In contrast to the last two Shakespearean films that I watched, namely the 1968 versions of "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream", this is an adaptation of a play with which I was already familiar, though not to the same extent as some of his other works. A brilliant psychological drama which is very well adapted for the silver screen, the play explores the themes of honour, loyalty and patriotic necessity and the conflict between them through the characters of Brutus and Mark Antony. Caesar himself is only a supporting character but the entire play pivots around him. The direction of Joseph L. Mankiewicz is superb. Incidentally, he later directed "Cleopatra", in which Caesar and Mark Antony are likewise important characters.
Brutus is one of the most complex characters that I have come across in a Shakespearean play. He is played wonderfully by James Mason, who reprised the role from a 1940s production at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Brutus is a tragic hero who reluctantly agrees to participate in the plot to assassinate Caesar. This leads Mark Antony to describe him as "the noblest Roman of them all" as he genuinely believed that he was doing the right thing while his co-conspirators "did that they did in envy of great Caesar." He is a patriot who tells the plebeians that he loved Caesar but loves Rome more. However, Brutus is too noble for his own good as his idealism causes him to insist that the conspirators spare Antony's life. In allowing Antony to deliver the funeral oration after the murder, he gives his rival the opportunity to turn the plebeians to his side, damning himself in the process. I think that Brutus is an essentially good but misguided man who is so idealistic that it blinds him to Antony's machinations until it is too late. Mason plays the role with a great sense of quiet dignity. We also see the warmer sides of the character. He is a loving husband to his wife Portia, played extremely well in her one scene by Deborah Kerr, and a kind master to his young slave Lucius. I think that Mason deserved a Best Actor nomination for the role.
Without a doubt, however, the best performance of the film comes from Marlon Brando as Mark Antony in his only on screen Shakespearean role. I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of Brando and, like some people at the time, I was a little apprehensive before watching the film as his mumbling style of acting certainly would not fit into the world of Shakespeare. However, I need not have worried as not only does he enunciate his lines as clearly as possible but he is never less than absolutely engrossing and compelling. He truly excels in the extremely long funeral oration scene. I have never seen him give a better performance, to be honest. In spite of the fact that he has only about 30 to 35 minutes screen time, he was nominated for Best Actor for the third of four consecutive times. As strong as his performance was, he should probably have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Mark Antony is a fascinating character: willful, impulsive, fiercely intelligent, shrewd and ruthless. Unswervingly loyal to Caesar both before and after his assassination, he is nevertheless not as honourable as Brutus as he manages to persuade the conspirators that he is on their side.
With the exception of Brando and Mason, the strongest performer is the great Sir John Gielgud - who later played Caesar himself in the 1970 version - as Cassius, another extremely compelling character. Like Mason, Gielgud was reprising his role from a stage production. Cassius' motives for plotting against Caesar are far less idealistic than those of Brutus as he is extremely envious of the fact that the Roman people are treating the dictator as if he were a god. Deceitful, ambitious and totally lacking in integrity, he is the consummate politician. Louis Calhern is very strong as Caesar, who is just as ambitious as the conspirators claimed that he was. His extreme arrogance and his refusal to heed the supernatural omens surrounding the Ides of March prove to his undoing. Greer Garson - no longer the box office draw that she once was by 1953 - is good as Caesar's wife Calpurnia but she's nowhere near as natural as in some of her earlier films, particularly "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". The film has a very strong cast overall, though some of them only have small roles: Edmond O'Brien as Casca, Alan Napier (later the Alfred to Adam West's Batman) as Cicero, George Macready as Marullus, John Hoyt as Decius Brutus, Richard Hale as the Soothsayer, Ian Wolfe as Ligarius and a young Michael Ansara - with that fantastic voice of his - as Pindarus. Funnily enough, many of those actors turned up in the original "Star Trek" years later. The only real weak link is William Cottrell as Cinna but his role is small too.
Overall, this is an excellent adaptation of one of Shakespeare's best tragedies.
Brutus is one of the most complex characters that I have come across in a Shakespearean play. He is played wonderfully by James Mason, who reprised the role from a 1940s production at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Brutus is a tragic hero who reluctantly agrees to participate in the plot to assassinate Caesar. This leads Mark Antony to describe him as "the noblest Roman of them all" as he genuinely believed that he was doing the right thing while his co-conspirators "did that they did in envy of great Caesar." He is a patriot who tells the plebeians that he loved Caesar but loves Rome more. However, Brutus is too noble for his own good as his idealism causes him to insist that the conspirators spare Antony's life. In allowing Antony to deliver the funeral oration after the murder, he gives his rival the opportunity to turn the plebeians to his side, damning himself in the process. I think that Brutus is an essentially good but misguided man who is so idealistic that it blinds him to Antony's machinations until it is too late. Mason plays the role with a great sense of quiet dignity. We also see the warmer sides of the character. He is a loving husband to his wife Portia, played extremely well in her one scene by Deborah Kerr, and a kind master to his young slave Lucius. I think that Mason deserved a Best Actor nomination for the role.
Without a doubt, however, the best performance of the film comes from Marlon Brando as Mark Antony in his only on screen Shakespearean role. I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of Brando and, like some people at the time, I was a little apprehensive before watching the film as his mumbling style of acting certainly would not fit into the world of Shakespeare. However, I need not have worried as not only does he enunciate his lines as clearly as possible but he is never less than absolutely engrossing and compelling. He truly excels in the extremely long funeral oration scene. I have never seen him give a better performance, to be honest. In spite of the fact that he has only about 30 to 35 minutes screen time, he was nominated for Best Actor for the third of four consecutive times. As strong as his performance was, he should probably have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Mark Antony is a fascinating character: willful, impulsive, fiercely intelligent, shrewd and ruthless. Unswervingly loyal to Caesar both before and after his assassination, he is nevertheless not as honourable as Brutus as he manages to persuade the conspirators that he is on their side.
With the exception of Brando and Mason, the strongest performer is the great Sir John Gielgud - who later played Caesar himself in the 1970 version - as Cassius, another extremely compelling character. Like Mason, Gielgud was reprising his role from a stage production. Cassius' motives for plotting against Caesar are far less idealistic than those of Brutus as he is extremely envious of the fact that the Roman people are treating the dictator as if he were a god. Deceitful, ambitious and totally lacking in integrity, he is the consummate politician. Louis Calhern is very strong as Caesar, who is just as ambitious as the conspirators claimed that he was. His extreme arrogance and his refusal to heed the supernatural omens surrounding the Ides of March prove to his undoing. Greer Garson - no longer the box office draw that she once was by 1953 - is good as Caesar's wife Calpurnia but she's nowhere near as natural as in some of her earlier films, particularly "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". The film has a very strong cast overall, though some of them only have small roles: Edmond O'Brien as Casca, Alan Napier (later the Alfred to Adam West's Batman) as Cicero, George Macready as Marullus, John Hoyt as Decius Brutus, Richard Hale as the Soothsayer, Ian Wolfe as Ligarius and a young Michael Ansara - with that fantastic voice of his - as Pindarus. Funnily enough, many of those actors turned up in the original "Star Trek" years later. The only real weak link is William Cottrell as Cinna but his role is small too.
Overall, this is an excellent adaptation of one of Shakespeare's best tragedies.