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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Cleopatra" is a film that
in retrospect has come to symbolize great excess
and tragedy in Hollywood. As the doomed Egyptian
queen, Elizabeth Taylor nearly died before filming
on this gargantuan epic began. She also launched
into an affair with her fifth husband-to-be,
Richard Burton (she was then married to Eddie
Fisher, whom she had previously lured away from
Debbie Reynolds).
After constructing all of the sets at England's
Pinewood Studio and casting the film with a
stellar roster that included Peter Finch as Julius
Caesar and Stephen Boyd as Mark Anthony the shoot
was moved to Rome to accommodate Taylor's illness
and recovery. The change of venue effectively
launched Liz into the arms of her new costar,
Richard Burton -- who also was married at the
time. These and other backstage intrigues are well
documented in the masterful documentary on the
making of "Cleopatra" that is included on disc
three of this three disc set.
Three time Academy Award winning screenwriter,
Joseph L. Mankiewicz was decidedly working against
type on this project. After director Rubin
Mamoulian was fired from the project, Mankiewicz
assumed directorial responsibilities on the film
as well. The added stress nearly killed him.
Mankiewicz had conceived of shooting two major
motion pictures simultaneously, "Caesar and
Cleopatra" and "Anthony and Cleopatra." However,
when the Burton/Taylor sex scandal broke in
tabloids around the world, Fox demanded that the
two projects be made into one elephantine film.
The result was that a huge amount of film footage
was scrapped or excised from the finished product.
Even with all the excisions, "Cleopatra" weighed
in at a hefty four hour plus running time. Made at
the end of a profitable cycle of Roman epics, and
with enough studio generated hoopla and publicity
for four major motion pictures, "Cleopatra" made a
resounding thud at the box office despite ticket
sales that were better than average. The reason --
"Cleopatra" was the most expensive motion picture
ever made until Kevin Costner's "Waterworld" --
eclipsed it some 35 years later.
The plot of the film opens with Julius Caesar (Rex
Harrison), learning of a political upheaval in
Egypt between queen Cleopatra and her brother,
King Ptolemy. Caesar, interested in bridging the
gap between Rome and Egypt, bates the two
co-rulers until he discovers that Ptolemy is the
one responsible for treason. Caesar makes
Cleopatra the undisputed monarch of Egypt, then
proceeds to have a very public affair with her.
This of course does not sit well with either
Caesar's wife or the Roman senate, manipulated by
Octavian (Roddy McDowell). An oversight prevented
McDowell's stellar performance from being
nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category.
Fed up with Caesar's affair, ten senators plot and
carry out his pubic murder. Caesar's closest
confidant, Mark Anthony (Richard Burton) spends
the next ten years hunting down the assassins. But
he too falls under the spell of Cleopatra and
eventually is ruined as a Roman officer.
Fox delivers a DVD transfer that is nearly
pristine. Remastered in hi-def, colors are rich,
bold and vibrant. There is some minor edge
enhancement and some pixelization but neither
terribly distracts. For the most part the picture
is sharp and smooth. The soundtrack is equally
impressive, a remastering effort that brings out
the brilliant underscoring and presents dialogue
at very natural sounding levels. As already
mentioned, there's a fantastic documentary on the
making of this movie. There's also an original
featurette, some stills, an audio commentary and
theatrical trailers. This is definitely one for
your film library! |
