Nat Geo's 'Pompeii: Out of Time' Combines Cinematic Filmmaking, History, and Tom Hiddleston
The three-part series uses archaeological evidence and crisis psychology to reconstruct how three Romans may have survived the eruption.
- On Thursday, July 23, the three-part documentary Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston premieres on Disney+ and National Geographic, combining cinematic reenactments with archaeological expertise to explore the final hours before Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.
- Unlike traditional documentaries focusing on destruction, director Tom Barbor-Might and producer Kevin Wright aimed to "invent a new form of documentary" that tracks individual survivors, including a teenage bronzesmith and a female bathhouse owner.
- Cornell University archaeologist Professor Caitie Barrett reveals the archaeological record shows women like Julia Felix were active business owners, while Dr. Sarita Robinson applies psychological research to analyze decision-making during the catastrophe.
- Hiddleston explores how historical accounts misidentified the bathhouse owner as a man named Julius, though evidence confirmed the owner was Julia Felix, a businesswoman who organized a planned evacuation of her property.
- By compressing 2,000 years of distance, the series uses the past to understand modern human behavior, with Hiddleston describing the project as a privilege to explore "who we were in order to understand who we are.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Review: 'Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston' brings a dead city back to life
In the fall of 1990, I found myself with a small band of touring musicians on a day off between Naples and Rome, in Pompeii. The world is full of amazing places, but this is one I got to see, and so it is my particular most amazing place. And because this was in the fall and well before the explosion of international tourism, we had the place virtually to ourselves. There is nothing quite like ...
The destruction of Pompeii is unique in human history. The documentary series "Pompeji with Tom Hiddleston" sends the Hollywood star to Italy – as a very concerned history teacher.
Pompeii's secrets: How AI is rewriting the story of Mount Vesuvius
It was one of history’s most dramatic moments—but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius wasn’t a single disaster. Recent evidence reveals how three settlements faced three distinct fates, reshaping our understanding of how ancient Romans lived and died.
The last 24 hours of Pompeii residents are redefined in this new three-episode immersive documentary of National Geographic with Tom Hiddleston already available at Disney+
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- 52% of the sources lean Left
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