"Cleopatra"

Title: "Cleopatra"

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Producers: W. Wagner and P. Levathes
Editing: D. Spender and E. Williams
Composer: Alex North
Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra
- Richard Burton as Mark Antony
- Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar
- Carroll O'Connor as Servilius Casca
- Roddy McDowall as Octavian, alias Augustus
- Martin Landau as Rufio
- Hume Cronyn as Sosigenes
- Andrew Keir as Agrippa
- Gwen Watford as Calpurnia Pisonis
- Kenneth Haigh as Brutus
- George Cole as Flavius
- Pamela Brown as the High Priestess
- Cesare Danova as Apollodorus

Plot and Critical Review: The film opens shortly after the Battle of Pharsalus where Julius Caesar has defeated Pompey. Pompey flees to Egypt, hoping to enlist the support of the young Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII and his sister Cleopatra.

Caesar pursues and meets the teenage Ptolemy and the boy's advisers, who seem to do most of the thinking for him. As a gesture of 'goodwill', the Egyptians present Caesar with Pompey's head, but Caesar is not pleased. As Caesar settles in at the palace, Apollodorus, disguised as a rug peddler, brings a gift from Cleopatra. When a suspicious Caesar unrolls the rug, he finds Cleopatra herself concealed within and is intrigued. Days later, she warns Caesar that her brother has surrounded the palace with his soldiers and that he is vastly outnumbered. Caesar is unconcerned. He orders the Egyptian fleet burned so he can gain control of the harbor. The fire spreads to the city, burning many buildings, including the famous Library of Alexandria. Cleopatra angrily confronts Caesar, but he refuses to pull troops away from the fight with Ptolemy's forces to deal with the fire. In the middle of their spat, Caesar kisses her.

The Romans hold, and the armies of Mithridates arrive on Egyptian soil. The following day, Caesar passes judgment. He sentences Ptolemy's lord chamberlain to death for arranging an assassination attempt on Cleopatra, and rules that Ptolemy and his tutor be sent to join Ptolemy's now greatly outnumbered troops, a sentence of death as the Egyptian army faces off against Mithridates. Cleopatra is crowned Queen of Egypt. She dreams of ruling the world with Caesar. When their son Caesarion is born, Caesar accepts him publicly, which becomes the talk of Rome and the Senate.

Caesar returns to Rome for his triumph, while Cleopatra remains in Egypt. Two years pass before the two see each other again. After he is made dictator for life, Caesar sends for Cleopatra. She arrives in Rome in a lavish procession and wins the adulation of the Roman people. The Senate grows increasingly discontented amid rumors that Caesar wishes to be made king, which is anathema to the Romans. On the Ides of March 44 B.C., the Senate is preparing to vote on whether to award Caesar additional powers. Despite warnings from his wife Calpurnia and Cleopatra, he is confident of victory. However, he is stabbed to death by various senators.

Octavian, Caesar's nephew, is named as his heir, not Caesarion. Realizing she has no future in Rome, Cleopatra returns home to Egypt. Two years later, Caesar's assassins, among them Cassius and Brutus, are killed at the Battle of Philippi. Mark Antony establishes a second triumvirate with Octavian and Lepidus. They split up the empire: Lepidus receives Africa, Octavian Spain and Gaul, while Antony will take control of the eastern provinces. However, the rivalry between Octavian and Antony is becoming apparent.

While planning a campaign against Parthia in the east, Antony realizes he needs money and supplies, and cannot get enough from anywhere but Egypt. After refusing several times to leave Egypt, Cleopatra gives in and meets him in Tarsus. Antony becomes drunk during a lavish feast. Cleopatra sneaks away, leaving a slave dressed as her, but Antony discovers the trick and confronts the queen. They soon become lovers. Octavian uses their affair in his smear campaign against Antony. When Antony returns to Rome to address the situation brewing there, Octavian traps him into a marriage of state to Octavian's sister, Octavia. Cleopatra flies into a rage when she learns the news.

A year or so later, when Antony next sees Cleopatra, he is forced to humble himself publicly. She demands a third of the empire in return for her aid. Antony acquiesces and divorces Octavia. Octavian clamors for war against Antony and his "Egyptian whore". The Senate is unmoved by his demands until Octavian reveals that Antony has left a will stating that he is to be buried in Egypt; shocked and insulted, the Senators who had previously stood by Antony abandon their hero and vote for war. Octavian murders the Egyptian ambassador, Cleopatra's tutor Sosigenes, on the Senate steps.

The war is decided at the naval Battle of Actium. Seeing Antony's ship burning, Cleopatra assumes he is dead and orders the Egyptian forces home. Antony follows, leaving his fleet leaderless and soon defeated. After a while, Cleopatra manages to convince Antony to retake command of his troops and fight Octavian's advancing army. However, Antony's soldiers have lost faith in him and abandon him during the night; Rufio, the last man loyal to Antony, is killed. Antony tries to goad Octavian into single combat, but is finally forced to flee into the city.

When Antony returns to the palace, Apollodorus, not believing that Antony is worthy of his queen, convinces him that she is dead, whereupon Antony falls on his own sword. Apollodorus then takes Antony to Cleopatra, and he dies in her arms. Octavian captures the city without a battle and Cleopatra is brought before him. He wants to return to Rome in triumph, with her as his prisoner. However, realizing that her son is also dead, she arranges to be bitten by a poisonous asp. She sends her servant Charmian to give Octavian a letter. In the letter she asks to be buried with Antony. Octavian realizes that she is going to kill herself and he and his guards burst into Cleopatra's chamber and find her dressed in gold and her and her servant Iras dead while an asp crawls along the floor. Octavian is angry that she is dead and leaves. One of Octavian's guards asks dying Chairman if the queen killed herself well and Charmian answers, "Extremely well," and dies.

