Watch Caesar and Cleopatra For Free

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I am curious about this film's credits listing 4 cinematographers...and not just any...Cardiff,Young,Krasker and Hildyard...big names that I recognize. Why would a single film need 4 main cinematographers? They are not (like other films) credited as 2nd unit and then one main person getting the chief DOP credit. So does anyone know why this film needed 4? Was there a succession of firings/or quittings and they needed to sub in another (and another etc.)? If not, how can 4 work simultaneously on one film?..one would think with 4, there would be a lot of on-screen noticeable discrepancies of styles etc. My untrained eye couldn't detect.

It's our amazing good fortune to have this document of one of George Bernard Shaw's greatest plays, filmed during his lifetime so that he could author the screenplay as he wrote the original stage work. It is a monument to the magnificence, not only of Shaw, but of Caesar. It is also a monument to Shaw's brilliant playcraft, clever plotting, and canny application of humor. It goes without saying that Shaw was brilliant, since of course he was a socialist.We have seen this story before, though differently told, when the wonderful Rex Harrison played Caesar to the talented Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra. (Both of these names should be written with a K, since that is how they were both actually pronounced.) It is an absolute truth about that later film that only the first half is much worth watching, since Richard Burton in the second half plays a lovesick puppy so well it's thoroughly disgusting. GBS avoids that pitfall by giving us a great Caesar and a delightful Cleopatra, and fabulous stars to play them.Shaw's play tells the story of Caesar's occupation of Alexandria after his final defeat of Pompey, and his defense of his position against perfidious Egyptians and renegade Romans in the service of Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra's prepubescent brother and husband. The text is a creation of the utmost cunning: nothing less than a successful imitation of Shakespeare (though mostly in a more modern idiom). Few writers other than Shaw would have attempted this feat, and fewer still would have been successful at it.Mentioning Ptolemy XIV, I should mention his (and Cleo's) brother, Ptolemy XIII. They were both married to Cleopatra and each of them was pounding on her bedroom door by the time he was 10. The film, alas, forgets the last Ptolemy, the XVth, called Caesarion, Caesar's son by Cleopatra. It was his official acknowledgement of this son that caused him so much trouble back home.The essence of Shaw is of course his wit. Hardly a play of his is as witty as this one. The film is 2 hours long and seems scarcely an hour, so packed is it with sparkling dialogue.To portray this great literary work, the producers have assembled a gallery of some of the greatest actors of the time. Caesar is played by the hugely talented Claude Rains whose portrayals of iconic roles have made him one of the greatest actors of the last century. He gives the immortal Julius such sangfroid and cool calculation as to make us instantly believe his greatness as a general and statesman.Cleopatra is portrayed by the great Vivien Leigh, who graced and enhanced every part she took. Her beauty is in fact far, far greater than the legendary queen's (we have pictures). There is a rumor that Cleopatra was African (black) by descent – which, while not a big deal, is a lie. We know each and every one of her ancestors since before the time of Alexander the Great, and they are all Greek (and mostly closely related). Shaw also cleverly switches the story of the rug from her first meeting with Caesar to ruse to smuggle her into Caesar's emergency redoubt at the Pharos (the Alexandria lighthouse).Apollodoros (misspelt with a "u" before the "s"), the Greek jack of all trades, arts, and talents, is played with huge humor by the inimitable Stewart Granger. Granger's acting talents gave both of the Fairbanks a run for their money. Cleopatra's nurse and chief bottle washer, Ftatateeta, is portrayed by the wonderful Flora Robson. For this part her skin is stained dusky and she's given an Egyptian-style fright wig … and is absolutely convincing. When she's on camera, she manages to upstage even the riveting Rains.The roll of talented veteran actors continues. As Pothinos (misspelt with a "us"), Ptolemy's puppet master and master of all nasty diplomatic maneuvers, we have Francis L. Sullivan. It was Pothinos' idea to knock off Pompey in the hope of sucking up to Caesar. No such luck, of course, because Caesar greatly admired and liked Pompey despite the fact that they had recently become enemies. Sullivan portrays Pothinos with delightful wiliness and sliminess. *** As the loyal Rufio, "Caesar's shield", we have a steadfast Basil Sydney. Rufio eventually becomes Roman "governor" of Egypt, although that country was then still technically independent and didn't have a governor. Rufio's part is given a good shot of good-humored testosterone and Sydney gives it great stature. *** The talented veteran Cecil Parker gives us Caesar's faithful British amanuensis, Britannus. His physical stature and Druidic appearance make him very convincing as a 1st-Century BCE British warrior-poet. *** And so on. Every part in this film is well-played by people who know what they're doing.The DVD itself was manufactured in Korea. Don't expect a lot. This Technicolor film has a washed-out look … although the colors are usually clear if not vividly bright. The sound is good (but could be better) and as we might expect from actors of stage quality, the dialogue is clear. There are, in addition, English subtitles. There are no extra features, but with older films we seldom get them. Some people might take points off for substandard color and sound. So do I. I give extra stars for Shaw's genius and take them off for an inferior recording of the original film. That leaves the correct total: the maximum.

I've noticed that some commentators have derided the historicity of this film--which is completely to miss the point. This is a superb adaptation of a great play by the greatest playwright in the English language after Shakespeare--George Bernard Shaw. (Gabriel Pascal had previously done equally excellent versions of Major Barbara and Pygmalion.) Be forewarned--Shaw's genius was not action, but talk. And what talk this is! As usual, there is an underlying schematic--rational government (Caesar) versus irrational barbarism (Cleopatra). This dialectic informs the entire relationship between the two main characters, set like jewels in a sumptuous physical production and amidst a remarkable set of co-stars--Stewart Granger, Flora Robson, Michael Rennie, and others.Claude Rains' performance is remarkable, full of a combination of wit and a very British sort of weltschmertz. Vivian Leigh is a marvel--this is to my mind without question the best thing she ever did on screen and I include that trying harpy Scarlett O'Hara.Shaw is not very popular right now, in large part I suspect because he forces you to think--not a popular pursuit these days. However, if you want a compelling combination of wit, humor, history, and discourse on government, do not miss this film--or Pascal's other two Shaw films. You may just discover a new favorite writer!

Although a great fan of Leigh as an actress, I did not care for her portrayal of Cleopatra as a spoiled, manipulative child who pouts and cries in order to get her way with old fuddy duddy Ceasar. This may indeed have made a witty stage play, but the movie was dull and lumbering. I kept going back to it hoping strongly it would get better, but to no avail. Not the least of it's irritating qualities for me was the total lack of historical accuracy. Cleopatra, though young, was acknowledged by contemporaries to be highly educated and intelligent, bred to rule and accustomed from birth to the political intrigues of her dynasty. She would not have needed Caesar to constantly prop her up and remind her to behave as a queen. I was sorry to see Leigh's talent wasted in this film. She is lovely to watch as always, and lights up the screen with her presence, and the acting of other cast members is likewise topnotch, but sadly none of that can save this dud.