear it on the gods.

It's outrageous! My mother wanted me dead!

Do you understand, faithful Petronius?

She wanted to kill her own son!

Now I'm forced to make the greatest, the most terrible sacrifice of my entire life.

De Jillinas.

At your service, Caesar.

Tigellinus, I entrust you to end my mother's life.

He hesitated to carry out your orders.

I might find I can dispense with his valuable services.

But of the people I have around the court, I admit I had hoped he'd fit in.

This'll be a chance to prove whose side he's on.

Here they come now.

The Prefect of the Praetorian Guard requests audience, August Empress.

Show him in at once.

Tigellinus, peace be with you.

I'm so glad to see you.

Come to my arms.

Strike me here, in the stomach, and do not hesitate.

She called out to me as she was dying.

Yes, Divine One.

Poor mother. Teacher Linus, your will, O Messias, bring my tearglass to me.

A tear, mother, I shed it for you.

And I expect one from you, teacher Linus.

And another from me.

And leave me alone with my sorrow.

Punish me, mother.

Mother, punish me.

Punish me, mother.

Mother!

That's a good son.

Let me kiss your nipples.

Mother, I do.

Continue all of my life.

Lying here on the floor with the Emperor.

I am your mother, little copperbeard.

No!

Sacrilege!

Sacrilege!

Digilinus!

Digilinus!

Digilinus!

What is it, Caesar?

Her soppy to the wild beasts.

She has dared to impersonate my mother!

Lies!

On me, on my house, and all the Caesars!

Me too, my dear Britannicus.

My mother is no more.

Octavia is far away.

I find everyone hostile.

I am betrayed on all sides.

Let us drink, Britannicus.

Let us drink to the name of my mother,

the Empress Augusta.

Let us fill the cup.

To her.

You refuse my toast to drink to my mother?

Well, I...

Britannicus, I'm sure you've taken an antidote.

Yes, you have!

You've taken medicine to protect you from Caesar!

Let me see, let me see! No!

No, I swear I've done nothing!

Has he confessed his crime yet?

He refuses to confess to anyone with blood less noble than his own.

It's no more so than mine is.

Well, little brother, have you nothing to tell me?

Blickula knew well how to punish and affront to his person.

Don't you think it's amusing?

As soon as his bladder's full, he'll be like a toad with his belly ready to burst.

It's so dreary.

Digilinus.

Life in Rome is such a bore.

Perhaps I could find a female to give me love and inspiration.

You have only to give me the order and I'll

bring you all the best of virgins you desire,

Caesar.

No, no, no, no.

But tonight, we'll go out on a hunt and we'll

give some matron a night she'll never forget.

Oh, David!

That patrician lady is far more to my liking.

Come on, let's get them.

Oh, the cop is breaking something straight.

Put Rome to the torch if you will give me the order, Caesar.

Oh, then I can write a torch song.

Oh, Titulinus, I think all my bones are broken.

No.

I think little Camperbier has been taught a lesson for the time being.

Petronius.

Do sympathize, Caesar.

All my sympathy and compassion are yours.

And the people of your great empire sympathize

with you too, because they adore you.

How was I to know it was Nero?

You mean, if you'd recognized him, you would have allowed him to continue?

You feed me to the lions.

I'll go and throw myself on his mercy.

No.

I'll go.

I'd be eternally grateful.

Does it not bother you that he may want something in exchange?

Surely he wouldn't.

He is about such things.

Isn't he divine?

So he is.

In the name of divinity, anything is possible.

Caesar, the noble Poppea wishes an audience with you.

What did you say?

Poppea Sabina wants to see you.

Is she with her husband?

No, she is alone.

Well, in that case, accompany her to my rooms,

where I'll receive her.

Keep my guests occupied.

I'm busy, I'm busy, I'm busy at last!

Make way.

I am to replace Caesar in his absence.

Oh! Oh, my divine one!

So, at last, Aphrodite has deigned to come down from Olympus to see me.

I wanted to be certain that no serious harm had befallen you.

What are you trying to say?

If only I had recognized you, Caesar.

My husband, Rufio,

is afraid he may have struck your sacred person, Caesar.

I'm sure Rufio knows full well who it was he struck,

and yet he still lives on to recount it!

Oh, please forgive him, Caesar,

for the heart that lies in this tender, breastful burst.

You may feel how fast it's beating.

