Cleopatra
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Movie Reviews of Cleopatra
Movie Review: Good
Summary: 4 Stars
My purchase arrivd promptly and in good condition, I would order from this seller again.Movie Review: Overlong, Overwrought, and Overdone....
Summary: 3 Stars
Here is a film more famous for what went on behind the camera than before it. Nearly bankrupting 20th Century Fox, which would not recoup the losses from this debacle until the box office receipts from "Planet of the Apes" would be tabulated nearly four years later, "Cleopatra" (1963), clealy demonstrated all that was inherently wrong with Hollywood--even over 40 years ago.
On a technical scale, the film is a remarkable achievement; one merely needs to only look at the quality of workmanship of the numerous Roman and Egyptian sets employed throughout the film long before the words "computer animation" or "computer imaging" ever entered our lexicon.
More than a portent to the end of the so-called "historical epic" (Anthony Mann's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," made in 1964, would be the last real historical epic made for some time), "Cleopatra" faced problems from the start including Ms. Taylor's countless "illnesses" to an emergency tracheotomy and to a number of romps with Burton in her trailer (she was married to Eddie Fisher at the time) which cost 20th Century hundreds of thousands of dollars in costly delays running the picture seriously overbudget. Let alone her 1 million dollar salary for the role and her ability to fire or hire directors at will didn't help either--concessions made to an alledged "star" that were considered risky and ill-advised.
Incidentally, after the initial director, Roberto Mamoulian would bow out of the movie, George Stevens was considered a replacement, but he was committed to the biblical epic, "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and was unavailable. The director's job then went to Joe Mankiewicz who completed the picture.
The picture showcases some fine acting by several of the leads, particularly Burton and Harrison. Burton, no stranger to roles dedicated to characters larger than life, like Alexander the Great and Thomas Becket, plays Antony with all the gusto he can muster and with his theatrical roots revealing Antony's Shakespearean origins.
Harrison too, not unfamiliar to playing great men, from Pope Julius II who inspired and bullied Micahelangelo in "The Agony and the Ecstacy" and as whimsical Professor Higgins in "My Fair Lady" would get top billing the following year for these pictures. Even Martin Landau as Rufio, Antony's able and loyal lieutenant, demonstrates his tremendous range that would earn him an Academy Award two decades later. His commentary, along with that of Tom Mankiewicz offers a revealing and informative inside look into the making of this film. Landau is a great storyteller; it's a shame his commentary lasts approximately only 45 mins. He really shares some revealing insights into the mammoth task it was to coordinate this film.
Sadly, Liz Taylor, perhaps the most overrated actress of all time, comes off sounding more like a fishwife from London's Eastend rather than the Egypt's Queen of the Nile, nagging her paramour to choose either her love or an empire.
Clealry, Taylor seemed more suited to roles that would distinguish her later collaborations with Burton; for example, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Divorce His, Divorce Hers." No doubt the multitude of costume changes in "Cleopatra" kept the audience distracted from Ms. Taylor's apparent lack of range for this role.
Some of the elements in the film are impressive--like an ancient Roman Bacchanalian rite, it is a visual feast for the senses replete with a full-scale Roman Forum (despite a historical innaccuracy depicting the Arch of Constantine that would not be built over 300 years later), with the Battle of Actium nicely depicted as is Cleopatra's triumphant entry into Rome, but the rest feels and sounds like a melodramatic soap opera of a couple who cannot conquer the obstacles in their relationship, much less a world.
Funny, not much has changed 2500 years later....
Movie Review: A Gutted Queen Still Shimmers
Summary: 3 Stars
CLEOPATRA was originally planned as a 2 part separate release. The 1st part was to be "Caesar & Cleopatra" and the second "Antony & Cleopatra." Each was to run appx. 4 hrs. The problems on the set (and off) are well known. Elizabeth Taylor only agreed to do the role for a then staggering one million $$$. That was just the beginning of a financial nightmare for the studio. The film was drastically cut to fit into a single release. It's reported that Taylor ran out of the first screening in tears, denouncing the film, claiming that the most pivotal scenes that delineated the depth of Cleopatra's character had been deleted. What was left was a superficial interpretation of a formidable woman & leader. At times Taylor's Cleopatra comes off more as a petulant sex kitten than the last great Pharaoh of Egypt. Richard Burton's tendency for ham acting & bloated appearance didn't help.
So why see the film?
