I, Claudius / The Epic that Never Was
dir. Josef von Sternberg (1936) / hosted by Dirk Bogarde (BBC, 1965)
Fittingly for a piece exploring why von Sternberg’s big screen adaptation of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius was never completed, the documentary itself has a rough, unfinished feel to it. Surviving footage reveals a lavish production. Charles Laughton mesmerises as the emperor Claudius.