Cleopatra (1963)

· by · in 1963. ·

Synopsis:

The story of the legendary Egyptian Queen (Elizabeth Taylor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof). The film focuses primarily on her relationships with Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison, My Fair Lady) and Marc Anthony (Richard Burton, The Robe).

Reaction & Thoughts:

“Just as the Mother Nile feeds and replenishes the Earth, I am the Nile.

“Cleopatra was conceived in emergency, shot in hysteria, and wound up in blind panic,” the film’s director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve), once said. This troubled production faced an endless amount of problems, yet the final product is rather good for the most part. There is really only one thing wrong with this movie: it goes on and on and on. At more than four hours, the film overstays its welcome. That being said, Cleopatra is much better than what the naysayers would let you believe.

I hadn’t seen the movie in years, but it’s actually much better than I remembered. Written by Ranald MacDougall (Mildred Pierce), Sidney Buchman (Here Comes Mr. Jordan), Ben Hecht (Foreign Correspondent and Notorious), and director Mankiewicz, Cleopatra is a flawed super-epic where the good tend to offset the not so good.

The first half, which depicts Cleopatra’s relationship with Julius Caesar, is rock-solid. I loved the way this section of the film deals with the politics of the era. There is hardly any action, this section is rather slow, but the dialogue is good, and the scenes are smoothly staged. Rex Harrison is excellent as Caesar, and he brings out the best in Liz Taylor. When Harrison exits the narrative, the film begins to die bit by bit, though.

The second half revolves around the relationship between Cleopatra and Marc Anthony. Richard Burton is a little stiff as Anthony, but the truth is that the character is poorly developed. In addition, the scenes between Burton and Taylor aren’t as well-written as the scenes between Harrison and Taylor. Dick and Liz, of course, fell in love during the making of the film, but their on-screen romance isn’t all that exciting.

Worst of all, nothing interesting happens during the last hour. There is one huge sea battle, but it ends abruptly, and we go back to many long, talky sequences that have no real pay off. However, the superb visuals tie the film together. The sets are amazing. Cleopatra’s Rome entrance is simply spectacular. The Oscar-winning costumes are fantastic as well– Taylor changes clothes every two minutes!

Leon Shamroy’s (Leave Her to Heaven) Oscar-winning camera work is breathtaking. Alex North’s (To Kill a Mockingbird) superb music score is another plus. And the supporting cast is excellent: Roddy McDowall (Lassie Comes Home), Hume Cronyn (Cocoon), Martin Landau (Ed Wood), Carroll O’Connor (TV’s All in the Family), Finlay Currie (Othello), Robert Stephens (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), etc.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

On an interesting note, writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz initially had the then revolutionary idea of releasing Cleopatra as a two-part movie: Cleopatra and Caesar and Cleopatra and Marc Anthony. The studio behind the film, 20th Century Fox, vetoed Mankiewicz’s proposal, but I think that would have fixed some of the issues I have with the movie. Flaw and all, this is a must-see production, the kind of Hollywood spectacle that will never be seen again. Color, 251 minutes, Rated G.

Theatrical Trailer:

15 responses to “Cleopatra (1963)”

  2. Great review, Eric! I don’t think there is any other Hollywood spectacle as lavishly produced as Cleopatra. Simply fabulous!!!

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  3. Great review! I haven’t seen this in years but definitely want to see it again – a true sumptuous epic. It’s interesting that you’ve observed a lack of chemistry between the leads, when it was all happening behind the scenes.
    In all honesty though, I’d watch three hours of grass growing if Elizabeth Taylor was lying on it.

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  4. Okay, well argued. Fair points and insights. Well explained. Mind you, this doesn’t help me when it comes to liking this film or not. I’ve seen it two or three times, did a piece on it, and still just plain hate it. I will say, and maybe it’s because I’m a bit of a masochist, this review of yours does make me want to rewatch it, even though it’ll no doubt be the most difficult thing to do. Perhaps another viewing will help me to edge this into the love/hate like relationship area that finds “Casablanca” and “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Or it’ll just cement my current feelings for it.

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    • I didn’t like it the first time (pan & scan, VHS). I think the HD format helps the film a great deal. As I said before, the first half is very good. You can turn it off after the intermission … 😉

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  5. Interesting review. When you say that it ‘is rather good’, I was like it’s an excellent Bio-pic, along the lines of the Bio-pics you’ve mentioned, Gone with the Wind, Ben-Hur and Lawrence of Arabia. Love all those films. But I get your point.
    The movie had some powerful performances; and it’s interesting how Harrison & Taylor had great chemistry, together. It’s interesting to note how great a chemistry, he has with younger actresses, like Taylor, Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn, Zeenat Aman, et al. About Burton’s character being weak. Well, I believe Cleopatra was a very Bold woman, who lived in a MAN’s world. She was afraid of no man. She respected Caesar, held him in high regard, and fell madly in love with Marc Anthony, with whom she had passionate love affair. Marc Anthony wasn’t weak, but he had to bow down to a woman. So I feel Burton does the role with perfection; strong, but can’t say no to Taylor (reel life imitating real life 😉 )
    Agreed they are better at fighting ( as you mentioned, like in The V.I.P.s and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), but liked them in The Sandpiper as well. Only The Comedians wasn’t up to the mark.
    About the longer two-part movie; I had no idea, initially, it was longer. That I’d love to watch, if the whole film were to be released on DVD!!! It ought to be.

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    • I’m sorry for this belated reply (I was on vacation).

      I totally agree with your assessment of Cleopatra. She was indeed the precursor of the female politician (e.g. Elizabeth I, Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher). The movie does a great job depicting Cleopatra as a trailblazing feminist. I wanted to talk about this, but the review was getting too long. Thanks for the thoughtful response.

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  6. I think allowing for inflation it was the most expensive movie of all time until Titanic in 1997. In fact even without inflation I think it remained the most expensive movie of all time for several years. Yeah you won’t see it’s like again.

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  7. I always recommend this movie as a superb example of a style of moviemaking that isn’t done anymore. Back in the day when a movie called for a cast of a 100,000 the studio went out and hired a 100,000 extras. When the movie called for the city of Rome, by God the studio hired an army of contractors and BUILT the city of Rome.

    And yeah, I agree 100% about the chemistry between Liz Taylor and Rex Harrison. The first half of the movie with them is definitely the best part of the movie. Once Burton/Marc Antony steps into the spotlight, the energy level of the movie goes way down.

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  8. Excellent review of this maligned film. I think it should have been a two films. The split to four hours instead of two three hours one hurts. Liz looks great and so does the movie but it should have maybe a little more improper instead of very very proper. You are right the Blu ray has fantastic video and audio plus a superb commentary track and a great documentary on the movie. I like epic films even if ‘Cleopatra’ has never been tops with me.

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    • Agreed. It’s a little too “pretty” for its own good. But I do love all those old epics: Quo Vadis (1951), The Robe (1953), Spartacus (1960), El Cid (1961), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), etc.

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