Cleopatra (1963) Starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Rex Harrison. Reviewed by Michael A. Turton (turton@cc.fy.edu.tw)
Despite its inclusion in a decade of heroic epics that offered such classics as _Ben Hur_, _Spartacus_, and _Lawrence of Arabia_, _Cleopatra_ has failed to find the enduring popularity of those staples. Yet it has many of the elements that made those stories such hits: famous actors, a big budget, spectacle, an timeless story.
_Cleopatra_ tells the story of the queen of Egypt, played by an overwrought Elizabeth Taylor, and her love affairs with Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison in a performance any mannikin could have done just as well) and Mark Anthony (Richard Burton, magnificently). Roddy McDowell is wonderful as the ambitious and unscrupulous Octavian. Martin Landau has a secondary role.
Cleopatra was shot at the tail end of the frenzy of epics that marked the 1950s and early 1960s, yet its as if its filmakers were still struggling to get a handle on the epic as an art form. It is full of problems: a script full of long, lifeless, speeches without a single memorable line; actors who move like claymation figures, and a pace more suited to that of geological change rather than entertainment. There are no moments of awe and glory to match the chariot race in _Ben Hur_ the parting of the Red Sea in _The Ten Commandments_ or the "I am Spartacus" scene at the end of _Spartacus_. _Cleopatra_ is *staged* rather than *shot*; one half expects to see the crew clearing the sets for the next scene when a sequence finally finishes. The music is foul.
The fundamental weakness, however, is the story itself. Cleopatra offs herself and the other main characters, Caesar and Antony, die ignobly. Their heroic story is without redemption. David Lean, faced with the same problem of meaningless death, chose to move T. E. Lawrence's motorcycle accident to the beginning in _Lawrence of Arabia_, to make it the story of heroic failure. This is not possible in _Cleopatra, because there are TWO heroes and TWO love stories centering around one woman. Thus there must be two resolutions in one film. Ouch. _Cleopatra_ would have been much better had it started with Caesar's death or been divided into two films.
Despite its suitably gargantuan flaws the film remains a compelling story of tremendous spectacle and power, with much that is worth seeing. There are few spectacles in film to match Cleopatra's entry into Rome and the battle at the end is extremely well done. In a day and age when too many models look like poster children for famine relief organizations, Taylor's lush, petite figure is a welcome throwback. The complex love affair between Cleopatra and Antony, overshadowed and enabled by their mutual admiration of Caesar, is underpinned by the first-rate acting of Richard Burton, who takes over the second half of the movie. With the exception of Burton (and McDowell) the acting in _Cleopatra_ is strictly B movie. At the beginning Taylor is so exaggerated it is hard to buy into her character, but either she got into her role as the shooting went on, or (more likely) two hours of her beats down even the most hardened viewer's skepticism. Rex Harrison as Caesar is even worse, delivering his lines like a college professor spouting off bon mots at a cocktail party. Fortunately Caesar dies halfway through.
Even today the story of Cleopatra is one to conjure with, constantly inspiring new generations of filmakers around the world. Here is a film begging for a remake. Mel Gibson, are you listening? 2 1/2 out of 5.
Copyright 1998. Michael A. Turton (turton@cc.fy.edu.tw)
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