Antony & Cleopatra (1981) (TV)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Jonathan Miller

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Release Date:

8 May 1981 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Octavius Caesar (later renamed Augustus Caesar, son of the murdered Julius Caesar), Marc Antony, and Lepidus form the triumvirate...

Plot Keywords:

Cleopatra | Roman | William Shakespeare | Ancient Rome | Shakespeare

Cast

John Paul	...	Canidius
Jonathan Adams	...	Ventidius
Jane Lapotaire	...	Cleopatra
Colin Blakely	...	Antony
Darien Angadi	...	Alexas
Janet Key	...	Charmian
Howard Goorney	...	Soothsayer
Cassie McFarlane	...	Iras
Emrys James	...	Enobarbus
Kevin Huckstep	...	Messenger
Michael Anthony	...	Messenger
Mohammad Shamsi	...	Mardian
Ian Charleson	...	Octavius Caesar
Esmond Knight	...	Lepidus
Harry Waters	...	Thidias

Also Known As:

The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: Antony & Cleopatra (USA) (video title)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Hollywood National Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

When shooting the scene with the snake, actress Jane Lapotaire, who was afraid of snakes even prior to the shoot, became quite panicked when the snake suddenly slithered down the back of her dress.

Movie Connections:

Version of Antony and Cleopatra (1908)

Could've been better filmed.

First of all, those who have never seen this play, when they first view this film, will be puzzled that the play has been updated to Shakespeare's time. The clothing is definitely from the Elizabethan period. And that's the only interesting part.

After watching this film for about 15 minutes, I couldn't continue watching. It was so boring! It seems that the director is expecting the lines of the play to make the play interesting! I know it sounds bizarre, what I just wrote. But it's not just the lines of the actors that makes the movie, it has to have action! There was little action in this film, the actors kind of stood around and said their lines.

Jane Lapotoire was not bad as Cleopatra, she was the only one that seems to make sense. You can feel her Cleopatra as being frivolous and madly in love, or is it in lust, with Antony. The actor that plays Antony, alas, looked like an ugly old guy with a beard. What does the dainty, pretty Cleopatra see in this guy?

I didn't believe anything in this film. I am not a student of Shakespeare, like most people, I don't understand all the lines of a Shakespeare play, I rely on both action and words to understand the play. This film had precious little action and this is what makes the film fail. This film is just too static.

I give this Antony & Cleopatra version a "D-".