Probably not one of the great epics, but still big and awe-inspiring. The performances are great, the sets are beautiful and the cinematography is sweeping. As epic eye candy Cleopatra is great to watch, but there is definitely something missing in the film.
The film has an enormous Shakespearian lilt to it; lots of over acting and scenery chewing which allows Taylor, Burton and Harrison to really get into their roles. But this element in the film also makes the film fairly sterile and at times downright wooden. The often stagy directing does not help the matter either.
The film also uses very limited settings. The whole four hours, apart from the scenes at Phillippi, Actium, and the senate in Rome, are all shot inside some palace or another - mainly Cleopatra's. This further infects the film with that stagy wooden quality. The audience does not get taken on a fantasy ride into the ancient world, but merely into the melodramatic lives of three 'kings' with whom the audience does not have a lot in common.
The film eschews any opportunity to fully revel in the mood of the times. Unlike Kubrick in Spartacus, who included Roman political intrigue as a subplot which provided a rich contrast to the adventure of the slaves, Manikewicz only provides us with a quick glance at the political scene in Rome - a few seconds of the anti-dictator Cicero bad-mouthing the triumvirate. Neither did the film show the Romans' full and true reaction to Cleopatra's stay in Rome, which was one of distrust and scepticism as well as awe; it was content just to show her spectacular arrival and the mob's awe at it. This reluctance to focus on anything but the monarch's own melodramatic ambitions and arrogance robs Cleopatra of depth, and renders the film very wooden, staid and stagy. This disqualifies it from being one of the great ancient-world epics.
But still, there are many scenes which are absorbing and great fun to watch. The sets are amazing, the costumes brilliant, and it is great to see all the late-great names on screen doing a magnificent job. Cleopatra is not a bad movie, it is a well crafted and sublime extravaganza, but it does not have a universal appeal. You need to have an interest in either ancient history or old film-making otherwise Cleopatra will seem like it has gone over budget and become a flop. A 7/10 for great acting, great visuals, and what is undoubtedly a well crafted film.
The film has an enormous Shakespearian lilt to it; lots of over acting and scenery chewing which allows Taylor, Burton and Harrison to really get into their roles. But this element in the film also makes the film fairly sterile and at times downright wooden. The often stagy directing does not help the matter either.
The film also uses very limited settings. The whole four hours, apart from the scenes at Phillippi, Actium, and the senate in Rome, are all shot inside some palace or another - mainly Cleopatra's. This further infects the film with that stagy wooden quality. The audience does not get taken on a fantasy ride into the ancient world, but merely into the melodramatic lives of three 'kings' with whom the audience does not have a lot in common.
The film eschews any opportunity to fully revel in the mood of the times. Unlike Kubrick in Spartacus, who included Roman political intrigue as a subplot which provided a rich contrast to the adventure of the slaves, Manikewicz only provides us with a quick glance at the political scene in Rome - a few seconds of the anti-dictator Cicero bad-mouthing the triumvirate. Neither did the film show the Romans' full and true reaction to Cleopatra's stay in Rome, which was one of distrust and scepticism as well as awe; it was content just to show her spectacular arrival and the mob's awe at it. This reluctance to focus on anything but the monarch's own melodramatic ambitions and arrogance robs Cleopatra of depth, and renders the film very wooden, staid and stagy. This disqualifies it from being one of the great ancient-world epics.
But still, there are many scenes which are absorbing and great fun to watch. The sets are amazing, the costumes brilliant, and it is great to see all the late-great names on screen doing a magnificent job. Cleopatra is not a bad movie, it is a well crafted and sublime extravaganza, but it does not have a universal appeal. You need to have an interest in either ancient history or old film-making otherwise Cleopatra will seem like it has gone over budget and become a flop. A 7/10 for great acting, great visuals, and what is undoubtedly a well crafted film.