Had "Cleopatra" come out even a year earlier, you just know it would have been a juicy, jaw-dropping spectacle. But the Production Code neuters all of Cecil B. DeMille's natural instincts, so we're left with a limp and wooden historical diorama.
You can feel him straining at his leash at one point in the movie, during a wtf feast where a bunch of women dressed as cats leap around the set like they're at the Jellicle Ball. The movie comes half-way to life at that point. But the rest is a tired drama about Cleopatra (played by Claudette Colbert -- what a year she had in 1934) and her reluctant romance with Marc Anthony.
Nine-time Oscar nominated cinematographer Victor Milner received his sole award for this movie. It also received nominations for Best Picture (in a year with 12 nominees), Best Assistant Director (what the heck did that award even recognize?), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Recording. The film lost Best Picture to a different Claudette Colbert movie, "It Happened One Night."
Grade: C.
You can feel him straining at his leash at one point in the movie, during a wtf feast where a bunch of women dressed as cats leap around the set like they're at the Jellicle Ball. The movie comes half-way to life at that point. But the rest is a tired drama about Cleopatra (played by Claudette Colbert -- what a year she had in 1934) and her reluctant romance with Marc Anthony.
Nine-time Oscar nominated cinematographer Victor Milner received his sole award for this movie. It also received nominations for Best Picture (in a year with 12 nominees), Best Assistant Director (what the heck did that award even recognize?), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Recording. The film lost Best Picture to a different Claudette Colbert movie, "It Happened One Night."
Grade: C.