The story of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony makes for great drama (both on screen and off) in the spectacle motion picture “Cleopatra.” The 20th Century Fox brass and producer Walter Wanger spared no expense for lavish sets, extravagant costumes, and a huge cast of big stars. The film was plagued with problems under the original director, Rouben Mamoulian (“Porgy and Bess” 1959), including production delays caused by script rewrites and Elizabeth Taylor’s health problems. Filming in Pinewood Studios in London from September to November, 1960, yielded only ten minutes of useable footage, so Wanger and Fox fired Mamoulian and hired Joseph L. Mankiewicz (“Suddenly, Last Summer” 1959) to redo the entire film.
Production was relocated to Cinecitta Studios in Rome, and filming began without a complete screenplay. Cost overruns continued, and the film received worldwide press when the stars, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, both married to other people, engaged in an open adulterous affair that manifested on the set with love scenes featuring the pair continued past the director announcing “cut.” Both delivered good performances though, as did the supporting cast.
Co-stars include Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar, Martin Landau, Hume Cronin, Carroll O’Connor, Pamela Brown, Cesare Danova, Francesca Annis, Jean Marsh, George Cole, Robert Stephens, Martin Benson, Jacqui Chan, John Doucette, John Hoyt, Martina Berti, Laurence Naismith, Roddy McDowall as Octavian (Caesar Augustus), and Desmond Lleewelyn (“Q” of James Bond fame) in an uncredited role as a Roman Senator.
“Cleopatra” received nine Academy Award nominations, winning four: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Special Effects, and Best Cinematography for Leon Shamroy, whose camera work in Italy made this a beautifully filmed motion picture.
The very watchable “Cleopatra” was a big hit with the general public, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1963. However, with the production costs and marketing expenses totaling $45 million dollars (including $5 million on the aborted UK shoot and star Elizabeth Taylor becoming the first actor in Hollywood history to receive one million dollars for a single film role), “Cleopatra” became the most expensive film ever made up to that time. The expenses nearly sent 20th Century Fox into bankruptcy. The studio did not experience full financial recovery until 1977 with the release of the massive hit “Star Wars” from director George Lucas. “Star Wars” was the highest-grossing film of 1977.
Cleopatra (1963)
cinema
My Review
The story of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony makes for great drama (both on screen and off) in the spectacle motion picture “Cleopatra.” The 20th Century Fox brass and producer Walter Wanger spared no expense for lavish sets, extravagant costumes, and a huge cast of big stars. The film was plagued with problems under the original director, Rouben Mamoulian (“Porgy and Bess” 1959), including production delays caused by script rewrites and Elizabeth Taylor’s health problems. Filming in Pinewood Studios in London from September to November, 1960, yielded only ten minutes of useable footage, so Wanger and Fox fired Mamoulian and hired Joseph L. Mankiewicz (“Suddenly, Last Summer” 1959) to redo the entire film.
Production was relocated to Cinecitta Studios in Rome, and filming began without a complete screenplay. Cost overruns continued, and the film received worldwide press when the stars, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, both married to other people, engaged in an open adulterous affair that manifested on the set with love scenes featuring the pair continued past the director announcing “cut.” Both delivered good performances though, as did the supporting cast.
Co-stars include Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar, Martin Landau, Hume Cronin, Carroll O’Connor, Pamela Brown, Cesare Danova, Francesca Annis, Jean Marsh, George Cole, Robert Stephens, Martin Benson, Jacqui Chan, John Doucette, John Hoyt, Martina Berti, Laurence Naismith, Roddy McDowall as Octavian (Caesar Augustus), and Desmond Lleewelyn (“Q” of James Bond fame) in an uncredited role as a Roman Senator.
“Cleopatra” received nine Academy Award nominations, winning four: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Special Effects, and Best Cinematography for Leon Shamroy, whose camera work in Italy made this a beautifully filmed motion picture.
The very watchable “Cleopatra” was a big hit with the general public, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1963. However, with the production costs and marketing expenses totaling $45 million dollars (including $5 million on the aborted UK shoot and star Elizabeth Taylor becoming the first actor in Hollywood history to receive one million dollars for a single film role), “Cleopatra” became the most expensive film ever made up to that time. The expenses nearly sent 20th Century Fox into bankruptcy. The studio did not experience full financial recovery until 1977 with the release of the massive hit “Star Wars” from director George Lucas. “Star Wars” was the highest-grossing film of 1977.