Official Synopsis
Elizabeth Taylor stars as Cleopatra, the glamorous and cunning queen of Egypt. To secure her hold on power, she seduces the rulers of Rome, only to meet her match in Mark Antony, played by Richard Burton. Their passionate romance could decide the fate of the world’s greatest empires.
If you have never seen Cleopatra then pop a huge bucket of popcorn, get the two-liter of coke ready and prepare yourself for what could only be considered as the epic ‘epic film’. Cleopatra is one of the last films to not only touch about this ancient Roman times setting, but also one of the last to feature enormous stars and even larger sets. To put it bluntly, this is one of the most expensive films ever made ($40+ million in the day — which would be around $250+ million in our day and age (more than Titanic)), so much that Fox was still paying for the film years after it had been released (this according to IMDB.com). This should give you the kind of scope you’re looking for when you watch Cleopatra.
With that said, the sets are absolutely amazing. When you see a giant stone building then you’re looking at a set piece. When you see a gigantic ship sailing in Rome’s harbor then you should know that is a gigantic ship sailing Rome’s harbor. This is a huge draw for the film, as the sets were some of the most elaborate that Hollywood as produced since it’s conception in the early 1900s.
And that’s really not the bulk of the film. The real draw, at least in 1963, was the actors involved. Elizabeth Taylor was the lead as Cleopatra. Her sexy sassiness, onscreen powerful performance really does drive the story. She turns into Cleopatra the moment she sets foot onscreen and seduces Rex Harrison’s Julius Caesar into returning her to the thrown. She gets vicious and mean (not to mention ‘manipulative’) with Richard Burton’s Mark Antony. She rules the roost in this picture and there’s a reason why she is the cover of the Blu-ray (and the majority of the marketing back in 63′). Getting these three actors together for the film was pretty much unheard of back in the day, as they all brought their best to the story. Adding to the cast list, you’ll also find the talents of Martin Landau, Roddy McDowall, Hume Cronyn (Cocoon, anyone?) and Carroll O’Connor if you look hard enough (Archie Bunker with an english accent). A huge set of stars for a huge movie with a solid story.
Speaking of which, the story was originally supposed to be two separate films when it was planned out. Cleopatra and Caesar were supposed to have their own film, followed by Cleopatra and Antony, which makes complete sense. After years of delays (production started in 1960 source: IMDB.com), the would be six-hour epic was cut down into one film that was nearly four hours in length. So, yes, you’ll find an overture, intermission and exit music waiting for you. Thank goodness for the intermission because you shouldn’t drink anything if you plan on watching this film all the way through.
Anyhoo, Cleopatra is a wonderfully put together piece of cinema that shows off its muscle in story, talent and setting. It’s one of the biggest and best movies I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing and I hope to hell it never gets remade because it won’t get better than this.
In regards to the Blu-ray quality, it’s eye-candy delicious. Is it perfect? Not completely, but you’re talking about a 1963 film that has been almost perfectly converted to HD. Think about the scope of that undertaking, especially since Fox isn’t exactly known for treating big films to Blu-ray completely right (Rain Main). To their credit, they did produce the best looking Blu-ray set available with the Alien Anthology,so it’s not out of the question that they’re always capable of doing good work. Anyway, the colors of the film, which were a huge focus on in 1963, have been brought out to look simply gorgeous in high-definition. You get the blues, reds, whites, yellows coming out in eye-popping beauty. There is a little bit of graininess, especially with the daytime-nighttime shots (when they shot in the day and tried to make it look like night), but at least 95% of this film is fantastically upgraded to HD. I really haven’t been this impressed with Fox since the Aliens Blu-ray release, but they deserve kudos for this one. It’s a perfect way to treat one of your crown jewels.
To compliment the Blu-ray release, the features are amazing. Here’s what you’re looking at:
Disc 1
● Cleopatra Through The Ages: A Cultural History
● Cleopatra’s Missing Footage
● Fox Movie Channel presents Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman
● Commentary with Chris Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz, Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky
● The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence
Disc 2
● Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
● The Fourth Star of Cleopatra
● Fox Movietone News
○ Archival Footage of the New York Premiere
○ Archival Footage of the Hollywood Premiere
● Commentary with Chris Mankieqicz, Tom Mankiewicz, Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky
● Theatrical Trailers
For a 50th anniversary edition film, you couldn’t find better features to accompany it. It literally is loaded with some of the most interesting commentary, fantastic missing movie pieces and a very blunt and truthful featurette about the making of the film. Again, you couldn’t ask for a better set of features to accompany a Blu-ray like this. Simply put, it’s amazing.