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Summary: dvd Review
Review: I can't help but say that I was let down by this release. Don't get me wrong, the dvd's themselves are very attractive and for the fact that it is a 3 dvd set the price is exceptional. It was the movie itself that disapointed me. It was lacking a major land battle scene which for the price to make this movie there should have been one. We have some of the greatest military minds of all time and it seems like a waste of 4+ hours not to have at least a small battle. There was also no super scene that all great movies have. (Ben Hur has many, Gladiator had it's opening battle just to name a few.) If you are a past fan of this movie then go ahead and buy it. If you plan on buying based on adverising hype or word of mouth rent it first.
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Summary: when its good its very good, when its bad its very bad
Review: the good points? the set, costumes, harrison, burton, and the screen play, the bad points? the script, taylor, and lots of the cast. the famous elixabeth taylor, richard burten saga had a more steamy off screen than on screen. Taylor with everything but what is needed for this movie is (thankfully) out shone by harrison and burton who give terrific performances, harrison as the infamous julius caesar, his acting has never been any better and by far deserved his oscar nomination, burton as a moody anthony. The key scenes may disappoint, the cleo entrance into rome is like saint Patricks day in new york with a big scary sphinx. When taylor and her adinoids scream "AN-TH-ON-E! when she discovers he has married octavia, that shreek would scare the living daylights out of king kong. the sets are magnificent, 1950s/60s thats is, all we need is sonny and cher in the background with lutes and james deane to roar through the via sacra. the ancient egyptian orgy is more like a scary happy hour, as is taylors costumes which are like renditions of her wedding dresses. the script should be lawfully incinerated, "puked" "Gee!" and "boney knees" are only highlights of the bad bad script in such a movie. This movie would have achieved by far more an audiece had a more suited Cleopatra been cast, Joan collins was tested three times as was susan hayward. All the world went "ooh" and "ahh" with the taylor- burton story, pity they didnt include that in the movie, at least we wouldnt be as frustrated. The better scenes include the final scene, eerie and poetic, taylor comes alive when her character dies, and after her nasal schreik (as graphically provided above) she tares up her bedroom, that is taylor in action! watch this for the beautiful sets, sometimes believeable costumes and the male leads. but the comic strip colour and horrifying script would even have Cleopatras mummy turning in her sarcoficus! Enjoy!
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Summary: One of the best movies I have seen in my life
Review: Movies like this are just not made anymore. I bought this DVD a week ago because it was a 3 disc set loaded with features and I like Roman history. I heard this movie was good, when I was done I was thinking to myself that I have not seen movie making this good in a while. Saving Private Ryan and Titanic, and even Gladiator don't touch how good this movie is. I think Caeser did a much better job than Anthony in this film though. It is amazing how the simple beauty of the Queen of the Nile brought 2 of Romes most powerful men to their knees. BUY THIS MOVIE YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!
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Summary: Cleopatra-Much Better than Expected
Review: I saw Cleopatra for the first time this week - even though I am almost 50! After hearing for so long about how lousy the film was, I was surprised at how good many parts of it were. Even though some things were pretty unhistorical (such as Cleopatra's magnificent entrance into Rome; she actually was making a private not state visit), the scriptwriters also picked up some good specific bits from Plutarch and Suetonius. I think the first half involving Julius Caesar was much stronger, especially the sections involving Roman politics leading up to the assassination, because Caesar was a stronger, more compelling character than Antony. However, the one thing I most liked about the film was Kenneth Haigh's excellent performance as Brutus, presented here as the defender of Caesar and reluctant assassin, and I found myself watching his scenes more than once. The scene the night before the Ides of March where Cassius with three questions forces Brutus to commit to the conspiracy was particularly good - with the subtle differences in the 3 different head nods he gives, Haigh reveals just how torn Brutus is over having to assassinate Caesar for the good of the Republic. As for Liz Taylor, even if she did overact at times, I think her star power, strength and beauty made it believable that Cleopatra was able to mesmerize Caesar and Antony enough to be able to hold on to her throne for 20 years through the Roman civil wars.
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Summary: Where's Elizabeth???
Review: It was a great movie, but it is called CLEOPATRA, and it was mostly about Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and Cleopatra, not just Cleopatra. I think they should've put more of Elizabeth Taylor in it since she is the lead star, but she doesn't even appear until about a half-hour into the movie. For what it was (and what it cost), it was pretty good.
