Rating: 
Summary: An epic film
Review: This film is very impressive, some of the images that you see in this film will amaze you and will make you say "They were able to do that in 1963?" This is definately one of elizabeth Taylor's best performances, same for Richard Burton. The 5 star edition DVD set a new trend, the 3 disc set. The DVD is loaded with extras on the 3rd disc. The film transfer onto DVD looks great, this is truly on of the best films from 20th century fox. If you like classic battle films like Spartacus, this is definately another film for you to see.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Greatest Films Ever Made.
Review: Four hour, oscar winner film full of good acting, great sets, and epic length story telling centering on the famous Egyptain Queen who tried to take on Rome and lost in the end. Joseph L. Mankiewicz originally wanted this film to run for six hours, but 20th Century Fox trimed the film down due to it's emorous budget. never the less modern film editors are trying to locate the missing film prints in the archives of 20th Century Fox and restore this movie to the director's original version.
Rating: 
Summary: A Film That Should Have Worked--But Didn't
Review: The Elizabeth Taylor version of CLEOPATRA has taken quite a beating over the years, and its easy to see why: the film is elephantine, with an emphasis on making everything BIG; as such, it eventually sinks under its own weight.It is difficult to imagine any other actress better suited to play Cleopatra, but Taylor does comparatively little with the role, coming off as less the complex Queen of the Nile than a luxury-loving little minx out for a slinky good time. Rex Harrison and Richard Burton fare a bit better, although not much. Still, the emphasis is on spectacle--and in spite of the big budgets, historic costuming, and mammoth sets it is really here that the film falls apart. The problem, really, is that the film's spectacle is too imaginative and takes too many liberties. A good example is found in the role of Cleopatra herself: the historical Cleopatra considered herself Greek and probably wore Egyptian attire only for ceremonial occasions, but the film prefers to present her flatly in stereotypical fashion, when the truth would have been considerably more complex and entertaining. Much the same may be said for most of the characters in the film. As the film progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to accept these characters as anything else but movie stars playing parts. And in terms of spectacle, in spite of all the money poured into it, the movie looks cheap. Sure, they had a budget of heaven only knows how much money, but they had to stretch it to costume so many people that the wardrobe department had to settle for nylon-looking material, and a great many of the sets betray the fact that they are sound-stage created. Then, when really lavish spectacle occurs--as in Cleopatra's entrance into Rome--the production values clash: they seem to be two completely different movies. It is difficult for me to understand why any one would want to spend money on a VHS, much less a DVD (even with various bells and whistles added), of this particular film. If you must see the film, you're better off renting it or catching a rerun on cable television. For CLEOPATRA is essentially a curiosity: a film that should have worked... but didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Epic Literate Entertainment
Review: It's a shame the bad rap this film has gotten over the years. To paraphrase the New York Times in its rave review at Cleopatra's opening - this is great epic entertainment, and unless you are predisposed to give Cleopatra the needle, it is a hugely satisfying and stirring spectacle. One of the common themes in many of the notices posted here on Amazon is the shock & pleasure of viewers who were surprised at how literate and beautiful the film really is. They had expected a travesty, a colossal eyesore ineptly acted. Over & over again the theme is replayed - low expectations giving way to astonishment at how fine the film really is....and always was. With this film Elizabeth Taylor transcended her then considerable stardom, and became to millions the worldover THE ELIZABETH TAYLOR of legend, a veritable modern Cleopatra of wealth, excess, and star-crossed romance. This transformation was fueled by Taylor & Burton's very public adultery inviting the censure of the Vatican concerning her fitness as a mother, and debate by the United States Senate about revoking Taylor's citizenship on the grounds she was a threat to public morals. Adding fire to the inferno was Taylor becoming the highest paid "million-dollar plus a piece of the boxoffice" performer in entertainment history. The vitriolic press lathered themselves up to bash her; but her films continued to earn millions. Scandal did not seem to taint her. At its opening, the critical opinion to Cleopatra was decidedly mixed.