Cleopatra 

Princess Cleopatra becomes Egypt's Queen and has an out-of-wedlock son with the son-less Roman ruler Julius Ceasar. Through two romances, she strives to protect Egypt from the Romans, and make her son the heir to Ceaser's Roman Empire.

Stars:

Nadim Sawalha, Owen Teale, Philip Quast

Nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys. Another 11 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Nadim Sawalha	...	Mardian 2 episodes, 1999
Owen Teale	...	Grattius 2 episodes, 1999
Philip Quast	...	Cornelius 2 episodes, 1999
Daragh O'Malley	...	Ahenobarbus 2 episodes, 1999
Bruce Payne	...	Cassius 2 episodes, 1999
Sean Pertwee	...	Marcus Brutus 2 episodes, 1999
David Schofield	...	Casca 2 episodes, 1999
Kassandra Voyagis	...	Arsinoe 2 episodes, 1999
Indra Ové	...	Charmian 2 episodes, 1999
Josephine Amankwah	...	Iris 2 episodes, 1999
Caroline Langrishe	...	Calpurnia 2 episodes, 1999
Elisabeth Dermot Walsh	...	Octavia 2 episodes, 1999
Ralph Brown	...	Guevarius 2 episodes, 1999
James Cosmo	...	Agrippa 2 episodes, 1999
Denis Quilley	...	Negotiator Senator 2 episodes, 1999
James Saxon	...	Pothinus 2 episodes, 1999
Amina Annabi	...	Jehosheba 2 episodes, 1999
Oded Fehr	...	Egyptian Captain 2 episodes, 1999
Stephen Jenn	...	Nakht 2 episodes, 1999
Ashley L. Clark	...	King Ptolemy - 12 yrs 2 episodes, 1999
Alexandar Francis-Lynch	...	Ptolemy Caesar - 6yrs 2 episodes, 1999
Michael Francis-Lynch	...	Ptolemy Caesar - 3yrs 2 episodes, 1999
Omid Djalili	...	Storemaster 2 episodes, 1999
Andrew Peisley	...	Cavalryman 2 episodes, 1999
Tim Barlow	...	Elderly Senator 2 episodes, 1999
Antony Bunsee	...	Ship's First Mate 2 episodes, 1999
Ace Bhatti	...	Sceptical Citizen 2 episodes, 1999
Stephen Giffin	...	Victor 2 episodes, 1999
Mark Delafield	...	Suetonius 2 episodes, 1999
Mark Hill	...	Dionysios 2 episodes, 1999
Matthew Bartlett	...	Theocritus 2 episodes, 1999
Richard Armitage	...	Epiphanes 2 episodes, 1999
Naim Khan Turk	...	Eos 2 episodes, 1999
Simone Harper	...	Wet Nurse 2 episodes, 1999
Karim Doukkali	...	Egyptian General 2 episodes, 1999
Patrick Gordon	...	Assassin 2 episodes, 1999
Simon De Selva	...	Egyptian Admiral 2 episodes, 1999
Bouchra Ababsa	...	Belly Dancer 2 episodes, 1999
Carlton Headley	...	Nubian Guard 2 episodes, 1999
Trevor Lovell	...	Nubian Guard 2 episodes, 1999
John Bowe	...	Rufio 2 episodes, 1999
Art Malik	...	Olympos 2 episodes, 1999
Timothy Dalton	...	Julius Caesar 2 episodes, 1999
Rupert Graves	...	Octavian 2 episodes, 1999
Leonor Varela	...	Cleopatra 2 episodes, 1999
Billy Zane	...	Marc Antony 2 episodes, 1999

Storyline

Princess Cleopatra becomes Egypt's Queen and has an out-of-wedlock son with the son-less Roman ruler Julius Ceasar. Through two romances, she strives to protect Egypt from the Romans, and make her son the heir to Ceaser's Roman Empire.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as series title | cleopatra character | julius caesar character | marc antony character | cassius character | 

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Taglines:

Passion. Power. History.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Hallmark Entertainment

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cleopatra

Filming Locations:

Agadir, Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Babelsberg International Film Produktion, Hallmark Entertainment, RTL2

Technical Specs

Runtime:

177 min 50 min (3 episodes) 155 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby (as Dolby Surround)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It's barely noticeable, but in Part 1, when the Roman who had stolen grain, was brought in front of Cleopatra, she is holding the Crook and Flail. In the close up views she is holding Them correctly, with the open end of the Crook up. In the farther away views, it is held with curved end still Linking up, the opened side is pointing downward.

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Goofs

Caesarion was 17 when Octavian invaded in 30 BC, not a child as is shown.

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Quotes

[On Caesarion]
Marc Antony: [to Octavian] Looks like you have competition.
Octavian: I don't think so. Caesar will never name him his heir.
Marc Antony: You know the future?
Octavian: I know my uncle.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD version is uncut and contains a little over 30 minutes of scenes not included on the VHS version.

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Connections

References Ben-Hur (1959)

User Reviews

A Fairer Portrayal of Cleopatra

Based on the novel The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George, this mini-series is an okay adaption of a truly fascinating piece of literature. I think that it gives a fairer portrayal of Cleopatra is important, though Leonor Varela isn't that good an actress. I found her acting so amateurish next to that of Timothy Dalton and Billy Zane; at least she was better than Kassandra Voyagis was as Arsinoe. Also she made Cleopatra seem very childish and whiny at times, which was annoying.

Otherwise I liked this story, Timothy Dalton as Julius Caesar was fine in the role, though too dark and good looking (someone tell Daniel Craig please play Caesar sometime in his career!) and Billy Zane did a good job as Marc Antony. The sets lived up to what Alexandria probably looked like, except there was little sign of the Greek influence on the city. The costumes were lovely and the supporting cast were some of the best (though I could have changed some of their lines for them), and I was able to overlook historical inaccuracies, such as Arsinoe being murdered in the dungeons of the palace of Alexandria under Cleopatra's orders. Arsinoe appeared as a prisoner in Caesar's Triumph, and since the public showed sympathy for her, Caesar allowed her to be released. They also didn't explain at the end that Caesarion was executed under Octavian's orders, but I guess they wanted to leave the audience with a bit of hope. Fine to watch on a wet or snowy afternoon.