Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre work from The Bard
Review: Of Shakespeare's plays, this seems to be one that delves very little into the motivations of characters. The three main characters (Caesar, Antony, and Cleopatra) seemingly just "ask" around about the others rather than taking any action. Antony's anger against Caesar, when he finally does take action and go against him in war, does not seem that justified because we aren't given much in the way of grounds for his anger.
Maybe my opinion is a little biased because I didn't prefer the plot of this play over the likes of such plays as "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Hamlet", or "King Lear", but I just felt as though Antony was more an unlikable individual than a tragic hero. He cheats on two wives, and, as a reader, it is hard to ever feel sorry for him. Cleopatra's character is one-dimensional also; she seems to just lay around and ponder what life is about and ask around about Antony to her many servants.
Of all the characters, I think that Enobarbus (also called Domitius) was the most compelling, because he narrates to the audience (via asides and discussions with minor characters) insight into the state of Antony's downfall. Through him much of the psychology of Antony is divulged. An instance of this is when he sucessfully predicts that Antony will not keep his faithfullness to his second wife. Although I think this is lesser of the Shakespeare works, I certainly felt it is still a 3 simply because Shakespeare has a way of painting a picture elloquently of how society works. This play illustrates the underlying themes of politics, revenge and adultery, all issues that prevade our world today. So, in many respects, although this was written in the 1500s, it is still a piece of literature that contains modern problems.
Rating: 
Summary: Not all USA readers are as dense as "Reader from USA" below
Review: One of the best plays ever written. Although a bit too diffuse for me to rank it as high as the 4 great tragedies which preceded it, no other plays ever written rank as high as those 4. This may well be the best of the rest.
Rating:
Summary: When love and fate mean death or power
Review: Shakespeare in this play shows how love is not human but surrealistic. Love does not answer reasonable questions. It is a fundamentally unreasonable attitude that brings the lovers to absurd behaviours negating all logical, political and historical values. Love has no limits even if history will prove stronger and the lovers will be destroyed. Shakespeare beefs up this theme with a language that is so rich that we are fascinated by the words, the symbols, the symbolic value of words and acts. He is particularly rich in his style that is entirely, words, poetry, actions, and even feelings, organized following some simple symbols, particularly numerical symbols. In this play Cleopatra appears as being the core of the symbolism and she carries with her the number eleven that comes from the old English runes with the meaning of fate, of fatal defeat, of a flaw that cannot be corrected or escaped. It is her destiny to bring Antony to his defeat and death, just as it is Antony's fate to be governed by this woman and led to his own destruction because of his love for her. It also shows how the Emperor is able to use this fatal situation in order to capture all powers and to impose his absolute will on the Roman Empire. He seems to be the one who plays not well but with all the assets of the game up his sleeves, and he takes them out one at a time when the situation is ripe for these assts to become the key to is ascension to absolute power by defeating those who may oppose him. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating: 
Summary: This is an ABRIDGED version of the play!
Review: Shakespeare, as ever, is brilliant, and this version of Antony and Cleopatra is reasonably acted. However, be forwarned, that in spite of the misleading claims on the packaging of these cassettes, labeling them an "unabridged classic", this is actually a significantly ABRIDGED version of the play. "Unabridged" here apparently means they have not shortened the production by the Canadian Broadcasting Company that is presented on the cassettes. This version of the play is also "adapted for audio" by speaking stage directions in a number of places, or making other changes in the text so the listener without a transcript can better know what is going on. Some may find this useful, but Shakespeare purists will definitely want to look elsewhere for a recording of this play.
Rating:
Summary: A magnificent mutual destruction superbly enacted
Review: This cassette version of Shakespeare's play about two strong-willed individuals whose passion for each other leads to their downfall is magnificently done. Anthony Quayle, who does a hilarious Falstaff on other recordings in the Caedemon series, plays a heroic but flawed Antony who is all too aware of his captivity to Cleopatra, and yet unable to break free of her. Pamela Brown is equally fine as the imperious, manipulative Cleopatra. The rest of the cast is similarly superb, especially Jack Gwillim as Enobarbus. The recording, originally made in 1963, receives an excellent remastering in this cassette reissue; the sound quality is fantastic.
Rating: 
Summary: A Discerningly-edited Edition
Review: This is a review of a specific edition of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" - namely the New Cambridge edition of 1990, edited by David Bevington. The book is a good size, and the print is easy to read. There are about 70 pages of front matter in this edition, and, on each page of the play, copious notes. Following the play's text, there is a discussion of general editorial choices and approaches, supplementing the specifics covered in notes. The front matter dutifully took up the sources of the play, its dating, structure, stage history, and a number of other topics. I found it occasionally a bit heavy going, as, in many sections, any straightforward statement seemed to be buried under a pile of citations from various critics. This was by no means always the case, and in such things as stage history I found the discussion brisk but entertaining. The text was thoroughly annotated - too thoroughly for my taste. It did not get tedious, as in the Arden editions, but still, too many notes were devoted to specific editorial decisions, and too many supersized with references to other plays. I guess there is some interest in this, and one does not have to read the notes one does not want to, but it does tend to slow one down. This is good though, if one wants to delve. Moreover, virtually every word or passage that might cause difficulty is discussed and interpreted, which is certainly what one wants. In summary, I would say this edition is well worth having: it gives one most of the information one could conceivably need, does some interpretation, and explains the text helpfully. It does not include a transcription of Shakespeare's main sources (although this is done piecemeal in the notes), nor a plot and scene summary. These would have been nice, but are not necessary.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest works of English literature
Review: This is one of the greatest works of English literature and does not deserve to be reviewed by people such as the American listed above. Intelligent people do not read Shakespeare to gain information about the time and place of the plot. We do so primarily because we are interested in the human condition.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but still notable...
Review: This is the fourth Shakespeare play that I've read. I honestly think that "Romeo and Juliet" spoiled me! "Antony and Cleopatra" was a notable account of the disputes of Octavius Caesar. One thing about this play that I found quite humorous was Cleopatra's profound promiscuity! Hehe. I do have a few complaints about this play, however. My first complaint is that, for a person who has no real understanding about the times of the triumvirate of Antony, Octavius Caesar, and Julius Caesar, the sequences of this play may be quite confusing. How it keeps going from the war to the romance, the romance to the war. My second complaint is that I couldn't really "feel" the fire between Antony and Cleopatra, as I could with Romeo and Juliet. That was an element that I had hoped to experience, of which I didn't all that much. My conclusion is that if you're looking for a romance-centered play, I wouldn't recommend it; but if a historical account with a little ill-fated love thrown in is what you're after, then you've found your prize.
Rating:
Summary: on the Caedmon recording
Review: This performance is billed as abridged but is infinitely more complete than the one amazon labels unabridged. To the extent that any of the Caedmon performances differ from whatever text you have in front of you, they are merely adhering to one editorial reading than another--several times I have listened to a Shakespeare Recording Society production and heard passages not printed in my complete edition of Shakespeare (Riverside). I have never been disappointed in either the quality of the text or performance in a Caedmon recording (or Arkangel for that matter). The main shortcoming of the Caedmon series is in the audio quality and if you can make allowances for that, you will find in these an excellent perspective on Shakespeare's art.
Rating:
Summary: not his best
Review: though the play is much fun after taking freud and throwing him into the pot. do the research and be fascinated at what shakespeare was a forefather to. god, billy's good.
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