- everything from raves to bombs....as would be expected when the director's 6 hour/2 film vision was whittled down to 1 film at 4+ hours, and then later for general release, cut again to 3+ hours. In reading some of the reviews at the time it becomes glaringly clear that many critics got insultingly personal and reviewed the highly paid sexual femme fatale rather than the actress' nuanced performance, finding it impossible to separate the two. And to blame Taylor for the astronomical costs is absurd. The remarkable DVD includes the documentary "Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood", which is a very thoughtful accurate attempt to correct this myth. From the start, the cast and director/writer were forced by a mismanaged 20th Century Fox to shoot from an incomplete script, practically in sequence - the most inefficient way to shoot since it meant many huge monumental sets stood idle for inordinate periods of time waiting to be used. The film was a boxoffice hit - not the flat-out bomb the film's detractors wished for. It was number 1 on Variety's Weekly Boxoffice charts month after month. It was the number one grossing film of 1963. Cleopatra continued to perform well in 1964. And as the above documentary states, it was one of the 1960s top moneymakers. No film with bad word of mouth plays at theaters for 6 to 15 months at roadshow prices in city after city. It just doesn't happen. The fact is that audience reaction to the film was much more positive than the critical reception. Having said all of that, let me articulate why so many people love this film. * Cleopatra has a great literate script. A very complex story of empire, dynastic ambition and love is rendered understandable and compelling. And the story it tells is remarkably accurate - some liberties are taken but the general arc of how history unfolded is correct * The relationship between the 3 leads is well thought out and the dynamics in their performances shift accordingly. Caesar and Cleopatra have a relationship of ambitious peers who respect each other and agree to mutually use each other - their dialog fairly crackles with wit and innuendo. Antony and Cleopatra from the beginning are doomed. In spite of herself, her political judgement is compromised by her love. And he is besotted with her, living in Caesar's shadow. * Taylor's Cleopatra is a complex compelling woman of force and dignity, fired by a fierce ambition to protect Egypt's independence and rule the world. In her is embodied the woman, the ruler, the statesman, and the exoticness of the ancient East. To the movie-going public at the time, she was the only actress beautiful enough and talented enough to play this role. At this point in her career, she had already been Oscar nominated 4 times (and would be again), and won once (for the wrong performance - but THAT'S another story!!!). In several years she would win again for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". * The opulence of the production is staggering......Alex Norths music is stunning - remastered and rereleased by Varese Sarabande, it is one of the great original compositions for the screen. The costumes and headdresses are a sensational example of Hollywood craft and art. And a film on this physical scale would be impossible to produce today. I saw this film screened at MOMA in New York in the early 1990s as part of a 20th Century Fox retrospective. The reaction to the sets, the sheer size of the production, the attempt to recreate the exotic grandeur of ancient Egypt was an eye-opener for those in the audience seeing the film for the first time. From the entrance into Rome, to the barge at Tarsus, to the Battle of Actium and so forth there is one gorgeous set-piece after another. I enjoyed "Gladiator" a great deal, but as so many have expressed, it looks cheesy and false next to the Forum and Alexandria built for this film. * The intersection of art and life is the final factor at play. Here is where began one of the most potent and public of film partnerships - lived on screen and in the tabloids for close to 15 years. Whether you approved or disapproved of Taylor & Burton, there are few if any stars nowadays that can project that glamorous larger than life aura as they did. And that, coupled with the spectacle of the film's production - the gossip, the flood of news, the outrage, the money being spent to bring the story to the screen, the crises, and so forth - would simply not occur nowadays.
Rating: 
Summary: I Can't Believe I Saw the Whole Thing!
Review: The only part of the 3-DVD set (Cleopatra-Five Star Edition) worth watching is the two-hour documentary, "Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood." Seeing the documentary on AMC is what led me to the regrettable decision to purchase the DVD set. Maybe it was watching "Julius Caesar" with James Mason, John Gielgud, and Marlon Brando the night before and "Citizen Kane" the night before that, but by comparison, the Taylor-Harrison-Burton "Cleopatra" is so bad that it's almost (but not quite) camp like the original TV "Batman" series. The script is pompous and incoherent, the sets are patently phony, the action scenes are pathetically inept and unbelievable, and resolution quality of the DVD release is quite inferior. If you must see this monstrosity, rent it because one viewing will be more than enough.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie....and expensive too!