I will be magnanimous,

and have him exiled to Lusitania.

But you will remain in the palace as my guest.

As your concubine, you mean?

I'd rather commit suicide!

Oh, perish the thought!

Divine one, what are you doing?

Oh, just seeking inspiration for a poem I'm composing.

Oh, let me hear it.

Take this and sing.

Go on.

No, Poppaea, you must inspire me first.

Caesar, may I come in?

No, you may not!

Your divine wife Octavia has left her island exile

and returns tomorrow to Rome.

I don't have a fig for what she does!

Poppaea, don't leave me!

If your wife returns, what use am I here?

The divine Octavia has been away so long,

and it is she who deserves your favor, Caesar.

I'll leave you now.

Tigellinus!

May I serve you, Caesar?

Tigellinus, I want you to arrange an apartment for the noble Poppaea

near me in the palace.

And send her vile husband Rufrio to Lusitania.

Do you understand?

I must think of some reason to put away Octavia.

She is beginning to offend us.

The people love her, and I love Poppaea.

I'll put an end to her, Caesar.

I don't advise it.

The legions in Gaul, Germany, and Spain would revolt at once.

I'm never free to do as I choose!

They're all enemies!

I can't bear the situation anymore!

Perhaps I could accuse her of sterility.

No.

Octavia is known throughout Rome as a virgin.

Besides, it might work both ways.

The Romans might begin to doubt your virility, Caesar.

No!

No, never!

She needs a lover.

Of course.

And I think I know who, so let's not gather moss.

I'm sure you must like this.

Oh, wonderful.

I see fingers up and down my spine.

You beginning to like your emperor a little?

Well, my emperor's still tied to his Octavia.

Antrobus!

With you desire, maestro.

One of these days, I'll really have your balls cut off.

Could you be so cruel, no?

I might not.

Might not?

I drove in all the daydies in heaven.

I thought you were a eunuch.

No, I am not, mistress.

Well, in that case, I can find more for you to do than this.

Take me in your arms and kiss me.

That's an order.

And permit her to do the rest.

There, look.

Hold tight, milady.

What are you waiting for, Caesar?

Punish her for adultery, or shall I do it?

Oh, it seems a pity to interrupt such a spectacle.

A savage coupled with Aphrodite.

Go get me my lyre.

So beautiful.

Caesar!

Have you forgotten all I've done for you?

Loved and protected you as a devoted husband should.

And now you betray me with such words.

I'm sorry. My intentions were good.

I don't care.

What you do with your slaves, that's your own business.

But I will not tolerate you insulting the greatest power in the world.

I was only telling it.

Your words have offended even the ears of the gods.

The immortal Olympians are filled with abhorrence at your attitude towards poetry.

How can I ever forgive you for this betrayal of my art?

De Julianus!

Listen to your emperor's words.

I hereby accuse Octavia of sedition and blasphemy.

And I want you to cut off her head,

the ear, and throw it to the dogs.

Oh, she has hurt me.

Lo, I behold.

And over the city.

It's no longer cold.

You have excelled yourself.

What do you think, Petronius?

A poem worthy only to be consigned to the fire it describes.

What do you find wrong with it?

How can you ask me that?

Why are you so blind to it?

Virgil or Ovid or even Homer could have conceived of this or something like it.

But we expect a lot more of you.

I don't know what it lacks exactly,

but there are no real flames in it.

You, my dear Nero, are able to produce marvelous poetry.

I have to agree with you.

There's no reality in my poem about the burning of the city of Troy.

Petronius, were you upset about the destruction of that city?

Oh, I must answer no.

It must have been a wonderful spectacle.

I wish I'd witnessed it.

Good, I'm glad you said that.

There are no values outside poetry and art.

How happy I'd be to observe a whole city hurled down into the abyss.

Some way, I'll see such things on my own and not by chance.

The summer is almost upon us.

I'm not going to stay here in Rome.

It's as hot as a stew.

And filthy.

We'll take the whole court down to Anzio.

I want to be always surrounded with people who are bright and gay.

And sleep well at night.

You think too much.

And that can be very dangerous.

You have nothing to fear.

I want only to be your friend.

You realize that one nod from me and you'd lose that pretty head of yours.

My head, like my body, divine one, are yours to do with as you wish.

Yours.

What is worth more than you give?

This is how I'm going to reconstruct Rome.

