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Cleopatra (Five Star Collection)

Cleopatra (Five Star Collection)

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: After seeing this incredibly well restored spectacle on this incredibly beautiful DVD, you'll have trouble sitting through Gladiator. The color restoration alone makes this 5 Star edition glow with vibrant hues, never seen on the regular TV showings. Liz is stunning and her endless change of costumes mesmerizing. You get 3 discs in this edition. One of them is the amazing story behind this much maligned production, often referred to as a "bomb...turkey...disaster." Don't believe it. Cleopatra won 4 Oscars. Cleo's entrance into Egypt/Rome on that gigantic Sphinx is still one of the great scenes in movie history. Only problem: as one reviewer said, there's a slight glitch on both the documentary disc and on the second disc, where the picture freezes and you have to skip over it into another segment. Also, Director Joseph Mankeiwicz does a sloppy job of writing toward the end, where he throws all the action to hambone/scenery chewing Richard Burton who goes on and on about his tragic fate his great love for Cleo. He emotes like he's on the stage, rolling his eyes and twisting his mouth and flailing his arms while Liz merely watches. Still, this is a million times better than the washed-out looking Gladiator which seems to have been photographed through a beige veil, with such a paucity of color you wonder why it was even photographed in color. Liz is still the Queen of the Nile and she's captured here in all her surreal beauty of the early 60s.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: LIZMANIAC
Review: HAVE SEEN THIS MOVIE OVER A HUNDRED TIMES 1ST TIME AT THE AGE OF 11 AND HAVE BEEN HOOKED EVER SINCE. MS TAYLOR IS FANTASTIC. THE FILM IS A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE. ALL THOSE WHO PANNED THIS FILM IN THE PAST HAD TO BE NUTS!! JUST TO SEE THE PASSION AND FIRE BETWEEN LIZ AND RICHARD IS EXCITING. A FILM OF THIS MAGNITUDE WILL NEVER BE CAUGHT ON FILM AGAIN... LONG LIVE MS TAYLOR....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GREAT MOVIE
Review: After I brought this dvd I went right home to view it. And I was not disapointed this dvd is great. Elizabeth taylor was great as cleopatra in this movie and I'm not a Elizabeth taylor fan. I didn't find this movie long at all I started watching this movie about 4:00pm and was finished about 10:30 I did fix myself something to eat at intermission. I recommed this dvd to everyone who enjoys period movies. Also the extra disk was great too,with all the extra stuff. So sit back with a bag of popcorn and enjoy!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not slow at all...
Review: Perhaps I am simply simple-minded; but I did not find this film slow at all. There was something of great interest in all scenes and in all areas. I like to enjoy development in movies, and I believe that this great film consistently hit the mark.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Movie of the Century!!!!
Review: Acting, plot, and script were absolutely superb. Better than Basic Instinct or Saving Private Ryan. Should have won dozens of Oscars. A must own for everyone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A 4 hour extravaganza-- Not to be missed
Review: This indeed is the movie to beat all movies....and makes Gladiator look like computer generated pac-man. This remarkabale movie is filled with oodles of one liners and plenty of oomph. Some scenes are truly unforgettable:

1. Cleopatra's entry into Rome to meet Ceasar: This is a superb scene of almost titanic proportions with thousands of extras choreographed brilliantly.

2.Mark Antony charges into the Roman army: A scene which poignantly displays Antony's grief at not being able to die the death of a honorable man.

3. Cleopatra commands Antony to kneel: Poor Antony. His fall from grace is complete when Cleo orders him on his knees. His face shows how total his humiliation is, and the expression on Cleo's face is a classic.

Dont miss this DVD. The special features are excellent, though the transfer could have been better. But the movie itself had an excellent transfer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An engrossing and as legendary as the real story.
Review: A monumental achivement and a powerful milestone that changed hollywood forever , not only is this film as big and legendary as the true life story , the true life story ended this movie this film the story is endless from the massive production to the sweeping love story that it gave on and off screen with Liz Taylor and Richard Burton is in many cases as legendary as the love affair between Antony and Cleopatra.Huge massive sets and authentic locations and an powerful cast of it's time such as Rex Harrison as Julius Ceaser,Richard Burton as Mark Antony and Roddy Mcdowell as Octavian but at it's heart Liz Taylor in the role that made her the dream of every man Cleopatra who held the power of two nations in the palm of her hand.