Review: Cleopatra is indeed a monumental film because it broke the records in several areas of moviemaking. First, it costed over 40 million dollars back in the 1960's (equivalent to over 220 million today) crushing the cost of Titanic. Also, Elizabeth Taylor has set the world record for the most number of costume changes in a movie (64 changes). Did you know that the movie props and sets were ALL handmade and took almost a year to complete? Basically saying, the movie is really good and lives up to its reknown expectations. Its great that it is now on DVD because we can see the movie even better than on VHS. Though the movie is long, the scenes, props, costumes, story line will keep you attentive throughout. Before buying the movie, try renting it and witness the magic of Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra.
Rating:
Summary: What a movie! What a DVD!
Review: All my life, I had never wanted to watch this movie, because of its bad reputation as being too long and too boring. A friend hired it, and I agreed to watch the beginning, only to see what the DVD quality looked like. Two extremely entertaining hours later, the "Intermission" title came up, and I knew I was hooked. I bought this DVD the next day, and watched the second half the moment I got it home. I can see that watching this movie in a theatre would be impossible to do. Its length is made worse by the drawn-out, plodding second half, but with the DVD, you can turn this movie into a mini-series and watch it over a few nights, enjoying the sumptuous sound and music, the awesome wide-screen cinematography and the magnificent sets and costumes as though you were in a theatre. Liz Taylor is marvellous, spitting venom one minute, a suductive kitten the next - Richard Burton's voice would melt even the most vicious dictator's heart, and Rex Harrison is Henry Higgins in armour. All three lead actors are stunning to watch, belting out their well-crafted lines as if they were thinking them up off the top of their heads. Cleopatra's entry into Rome must have cost the national debt of a small country, and the costumes must have made many seamstesses blind. The Alexandria Palace exterior set almost steals the show, it is amazing. If you love Hollywood-Rewrites-History movies, this is definately for you. I'm so glad I didn't see it on TV - all those commercial breaks would make it unbearable.
Rating:
Summary: outstanding DVD presentation
Review: This is an outstanding presentation of the classic CLEOPATRA, renowned as being one of the costliest and most exessive movies ever made. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison all give superb performances. They are more than equaled by a supporting cast that includes Martin Landau, Roddy McDowall, Hume Cronyn and Francesca Annis. This splendid DVD set comprises the Road-Show version of the film including Overture and Intermission, along with a bonus disc containing art galleries, documentaries and trailers. Although the film was regarded as the one that almost bankrupt 20th Century Fox, it broke box-office records when first released and has since made it's money back in countless re-releases and television screenings. Originally screened in a length of 6 hours, the Road-Show version runs for 4 hours. The cutting of the film was instigated by Darryl Zanuck, who decided the film was too long to be screened in one sitting. Archivists and restoration experts have since looked for the missing two hours of film, hoping to restore the film to it's proper length and re-releasing it. This DVD is a beautiful testament to one of the most ravishing films ever made...CLEOPATRA.
Rating:
Summary: Liz Taylor IS Cleopatra!
Review: An amazing epic about the life & loves of Cleopatra. However, the romance is really real...during this film's making Liz Taylor & Richard Burton started their affair with each other even thoug Taylor was married to Eddie Fisher. A lavish story with excellent pageantry
Rating:
Summary: Best spectacle? No. Grandest? Probably
Review: Starring Liz Taylor, and Rex Harrison. This 4 hour long melodrama has setpieces and costumes that would cost the studio half billion to recreate today. It has behind-the-scenes gossip and news that would make Cleopatra blush.
The film moves with the speed of a snail, yacking and talking of characters that aren't identifiable. The great acting can't make up for the snoringly butt-aching length. Note to filmmakers: At least stop the film in several places; add two intermissions instead of just one. Let the audience stretch. There's no innovations in direction. You get the same narrative scope from "Ben-Hur." But at least, the way that was made kept people interested.
The cost and all it's setpieces is the grandest of all. But the pull truly great epics; "Gone With The Wind," "The Ten Commandments," "Lawrence of Arabia" and the recent "Titanic" had on people was either intrigue or something in the characters. This has neither that nor a reason to stay with it for 4 straight hours.
You may be asking why I'm giving this 4 stars if i hate it so much--but I've got a reason. The images of Liz on her throne and all the Roman garb around her; they're some of the most memorable in film. Not because the film was popular (Ha Ha), but it did have an effect on pop culture, causing it to gain that "classic" title.
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