Cleopatra Movie Review 1963

And we thought DeMille's version was extravagant. After the death of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, becomes infatuated with Mark Antony. Costly four-hour epic functions like a blimp-sized, multi-colored sleeping tablet. Historical characters are utterly dwarfed by the film's massive scope, and audiences are benumbed by a spectacle of crowd scenes and opulent, grotesque interiors. Taylor looks and often acts like a sex bomb ruler, while Harrison has some notion of Caesar's majesty. Burton, however, is hopelessly wooden. Hard to believe this came from director Mankiewicz.

Distribution

CBS/Fox Video, 1330 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, Phone: (212)373-4800, Toll-free: 800-800-4369, Fax: (212)373-4803, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 246 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Historical Drama, Egypt--Ancient, Big-Budget Bombs, Royalty, Historical Romance, Rome--Ancient, Religious Epics, Femme Fatale, Wonder Women, Top Grossing Films of 1963, Screen Teams: Burton & Taylor

Screenplay

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, Martin Landau, Pamela Brown, Michael Hordern, Kenneth Haigh, Andrew Keir, Hume Cronyn, Carroll O'Connor

Cinematography

Leon Shamroy

Director

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Music

Alex North

Producer

20th Century-Fox, Walter Wanger

Awards

Oscars 1963: Art Dir./Set Dec., Color, Color Cinematog., Costume Des. (C), Visual FX; Natl. Bd. of Review 1963: Actor (Harrison).