It'll be the world's most exciting city.

Indeed, the eighth wonder of the world.

So modern, yet immortal.

Truly a wonder.

A great monument.

A great metropolis such as this must have a name as great.

Let's call it Neronica.

Yes, I think that would suit it admirably.

What a splendid idea.

No.

I want it to bear the name Neropolis.

I want you to leave us.

If I need you, I'll summon you.

Antrobus, come and teach me how to stay afloat in the water.

That is an order!

After all, what is a eunuch to hide?

Oh, I must say, that's a real one.

I never saw one that size.

How fortunate to find one after all these years.

It's quite the most beautiful of gifts.

Get in.

Poppea!

I see the flames dance high as a mountain.

I see the flames dance high as a mountain.

Oh, please!

Oh, Pepea!

Tijaninas!

Oh, Pepea!

Tijaninas!

Sacred flame of Vesta!

Poppea, did you leave us?

You're both here. Don't you realize that Rome's on fire?

Anyone who doesn't watch the glorious death throes of Rome is a fool!

It's a marvelous spectacle.

Far more exciting than I ever imagined.

It's wonderful.

Wonderful!

Oh, all the citizens are running away.

Nobody's staying to watch.

What use is there ruling if there's no one left to rule?

Oh, my tear-glassed tijolinas.

Oh, Rome. A Roman emperor with no Rome.

Give me my lyre.

The city is flaming, the populace flees, the fire is gaining.

Fatal fire of this fatal day.

Oh, what colors you do display!

A fire far more pink than orange.

You're on break!

Help me!

Fight water! Fight water!

My house is on fire!

Nero is to blame!

Do you hear that?

They're crazy!

What have I done?

They think it's my fault all this fire and flame.

Attack the fellow and bring Nero out!

Nero!

He's a bad boy!

He better give me Dr. Mudder!

Find the city of fire!

Keep going! Keep going!

My advice is to escape to Greece, Caesar.

It's easy to leave, but difficult to return.

We could return with the legions from the Middle East.

And that's what we'll do.

I consider it inadvisable, Caesar.

Civil war will break out before you can reach Ostia.

That ungrateful mob!

Did I not give you flour in abundance?

To cook your miserable bread!

What more do you want?

Revenge.

An ugly revenge-filled heart can only lead to doom.

That's good.

Write that down.

I want to leave to posterity those words

that came spontaneously from my lips.

Did you hear the wisdom of it?

They'll quote you in the history books.

That mob is thirsting for revenge.

Let's tell them that Rome was set on fire by slaves.

No one will believe it.

Titulinus.

He bade you and set fire to it.

Oh, yes, I'd forgotten.

Titulinus do love me.

You know I do, Caesar.

Then you could sacrifice yourself for me.

You realize that the Praetorian Guard would rebel

if I took the responsibility.

Don't forget, Caesar, that they know perfectly well

that I acted on your orders.

You hear that, Petronius?

I'm not going to let you go.

You hear that, Petronius?

I've nurtured a viper.

You have betrayed us.

Caesar.

Here's a good idea.

The people thirst for revenge.

One scapegoat for the mass is not enough.

You need many thousands.

Surely you must have heard about that mysterious group here

who worship a new god and call themselves Christians.

The Christians.

I'm going to the movies.

All is ready for the spectacle in your private arena.

Will there be the special torchlight that I wanted?

Everything is as you wish.

I can hardly wait.

Wonderful!

How wonderful!

Adrian!

What's the matter with her?

Adrian!

They're still her accusations.

The populace is still unsure.

They're panicking.

But tomorrow you'll see.

They're all going to change and blame it on the Christians.

Do you really think they will?

I've no doubt at all.

I'm sure they will.

Help me!

We've had enough!

To the palace!

I'll stay with you.

You will?

Of course, if you want me.

You were the one who suggested I had the Christians killed.

What does that matter now?

We must enjoy the few moments that are left to us

on this earth.

Here.

Betray your husband, would you?

I have been left alone. I have been abandoned by everyone.

No, Caesar. Not everyone.

Oh, faithful Addie.

I'm afraid.

Help me, I beg you.

Don't leave me alone.

I'm afraid.

What's wrong?

I'm afraid.

If you knew not how to live like an emperor, you must at least die like one.

Know the poet in me when I die.

Oh, Ralph.

You lose a great emperor in me.