Cleopatra
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Movie Reviews of Cleopatra
Movie Review: The book is better as always,but not too bad
Summary: 4 Stars
I watched this when it came out on TV, then went and read the book(which is WONDERFUL and is now my favorite!). For the book being over 800 pages, what they squeezed into 2 hours was not that bad. Part one was VERY good, though I'm also partial to the queens relationship with Ceasar than Anthony (I have no idea what she sees in him other than his looks, I didn't like him in the book or the movie!) The second half fell a little flat with me as it didn't really focus on the queen herself as much it seemed to me. In the first part you seem to understand why she makes the choices that she does and in the second half its like we're disconnected with her thought process. Not to mention that it leaves out the Twin children she has with Anthony. But it still delivers the message that I thought the book conveyed the most, being that the Cleopatra of history wasn't some just some whorish seductress selfishly thirsting for power, but that she also was a great queen, wife, mother, and an intelligent loving woman.
When this came out on video I bought it and one thing I noticed that bothered me was that a few scenes I remember from TV were left off, most noticably being the scene where Cleopatra comes to Rome and Caesar sees his son for the first time. Without this scene it appears as if she coldly reveals him at a banquet filled with Romans and forces him to acknowledge Caeserion. Another scene where just before Octavious reaches Alexandria at the end where she is sending her son off to safety, I rather missed this scene as it really showed her emotions towards her worry for the welfare of her child but the movie still flowed without it as they left in the scene where she tells him shes going to send him off on a ship. I don't know if this is the case with the DVD.
Overall, its a pretty good movie. I loved Leonore's and Daltons performances, didn't care for Zanes, and loved the costumes and the Alexandria set designs. I would have only given this a 5 star rating if it came out as a perfect representation of the book ;)
Movie Review: Visual Splendor Rather Than Historical Accuracy
Summary: 4 Stars
Less campy (and less embarrassing) than the famous Liz Taylor epic yet not quite as sexy as the Claudette Colbert version, this Cleopatra is still highly enjoyable - so long as you are not a stickler for historical accuracy. The pace and visual splendor keep you interested as the comic book-style script unfolds. The settings - Morocco for the exteriors, Shepperton in London for the interiors - and well researched costumes offer a never-ending feast for the eyes. Some interesting twists are added to the overly familiar storyline - the inclusion of Cleopatra's sister, for instance. A nice mixture of soap opera and sword & sandal epic to be enjoyed with an open mind and lots of popcorn.
The acting is surprisingly good although Billy Zane is a weird choice for Marc Antony. But Timothy Dalton relishes his role as Julius Caesar, tossing off dialogue as if it were Shakespeare and dominating every scene he's in. Equally good is Rupert Graves as Octavius whose multi-layered performance becomes more impressive as the film progresses. Of course, the key role is Cleopatra herself and Leonor Varela takes a pretty good stab at eclipsing memories of Liz. She is certainly the right age and has the prerequisite exotic looks (I will confess to being fascinated by her nipples throughout). Just when you think her acting is running the risk of leaving splinters in her co-stars, she explodes with a sudden dramatic intensity and you begin to believe that this spoiled little girl could be the Queen of Egypt. I found this film the perfect way to pass a few hours on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Movie Review: Very entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
This is probably the best mini-series I've ever seen. I have not seen all of them, but from the one's I've seen, this is by far the most enjoyable. The plot was coherant, the script spot on and the acting was wonderful. EVERYONE did a fantastic job. Leonor Varela was beautiful and convincing as Cleopatra. And I loved both Billy Zane and Timothy Dalton as the two leading men. It is dramatic and sensual and exciting. You really can't ask for more in a made for TV mini-series. The effects were pretty good for the time period and budget. Now, whether it was historically accurate, that is up to the viewer to decide how they see fit, but as a film, it is thoroughly watchable.Movie Review: Surprisingly good.
Summary: 4 Stars
The acting at times in this movie was overly dramatic and perhaps had a cliche look at royalty and power due to that. I'm not a history buff so I don't know too much about how historically accurate it is, but I thought that it was pretty good overall. Once you get used to Leonor Valera's dramatic Cleopatra, the movie is enjoyable. What I was really in awe of was the setting/props and costume. They were unbelievable beautiful!Movie Review: very good could have been great
Summary: 4 Stars
i enjoyed this movie and will watch it many more times because i love all things ancient egypt.It was entertaining even though it had some historical misteps,it was made for tv and was not shot on location and the compuetr generated graphics are sub par.i still hope they will make a modern big budget movie for this story soon,but over all this is worth the 10 bucks.