This still hold the worlds record as the most expensive film ever made 45 millon at a time when you could spend 2 millon on an epic and still get something grand but many drawbacks and waste and script rewrites , directors getting tired and producers fed up and many times a sick Liz Taylor ,it also holds the record for the largest sets ever built. At the hights of the Roman Empire and the Egyptian Empire, Julius Ceaser a respected Ceaser and general wars to make and expand the greatness of Rome, after the battle little does he know that while he may conquer countrys there is one thing he cannot conquer the love of his neighboring Egyptian Queen and ruler of Egypt Cleopatra who is feirce and ambitious and seducting and uniting Rome and Egypt as one she will do that at all costs even if it means loving a Ceaser and bearing him a son.But when both nations are locked into war and famon , The Roman senate decides that Julius is no longer capable of being a Ceaser so they , assasinate him.Cleopatra alone and not fufilling her dream she meets the beloved Roman General Mark Antony and is immidiately swept into another love affair from a Roman but Antony seemingly betrays Egypt and strikes Cleopatra's anger and frustration now hated and decived by Rome Antony is once again engaged in war with announced Ceaser Octavian as Antony wars at Actium he must endure a terrible defeat.

But as the movie ends in a almost Romeo and Juliet style as Antony dies in the hands of the only thing to him that was worth fighting for Cleopatra , when she realizes how much Antony loves her she causes her death and is bit by a serpent and dies before Octavian can capture her alive.

An amazing film , a legendary film sprawling in intrigue and betrayal and lust the DVD contains a two hour making of the film and a legend that almost bankrupted 20th century fox if Cleopatra was made today it would cost twice as much as TITANIC to make.Cleopatra was a virtual flop and badly tanked at the box office but this movie is good because it manages to bring a legend to life with unserpasssed and powerful brillance few Hollywood films can do today.Not even reacent 2001 Best Picture winner Gladiator is as big in scope and scale everything is just small next to this film the will live in the annels of film as the story will live in egyiptian lore for centurys to come an specticale worthy and awsome film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: So So transfer, but fantastic extras
Review: I am not sure I want to see the six hour Cleopatra, but I enjoyed this film a lot more than Gladiator. It is a shame the transfer isn't as pristine as Universal's superb series of Hitchcock DVDs, but the 2 hour documentary on Cleopatra's torturous production history and newsreel footage on disc 3 make up for the erratic transfer. Both film and extras brought back childhood memories of my first trips to the movies in the sixties. As Dylan recently sang in The Wonder Boys, things have changed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Cleopatra - Five Star Collection?
Review: I am a big fan of all Elizabeth Taylor works, especially Cleopatra. But with all of the extras on the DVD, where is Liz? The lack of Liz in the DVD extras really disappointed me. Otherwise, I am very glad to own this DVD - I watched it all right away. The color and sound is a big improvement over my VHS copy and I really enjoyed the behind the scenes featurette. I was a little miffed that I had to change discs at intermission, but I suppose it was always a good place for a break. For the all it's minor disappointments, Cleopatra is still the most bang for the buck that I've seen to date on DVD. If you include all the extras, it breaks down to about $3USD/per hour of top notch Hollywood golden-era entertainment. If you're on the fence, don't hesitate - get it!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: CLEOPATRA lives again...
Review: The new DVD release of "Cleopatra" truly preserves the epic proportions I remember from the big screen when I was 14 years old. Even on the small screen, its epic-ness remains intact. This film is not as bad as most people thought. Production values are high (4 tech Oscars), a wonderful score and above average acting make the entire experience worthwhile. ("Ben-Hur" was far, FAR slower and exceedingly boring...) I recommend everyone to see this excellent DVD transfer. The 3rd disc includes a documentary about the making of the film and all the set-backs, which adds a new appreciation (for me) of the final result. Liz is OK, but Harrison, Burton and MacDowall are excellent. If you're a collector, this film belongs in your library for its historical significance. If not, don't buy it but certainly rent it.


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