Cleopatra (1963)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (screenplay) and
Ranald MacDougall (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

31 July 1963 (UK)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

The motion picture the world has been waiting for!

Plot:

Historical epic. The triumphs and tragedy of the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.

Plot Keywords:

Cleopatra | Egypt | Roman Empire | Epic | Marc Antony

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Cleopatra
Richard Burton	...	Mark Antony
Rex Harrison	...	Julius Caesar
Pamela Brown	...	High Priestess
George Cole	...	Flavius
Hume Cronyn	...	Sosigenes
Cesare Danova	...	Apollodorus
Kenneth Haigh	...	Brutus
Andrew Keir	...	Agrippa
Martin Landau	...	Rufio
Roddy McDowall	...	Octavian - Caesar Augustus
Robert Stephens	...	Germanicus
Francesca Annis	...	Eiras, Cleopatra's handmaiden
Grégoire Aslan	...	Pothinus (as Gregoire Aslan)
Martin Benson	...	Ramos

Runtime:

192 min | Germany:233 min (TV version) | Sweden:232 min | USA:320 min (director's cut) | 243 min (roadshow version) | Argentina:233 min

Country:

UK | USA | Switzerland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) | Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)

Certification:

USA:Unrated (video rating) | Iceland:L | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | USA:Approved (certificate #19756) (original rating) | Canada:G (video rating) | Brazil:Livre | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:G (1971 re-release) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

While at Cinecitta studios filming the scene of Cleopatra's triumphant and spectacular entry into Rome, a scene requiring thousands of extras and the transportation of a huge barge carrying the Queen of Egypt, Joseph L. Mankiewicz had to cut the scene, roll back the barge, and begin again because one of the production's Panavision cameras had caught an enterprising film extra, in the heat of the Roman summer, hawking gelato to his fellow extras.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Cleopatra travels through an arch that was built at least 300 years after her death.

Quotes:

Julius Caesar: I do not understand why the eyes of a statue should always lack light.

Movie Connections:

Featured in O Frankenstein de Moisés Neto - Versão Muda (1989) (V)

A Film Of Two Halves

First of please note this is a review of the recent restored DVD version of the film not the savagely cut older version of the film.

Having watched the documentary on this film it seems amazing this film was ever completed how the director managed to get anything even vaguely coherent to the screen is a minor miracle in itself. Cleopatra is a luscious period epic and it's clear no expense was spared on either scenery or costumes, gorgeous to look at but somehow unsatisfying at the end. The movie seems to lose it's way half way through as Rex Harrison departs so for me does the quality of this movie.

It's difficult to tell whether this is due to over the top performances from Taylor and Burton or the forced cuts to reduce the running time. Roddy McDowell is the highlight of the 2nd half of the film and i'm sure Joaquin Phoenix must have researched his role for Gladiator here, McDowell's Octavian is chilling in the extreme. But the rest of the 2nd half of the movie descends into melodrama, where the 1st gave us the excellent Harrison restrained and regal as Ceaser the 2nd gives us real life lovers Burton and Taylor locked in an over-acted doomed romance. But throughout the film there are supporting actors giving first class performances that without the cuts would be interesting to see Martin Landau, Andrew Keir, Hume Cronyn and George Cole all have their moments it's just a shame there aren't more of them.

If I could split my vote over the two halves of the movie the first half would get 9/10 the 2nd 6/10 as I can't I'm going with a 7/10 overall.