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There are so many worthwhile details to share about this movie, but far too many to share here. I hope you'll permit me to copy and paste a few paragraphs from this film's Wikipedia page to give you a sense of how truly "epic" the production and cost (both financial and personal) of this film was.

The film is infamous for nearly bankrupting 20th Century Fox. Originally budgeted at $2 million, the budget eventually totaled up to $44 million - the equivalent of $323 million in 2012 - dollars, still making the movie the most costly ever produced worldwide. This was partly due to the fact that the film's elaborate sets, costumes and props had to be constructed twice, once during a botched shoot in London and once more when the production relocated to Rome.

Filming began in London in 1960. Mankiewicz was brought into the production after the departure of the first director, Rouben Mamoulian; in the early stages of the project, before the casting of Elizabeth Taylor, Mamoulian is said to have favored African-American actress Dorothy Dandridge for the lead role. Mankiewicz inherited a film which was already $5 million over budget and had no usable footage to show for it. This was in part because the actors originally hired to play Julius Caesar (Peter Finch) and Mark Antony (Stephen Boyd) left due to other commitments. Mankiewicz was later fired during the editing phase, only to be rehired when no one else could piece the film together.

Elizabeth Taylor was awarded a record-setting contract of $1 million. This amount eventually swelled to $7 million due to the delays of the production, equivalent to over $47 million today. Taylor became very ill during the early filming and was rushed to hospital, where a tracheotomy had to be performed to save her life. The resulting scar can be seen in some shots. All of this resulted in the film being shut down. The production was moved to Rome after six months as the English weather proved detrimental to her recovery, as well as being responsible for the constant deterioration of the costly sets and exotic plants required for the production. (The English sets were utilised for the spoof Carry On Cleo.) During filming, Taylor met Richard Burton and the two began a very public affair, which made headlines worldwide. Moral outrage over the scandal brought bad publicity to an already troubled production.

The cut of the film which Mankiewicz screened for the studio was six hours long. This was cut to four hours for its initial premiere, but the studio demanded that the film be cut once more, this time to just barely over three hours to allow theaters to increase the number of showings per day. As a result, certain details are left out of the film, such as Rufio's death and the recurring theme of Cleopatra's interaction with the gods of Egypt. Mankiewicz unsuccessfully attempted to convince the studio to split the film in two in order to preserve the original cut. These were to be released separately as Caesar and Cleopatra followed by Antony and Cleopatra. The studio wanted to capitalize on the publicity of the intense press coverage the Taylor-Burton romance was generating, and felt that pushing Antony and Cleopatra to a later release date was too risky. The film has been released to home video formats in its 243-minute premiere version, and efforts are under way to locate the missing footage (some of which has been recovered). - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_(1963_film)

My Rating: 7.5/10

Content To Caution:

V-2.5 - Scenes of large-scale battle and hand-to-hand combat throughout.
L-.5 - No comment.
DU-1 - Some drinking. An oracle appears to be under the influence of hallucinatory drugs.
RT-x - No comment.
H/S-1.5 - Cleopatra consults with a witch. Caesar suffers from epileptic seizures.
CH-1 - No comment.
S/N-2 - Cleopatra is often seen in revealing or seductive clothing. Her servants and maids also wear revealing or "skimpy" outfits.

The "Reel Revelation" - "Inflation and Return"

I am always amazed when I read about how much money was spent on these epic films and, by applying inflation, how much it would cost to make them today. Consider the following statistics about some of the "epics":

"Cleopatra"

- Budget (Then-1963): $44 Million

- Budget (Now): $323 Million

"Ben-Hur"

- Budget (Then - 1965): $15 Million

- Budget (Now): $107 Million

"Gone With The Wind"

- Budget (Then-1939): $3.85 Million

- Budget (Now): $63 Million - $110,000 a week for Clark Gable's salary

That's serious money no matter what year you're in! When held up against the cost of producing such great films, inflation seems like more than a tracking of the "rise in the general price of goods and services in an economy." Through inflation we can see the value that was given to these films while they were being produced; we can see an investment made in good faith (faith, indeed, for there was no guarantee any of these films would become as legendary as they have) that the films themselves would live on. But what inflation doesn't show us is the revenue these films generated; only how great the initial investment was and how much it'd be today. It might be a stretch, but I imagine we experience a similar sense of "inflation and return" in our own lives. To put it to a question (as is my custom), what are the things in your life that you want to see a return on? What things do you expect a return on?

We've all gotten involved in projects that, when completed, seemed a grand waste of time. All of our hard work seems fulfilled when the project is over, then wasted when there's no return on our labor. Perhaps you've felt that way about your schooling, or career(s), or even relationships. All that work, commitment, and dedication for nothing. The thrill of achievement isn't enough. We long to be involved with something that, as the somewhat recent saying goes, "pay(s) it forward." Does every investment in life have to be a risk? Does every project have to end and leave us feeling empty? What can we sow into our lives that we know will grant a good return? Instead of sowing seeds, what about some fruit?

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5: 16-23)

Consider the "deeds of the flesh" and what sort of return they'll give you: Immortality will breed more immorality. Jealousy will lead to deeper jealousy. Anger will steal away your joy and break the relationships you cherish. Invest in your life by the flesh and you'll receive the return that is due to all flesh; death.

Consider the "fruits of the Spirit": Love multiples in itself...the more you love the more love you'll receive and, thus, be able to love more fully and completely. Patience gives way to deeper understanding and wisdom. Faithfulness makes your "yes" a solemn vow and strengthens your commitments. Self-control tempers you against sin and enables you to aid others in their struggles. Invest in your life through God's Spirit and you'll receive the return that is due to all who trust in God; everlasting life.

See you tomorrow - E.T.