Julius Caesar (1953)

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Release Date:

4 June 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

The assassination of the would be ruler of Rome at the hands of Brutus and company has tragic consequences for the idealist and the republic.

Plot Keywords:

Tense | Tragedy | Rome | Assassination Plot | Epic

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Mark Antony
James Mason	...	Brutus
John Gielgud	...	Cassius
Louis Calhern	...	Julius Caesar
Edmond O'Brien	...	Casca
Greer Garson	...	Calpurnia
Deborah Kerr	...	Portia
George Macready	...	Marullus
Michael Pate	...	Flavius
Richard Hale	...	Soothsayer
Alan Napier	...	Cicero
John Hoyt	...	Decius Brutus
Tom Powers	...	Metellus Cimber
William Cottrell	...	Cinna
Jack Raine	...	Trebonius

Also Known As:

William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Black and White (tinted) (1969 UK re-release)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (1969 UK re-release) | Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (original release)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16281)

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

John Gielgud was cast after director Joseph L. Mankiewicz saw him play Cassius in a stage production at Stratford-on-Avon. Mankiewicz was in Stratford to see Paul Scofield, whom he was considering casting as Marc Antony, until Marlon Brando's screen test turned out so well.

Goofs:

Continuity: Marc Antony's left hand changes between shots when people from the crowd ask him to read Caesar's testament.

Quotes:

Julius Caesar: Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead Poets Society (1989)

Mankiewicz fills the screen with vitality on the plains of Shakespeare's imagination...

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer of all time... His plays, written in the 16th and early 17th centuries for a small repertory theater, are today performed more often and in more countries than ever before...

"Julius Caesar" is rich in its insights, the struggle for political power, the embellishment of the mind, and the characters of men...

Joseph L. Mankiewicz captures Shakespeare's characters in elegant visuals projecting the beauty of the language, producing civilized entertainment... Its message fills the screen with vitality on the plains of Shakespeare's imagination...

The film is set in Rome 44 B.C. The city is rich with the privileges of its empire, much of it caused by the pretentious Caesar (Louis Calhern) appointing himself dictator... Caesar's greater character flaw, thinking that he is far above others and somehow invincible...

Loyal to Caesar is Mark Antony (Marlon Brando), a brave, intelligent, pleasure-loving cunning man - a character with many hidden traits, misunderstood by all...

Mark Anthony looks at life as a game in which he had a signified part to play... He seems slow to emerge, until he is forced to show his true potential... He is devoted and prefers to be dependent upon Caesar... He wants the crown of emperor to be given to him, so all conflicts could be avoided...

But Brutus (James Mason), an old friend of Caesar, is torn between his personal feelings and his integrity and idealism where the Romans would possess peace, liberty and freedom...

The scrupulous, unselfish Brutus resents Caesar's ambition as absolute ruler... Being very honorable, but very naive, he underestimates Mark Antony, perceiving him as a person who didn't always take life seriously and therefore - he is not a cautious thinker...

The story begins on a festival day as Caesar and his entourage make their way to the stadium... On the way, a blind beggar warns Caesar of 'The Ides of March' (On the middle of the month, the daggers came from every side...) but he is ignored...

In the stadium, the sarcastic Cassius (John Gielgud) sees Brutus as the influential Roman able to unite the nobles in the conspiracy... He implores him to join his cause... For him, Caesar has become too powerful and too popular... He must be removed from power...

Cassius is the most significant character for his ability to perceive the true motives of the characters... He thinks the nobility of Rome is responsible for the government of Rome... Brutus, the back-bone of the plan, agrees to the plot, but refuses Cassius's proposal to slain Mark Antony...

After the conspirators have left, Brutus' wife Portia (Deborah Kerr) asks to know what it is that worries him...

Caesar's wife, Calpurnia (Greer Garson) begs her husband to stay home and not to go to the Senate, for fear of danger... As a superstitious woman she was convinced that some falling meteors are warnings of her husband's death... But Caesar believes his friends have assembled to offer him the crown of emperor... So he moves forward, leaving unopened letter which lists the conspirators...