Cleopatra (1963)

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:

Much better than its reputation

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:

The original list of choices for the role of Marc Antony were Stephen Boyd, Richard Johnson, Michael David, Peter O'Toole, Peter Finch and Laurence Harvey. Boyd was cast as Antony while Finch was cast as Caesar. However, both men had to leave the project due to the lengthy delays and their obligations to other projects. Boyd was replaced by Richard Burton and Finch was replaced by Rex Harrison.

Goofs:

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

Guillemet:

Cleopatra: The way to prevent war is to be ready for it!
Sosigenes: Have 300 warships ever been built for war without war?

Connexions De Film:

Référencé sur Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults (1997) (TV)

Much better than its reputation

I watched this movie over 3 nights on DVD, and was captivated through the whole 4 hours and 10 minutes or so it took.

Elizabeth Taylor did a pretty good job in the title role as perhaps the greatest seductress in history, and Richard Burton was superb as Antony, but for my money Rex Harrison (Julius Caeser) and Roddy McDowall (Octavian) stole the show.

For me the highlight of the film was the historical backdrop - Egypt vanished as a nation and Rome reached the peak of its power and started the descent into decadence - all in one movie, and as you watch this epic you gain some insight into the psychology and power politics that made the 4 major historical figures of the time. If Antony had been a little smarter, Cleopatra might have done it after all!

8/10