Cleopatra (1963)

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 | Epic | Roman Empire | Marriage

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:

At $194,800, the budget for Elizabeth Taylor's costumes in this film was the highest ever for a single screen actor. Her 65 costumes included a dress made from 24-carat gold cloth.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cleopatra's boat approaches the shore, the white translucent curtains are pulled open, yet in a view from the shore, they are still closed.

Quotes:

Agrippa: Nothing bores me so much as an intellectual!
Julius Caesar: Makes a better admiral of you, Agrippa.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dreamgirls (2006)

Difficult to evaluate

It is extremely difficult to evaluate this film. On the one hand, the presentation is first class: the sets, props, costumes, location photography, and music are all of the caliber befitting the grandiose ambition of the production. I personally found the acting by the truly all-star cast to be uniformly excellent throughout with McDowall's Octavian and Harrison's Caesar deserving special mention. Taylor deserved the million dollars she got for the title role and Burton's occasional scenery chewing didn't detract significantly from his interpretation of Mark Antony. But the question remains over what might have been. I believe any true film buff would want to pass final judgment on this production only after having viewed the 6 hour plus version in order to determine whether the extensive cuts (even in the new 2 DVD four hour version) were justified. I should add that the third disc of extras contributes greatly to the appreciation (especially where the director controversy and Burton-Taylor relationship is concerned) of what was attempted.