Well, there's Elizabeth Taylor's famous beauty--and it dazzles in this movie. Her make-up and hairstyles set new trends in the fashion industry. Edith Head's costume design is absolutely gorgeous. Alex North's fantastic soundtrack is one of the very best. The set design is oddly abstract at times, but it works. The "spectacle" scenes are great. Cleopatra's entrance into Rome is a real jaw-dropper, a delicious display of creative opulence, replete with half-naked native girls dancing to wild African music, multicolored incense smoke scattered into the spectators by exotic medicine men, whirling dervishes and a pyramid containing doves released in front of the assembled Roman Senators & their rather annoyed & envious wives--compared to the Queen of Egypt they look like frumps. This way beyond ostentatious display of art & power concludes with Taylor seated on a gold throne atop a gigantic golden sphinx (we're talking the equivalent of 3-5 stories tall), wearing a gown of pure gold feathers, with a solid gold crown three feet high stately adorning Taylor's coal black curls. (Claudette Colbert, eat your heart out!)
Unfortunately the spectacle ends with Cleopatra's golden barge sailing into a harbor in such splendor that the superstitious townsfolk think it is Aphrodite herself come to meet Bacchus in the form of Marc Antony. This scene was originally meant to be the beginning of the next sequel, but as it stands it is strangely brief and seems almost out of synch. This last half of the now truncated film fizzles out (until the famous asp scene at the end.) Reportedly the barge alone cost a million & the studio was desperate to sell it at the end of filming.
All this being said, if you've never seen the movie--you've got to. It represents the end of the spectacle film era--it's just too darn expensive. CLEOPATRA also represents a real event in 1960's culture.
Cleopatra SOUNDTRACK
Suddenly, Last Summer
The VIPs
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Deluxe Edition)
Tennessee Williams Film Collection (A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 Two-Disc Special Edition / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958 Deluxe Edition / Sweet Bird of Youth / The Night of the Iguana / Baby Doll / The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone)
The Elizabeth Taylor Signature Collection (National Velvet / Father of the Bride / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof / Butterfield 8)
Movie Review: Good cinematics, mediocre acting
Summary: 3 Stars
Okay - so I have a fascination for Cleopatra and have read whatever I can get my hands on on this woman, very few accounts describe the true essence of Cleopatra and rather we are bombarded with propaganda from Rome, who didn't think much of a Queen in a client country (under Roman rule) in opposition to Caesar towards the later part of her life. She was incredibly charming, witty, intelligent and oozing with finese. She ruled the Egypt with an steady hand and won the hearts of her people by respecting there gods, learning their language (past Pharohs spoke Greek- none took the time to learn their native Egyptian lauguage)and ruling fair and justly attending to all matters with her people personally brandishing a smile. She effectively managed the country's supply of food while selling rashings to other countries (like Rome), managed the creating of fleet ships in Alexandria, praised herself as a direct descent from Alexandar the great. With all this said I was expecting to see a vibrant, lively, seductively charming woman with a sharp tongue and incredible wit.
The character of Cleopatra portrayed was soo far from the charming, charsmatic woman. Elizabeth Taylor played a bratty queen with a power hungry thrist to end the world if she had to just to gain wealth. This was not Cleopatra at all, she was strong yes and she had authority yes, but she also was the epitome of feminity - full of grace, bathed in milk and honey - not bratty or annoying but charming and with her soothing words she made men fall to her knees. I was not impressed with the character displayed in this movie at all. It portrayed a amazing queen as a spoilt princess.
Movie Review: Talk like an Egyptian.
Summary: 3 Stars
'Cleopatra' is a four-hour, very talky and plotty yarn, set against some of the most elaborate and exquisite scenery ever put on film. It is also the ultimate example of Hollywood excess and movie star ego.
With a very literate script and an outstanding cast, 'Cleopatra' should have been a blockbuster, and yet it comes across as a lumbering behemoth, beautiful and intelligent while also plodding and distant. Scene after scene goes by, with endless dialogue and exposition but very little action. It's as if Manckiewicz were filming a stage production, rather than a big budget feature. Kudos to the set and costume designers for their almost overwhelmingly elaborate creations, and extra kudos to Rex Harrison for virtually carrying the first two hours of the film.
Cleopatra is a relic of a Hollywood age gone by; the age of the epic specatcle. Though worth the 4 hour time investment, it is not one of the all-time greats, and yet its sheer star power in the form of Elizabeth Taylor makes it a classic despite itself.