Cleopatra (1963)

Note Générale:

6,8/10   

Réalisateur:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Scénaristes:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (screenplay) and
Ranald MacDougall (screenplay) ...

Date de sortie:

31 juillet 1963 (UK)

Genre:

Biographie | Drame | Histoire | Romance

Accroche:

The motion picture the world has been waiting for!

Intrigue:

Historical epic. The triumphs and tragedy of the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.

Plot Keywords:

Cleopatra | Egypt | Roman Empire | Epic | Marc Antony

Récompenses:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

Mutilated potential classic

Ensemble

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Cleopatra
Richard Burton	...	Mark Antony
Rex Harrison	...	Julius Caesar
Pamela Brown	...	High Priestess
George Cole	...	Flavius
Hume Cronyn	...	Sosigenes
Cesare Danova	...	Apollodorus
Kenneth Haigh	...	Brutus
Andrew Keir	...	Agrippa
Martin Landau	...	Rufio
Roddy McDowall	...	Octavian - Caesar Augustus
Robert Stephens	...	Germanicus
Francesca Annis	...	Eiras, Cleopatra's handmaiden
Grégoire Aslan	...	Pothinus (as Gregoire Aslan)
Martin Benson	...	Ramos

Durée:

192 min | Germany:233 min (TV version) | Sweden:232 min | USA:320 min (director's cut) | 243 min (roadshow version) | Argentina:233 min

Pays:

UK | USA | Switzerland

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Rapport de forme:

2,20 : 1

Son:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) | Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)

Classification:

USA:Unrated (video rating) | Iceland:L | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | USA:Approved (certificate #19756) (original rating) | Canada:G (video rating) | Brazil:Livre | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:G (1971 re-release) | West Germany:12

Lieux de tournage:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Société:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Anecdotes:

Elizabeth Taylor had 65 costume changes for this film, a record for a motion picture. The figure is exceeded by Joan Collins, who had 85 costume changes in the TV miniseries "Sins" (1986).

Goofs:

Continuité: During Cleopatra's big parade as she enters Rome there are tire tracks on the dirt road

Guillemet:

Cleopatra: There are never enough hours in the days of a queen, and her nights have too many.

Connexions:

Référencé sur "Jeopardy!: (#22.103)" (2006)

Mutilated potential classic

Fritz Lang's Metropolis is rightly regarded as a classic, but many reviews make note of the 'illogical' story and bad character plotting. Characters come and go without rhyme or reason, and the plot makes no sense, they say. Well, yes, but that's not Fritiz's fault, nor the movie's; Metropolis makes little sense because 55 minutes of the film was hacked out and destroyed, never to be seen again, by the US distributors. Of course it's gonna be a dog's dinner with an hour missing, ya clods!!

The same is true of Cleopatra, and this is basically the only reason the film fell flat on its' 1963 release. It was originally intended to release Cleopatra as two three hour movies, the first dealing with Cleo's relationship with Caesar, the second her affairs with Marc Antony. Fox said no to this idea, and demanded a single four hour film instead. This decision is like taking Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings Trilogy and removing an hour from each film wherever an hours' worth can be removed...a recipe for incoherence and total disaster.

So, with two hours of footage gone, major characters are reduced to glorified walk-ons, vital plot points and motivations are lost, and the story loses what LOTR has...length with the proper pacing. People will sit and watch 4 hours of Return Of The King because it flows properly. People will not sit and watch 4 hours of stitched together rough cuts...that's what Cleopatra is, even in the DVD roadshow edition...because what we have is something that is too bitty and haphzard to sustain interest.

But there is still glory in Cleo....Roddy McDowall, Martin Landau and Rex Harrison all act their socks off, the sea battle is kick ass, and Liz Taylor looks pretty scrummy in Egyptian softcore porn clothes. And only a Gen Xer like me could love that hideously pompous overblown dialogue.

Great film! For what it is. It just should have been TWO films, that's all. Real eyepopping trippy spectacle, done in a 'damn the money, full speed ahead' way that just doesn't happen any more. Like Casino Royale, Cleo is a wonderful disaster.