(1963)
3.5
Derek Armstrong
Cleopatra is an interesting study in contradictions, as both a dud that won five Oscars and a lavish production that wastes most of its time on scenes of talking heads. Unfortunately, it's also not a 246-minute movie that breezes by; any modern viewer brave enough to sit through its four hours will feel the passage of every minute, with little ultimate reward for the time spent. The leads all acquit themselves admirably, especially Rex Harrison as Caesar, but viewers better acquainted with these characters through Shakespeare's lyrical language will lament the all-too-ordinary and sometimes anachronistic dialogue that comprises Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film. Elizabeth Taylor shines like the star she was, jumping in and out of dozens of ornate costumes, many of which hug her figure tightly, in a way that was provocative at the time. But she's a little too petulant and melodramatic to ultimately be taken seriously. The truly puzzling thing about this film, which is probably what left viewers cold, is that the 60-million-dollar budget goes mostly into window dressing: decorative scenery and costumes, a few elaborate parades and dance numbers, and one sophisticated battle sequence. Very little of it is in direct service of the plot, and the long scenes of one-on-one dialogue, strung together one after another, sap much of the grandiosity from the production. Cleopatra is left feeling more like a filmed play than the type of modern movie its budget and stars promised it would be.
Cleopatra on AllMovie
Cleopatra (1963)