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Summary: STUNNING DVD, but, still waiting for the complete film :-(
Review: I have been a major fan and memorabilia collector of this film since it was originally released when I was a little boy. During the first decade after its release, it was pretty much thought of as a dismal flop. Truth be known, its original release got MIXED reviews! What a feat - considering nearly 2 hours worth of character development and motivation was deleted. Along with what legend has it as one of Burton's best performances. But, curiously, as the years have gone by, the film, and Taylor, especially, seems to be gathering more and more fans. For at least the last 15 years, there have been several articles, and a growing public base calling for the "editor's cut" of this film. Curiously, EVERY epic within a 5 year radius of Cleopatra has been given such treatment, but, despite all the demand for it, WHY has it not been done for Cleopatra? When I heard Fox was preparing a 3 disc DVD for the film, my heart started thumping......MAYBE the time was at hand. Sadly, it was not! I know for a fact there were numerous clips and outtakes that could have been included on the supplementary disc. They were not!! Still, I commend Fox for one of the most SUBERB DVD releases I've ever seen! And, despite the glaring omissions, the supplementary disc contains some remarkable treasures. The film transfer, and the audio quality has NEVER been this pristine! On that note, BRAVO!! Now......WHEN will we have the opportunity to see the film as it was intended???
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Summary: GREAT Epic!!! 21/2 Thumbs Up!!! Dissapointing Actress!!!!
Review: Elizabeth Taylor (Booo!!!), Oscar nominee Richard Burton (The Robe), Academy-Award winner Sir Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady)and the incomparable Martin Landau star in the classic tale oif history's most bewitching Queen. Elizabeth Taylor is dissapointing however, even though she gave it her best shot. The costumes were terrific. I appreciate all the hard work that went into making this movie. Richard Burton, Sir Rex Harrison and Martin Landau did excellent work Richard Burton should have won the Academy Award for best actor. Where did Taylor come from? The special features were terrific.
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Summary: I LOVE THIS MOVIE (AND LIZ)!
Review: This is a stunning and occasionally sexy film that knows how to recreate the look of Ancient Rome. I must thank Fox Video for adding to the TV commercial preview for showing a scene of that gorgeous harem girl dancing without a bra! Wait to you see this and lovely Elizabeth in the actual thing!
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Summary: The best of old Hollywood...
Review: CLEOPATRA has been given a new life in its glorious DVD presentation from 20th Century Fox. It's all here: great digital/THX transfer for improved sound and superbly clear picture, a cast from Hollywood's Golden Age, including the greatly underrated Elizabeth Taylor (in one of her finest roles), Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Martin Landau, and Roddy McDowell, as well as Hume Cronyn; plus an eye-popping menu for language and scene selection and many other features.Included on the 3-disc set are 2 documentaries on the making of the movie, as well as commentary from Landau and Joseph Mankiewicz's son among others. I haven't listened to all the running commentary, as it goes on for the entire film's length or some 4 hours. It is interesting to learn about the director's intentions that were just a part of the many, many months of actual film production. Cleopatra was several years in the making; and is to this day considered the most costly film ever made. At the time Elizabeth Taylor was cast, she was the first actor to ever earn $1 million for a single role. She went on to earn several million more because of the lengthy overruns in production time. Her salary was all a part of the huge studio publicity machine generated for the public's appetite for more Hollywood star glamour and gossip. Of course, the Taylor/Burton real-life love affair that started on the set was an even greater cause celebre than today's Hollywood "romances." The production values were worth every last penny as the DVD will show: the sumptuous colors, Liz Taylor's costumes/makeup/hair, the lavishly detailed sets, and the remastered sound bring you an old-fashion moviehouse experience. A previous reviewer has mentioned a technical problem in Disc 2 on Chapter 35. The problem being the picture freezes the film and you have to skip the entire scene. I e-mailed Amazon for a replacement copy, and I received another edition this week. Happily, my new copy is free of any problems. It must have been a badly pressed disc. Don't skip ANY scene: each one is so important in telling the whole story. That is one advantage to a movie of such length: the screenplay has time to unfold and present all the intrigue, passion, rivalry and emotions that make Cleopatra the classic epic that is and always will be! They really don't make movies like they used to....So, sit back and enjoy 4 hours of the finest moviemaking you'll ever see!!
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Summary: The Queen of the Screen
Review: Having just watched the monumental Lawrence of Arabia DVD, which I had never seen, I guess I was in the mood for some more epic filmmaking. Well, this film, which I had also never seen, isn't it. Of course, most any film that would aspire to be an "epic" would pale in comparison to the David Lean masterpiece, but given the time and money and talent that went into this film it comes across to me as fairly wooden and wholly disappointing in many respects. Rex Harrison is great in his role as Caesar, and Richard Burton is one of my all time favorite actors. Ah, but then there is the wondrous Elizabeth Taylor, surely one of the most beautiful women who has ever lived. She kept my eyes glued to the screen and made me believe that, if Cleo herself was half as lovely, ol' Julius and Marc didn't stand a chance. She is what makes this movie. Without her, would anyone care about the gazillion dollars spent on sets, etc? I would venture to say that they could have saved the money and just left the camera on Liz hangin' in Cleopatra's spa for six hours. She IS Cleopatra! Chalk me up as just one more poor schmuck who would have bitten the apple -- with gusto.
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