Masada

This four-part epic miniseries—about the last-ditch resistance by nearly a thousand Jewish Zealots, ensconced within a supposedly impregnable desert mountain fortress overlooking the Dead Sea, against the Roman legions in 72 A.D.—was broadcast on ABC in 1981. Peter Strauss, then a staple of TV movies and miniseries because of his appearance in the smash hit Rich Man, Poor Man, plays stern Zealot commander Eleazer ben Yair, but the program's truly distinctive presence is Peter O'Toole, who made his American television acting debut as Flavius Silva—the Roman general leading the siege—giving a typically larger-than-life performance as a man tortured by the disparity between the old Roman virtues and the lack of principle exhibited by the emperor he serves. Masada also features an excellent supporting cast—including Anthony Quayle, David Warner, and Timothy West—and while it may lack the grandeur of Hollywood's epics set in the ancient world, a kind of nostalgic charm can be had from seeing real lines of troops, rather than computer-generated replicas. Nominated for 13 Emmys, Masada—presented on an extra-less double-disc set—is recommended. (F. Swietek)