Cleopatra (1963)

Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Darryl F. Zanuck, Rouben Mamoulian | 192 minutes | action, romance, biography, history | Actors: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown, George Cole, Hume Cronyn, Cesare Danova, Kenneth Haigh, Andrew Keir, Martin Landau, Roddy McDowall, Robert Stephens, Francesca Annis, Grégoire Aslan, Martin Benson, Herbert Berghof, John Cairney, Jacqui Chan, Isabel Cooley, John Doucette, Andrew Faulds, Michael Gwynn, Michael Hordern, John Hoyt, Marne Maitland, Carroll O’Connor, Richard O’Sullivan, Gwen Watford, Douglas Wilmer

Large-scale epic about the waning days of the Roman Republic and the life of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, with Elizabeth Taylor in the title role. The film is known as one of the most expensive films of all time, almost the demise of the film studio 20th Century Fox. Today, the film is best known as a miss, due to its laborious production, skyrocketing costs and the ignition of the turbulent romance between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. All this caused such a stir that the attention for the film was overshadowed. But isn’t it time for a revaluation?

As a film, ‘Cleopatra’ is very impressive, especially visually: with grandiose mass scenes, spectacle and Taylor in all her voluptuous beauty as the radiant centerpiece. It is a pure, “old school” Hollywood production, in which no expense has been spared to conjure up Alexandria and Rome as grand as possible, supported by thousands of extras and where the actors walk around in beautiful sets with borne, declaiming voices. The whole is beautifully portrayed by director Joseph L. Mankiewicz. For example, Cleopatra’s entrance into Rome, enthroned on a rolling sphinx pulled by dozens of slaves, is a classic in cinema history that set a standard that has rarely been matched, let alone surpassed, since. For that reason alone it is a pity that the film lives on in the memory nowadays mainly because of all the fuss surrounding the film. Filming began in England in 1960 under director Rouben Mamoulian, with Taylor in the lead role and Peter Finch as Caesar and Stephen Boyd as Mark Antony. Taylor fell ill, causing production to be temporarily halted. Finch, Boyd and Mamoulian resigned and all scenes had to be re-shot. Production was then moved to Rome, partly to allow Taylor to avoid the English climate, where gigantic sets were built. The film was budgeted at 2 million dollars, but was already well over budget when Mankiewicz took over. Rex Harrison was cast as Gaius Julius Caesar and Richard Burton as Mark Antony. The producers, incidentally, would later fire Mankiewicz – and re-hire it, when it became clear that no one else could put the film together the way he intended. Ultimately, the film would cost no less than $44 million, a huge amount for that time, which threatened film studio Fox. The whole thing was widely reported in the press, giving rise to the myth that the success of ‘The Sound of Music’ alone ensured that 20th Century Fox did not go bankrupt. The reality is less dramatic: the film had a record yield (which already recouped some of the costs) and through TV broadcasts the film even made a profit.

Taylor is the undisputed star of the film. Although the film is named after her character, the title is somewhat misleading, as the plot is certainly not all about her. The politics of the late Republic, the intrigues, the wars and the struggle for power receive at least as much attention. But she manages to draw all the attention to herself, with good acting that uses all facets of her Cleopatra to the fullest. She doesn’t just throw in her acting talent and her famous glance. Her daring costumes (65 different outfits, a long time record for a movie) and her – covered – nudity in some scenes certainly went quite far for the time. Incidentally, in a large number of scenes the scar from a trachea cut, which she was left with an emergency operation during the shooting.

Also, ‘Cleopatra’ is famous for missing out on an Oscar nomination for actor Roddy McDowall for his strong role as the scheming Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), because the studio mistakenly put him in the wrong actor’s category (Best Leading rather than Supporting Actor). And as mentioned, ‘Cleopatra’ was also the beginning of the relationship between Burton and Taylor, which would result in two marriages and years of copy for the tabloid press. At the time, both were married to someone else and their extramarital affair was even publicly condemned by the Vatican. This film is the first of the eleven films they would make together, but surprisingly the chemistry between the two does not explode off the screen.

Supporting roles include well-known actors such as Jean Marsh (as Octavia), Martin Landau (as the loyal Rufio) and even Caroll O’Connor (later best known as Archie Bunker), who as conspirator Casca gets the first stab on the Iden. from March. However, it is McDowall who steals the show as a sneaky Octavian – leaving the second half of the film, which is much more melodramatic in tone, enjoyable. The absence of Harrison, who portrays Caesar in a pompous way, but who radiates the calmness of a statesman, makes the second part less fascinating. The film uses, among other things, the works of the Roman writers Plutarch and (gossip king) Suetonius as sources and does not take the historical facts so closely – apart from anachronistic scenery such as the triumphal arch under which Cleopatra’s procession enters the Forum. Still, the whole offers enough spectacle and well-acted drama to completely sit out the long running time of four hours.

The 2011 Blu-ray version showcases the film in all its glory and has been released on two discs. That alone makes it worth seeing the film. With the playing time, the largest set-up, sober voice-over and musical pieces, including text cards with “overture” and “intermission” on them, ‘Cleopatra’ is an example of a Hollywood that (unfortunately) no longer exists. According to director Mankiewicz, more than 90 minutes of footage was left on the cutting table because he planned to shoot two nearly three-hour films titled “Caesar and Cleopatra” and “Anthony and Cleopatra.” That structure is still visible, because Burton only shows up after more than an hour and the first part also ends with Caesar’s death. Incidentally, the deleted material is most likely lost. The stories surrounding ‘Cleopatra’ have become classic, but the film itself has not. Understandable in itself, because that’s what the whole thing falls short of. But nevertheless it remains a beautifully decorated film with exceptional actors and a gripping historical story. A movie that you simply must see.