Rating: 
Summary: Bad Rap
Review: This movie absolutely gets much too bad of a rap than it should. I just saw it for the first time and I thought it was marvelous. I'd seen The Taming of the Shrew a couple days ago and was appalled by most of Elizabeth Taylor's acting because I knew that she COULD act. This film shows it. I agree with a previous reviewer who says that she might have been judged too critically because of her looks. The critics might have thought she was chosen for the movie because of that, and seen it with that viewpoint. I thought the scenes which were most boring were the ones at the Senate when Octavian was talking. I fast forwarded all of those. They're merely to advance the plot some more and if you already know the story, you don't need to watch them. Rex Harrison is extremely good as Julius Caesar, but I was eager to get to Antony & Cleopatra (I got interested in the story because Giulio Cesare is the opera that made Beverly Sills famous) so I didn't miss him after the first tape. Richard Burton is great and he and Ms. Taylor complement each other very well. I love their last scene together when he says, "You and I will prove death so much less than love. You and I, we will, we'll make of dying nothing more than one... last... embrace... A kiss... to take my breath away." And then she leans down and kisses him. When she comes up, he is dead. Her eyes lift towards heaven and she says, "There has never been such a silence." That is one of the many reasons I think this film is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid!
Review: Having read the previous reviews of "Cleopatra" on this board I could not help concluding that one either likes historical dramas or one doesn't_____if you are in the latter category then you are in for a treat! With its lush set designs,splendid costumes ,great dialogue (loosely based on Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra") and very competent acting I couldn't find much room to quibble with this movie .Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar is probably the best of the lot but even Burton's Mark Antony is played pretty competently.And then there is the ravishing Elizabeth Taylor in the lead role!She does a great job playing the coquettishly insouciant Cleopatra .I think her acting in his role is under-rated_____ paradoxically because she was soooo beautiful!Her triumphal entry into Rome is breathtakingly grandiose & I had to rewind it half a dozen times to soak up its full impact . The only reason I gave 4 stars (not 5) to this movie is on account of its inordinate length: it could have been edited to 3 hours without losing much in the way of content.Finally for fans of Francesca Annis ("Macbeth","Reckless" etc) she also has a cameo role as "Iris" playing Cleopatra's chambermaid .
Rating: 
Summary: Too bad Rex Harrison disappears after one hour...
Review: First, the good news about the '63 version of "Cleopatra:" Rex Harrison is in the first 90 minutes. The bad news is that Richard Burton takes over thereafter. Burton's performance as Marc Anthony is overbown, overly dramatic and slightly silly. He was seldom sober during the making of this turgid film and it clearly shows. Liz is beautiful, as always, and the sets are absolutely dazzling. For those who thought the Roman city scenes in the recent "Gladiator" were good, they need to see genuinely awesome sets and this film delivers. Unfortunately, the film is in desperate need of a an editor, as it scarcely holds ones interest for 4 and half hours, especially once Rex bites the dust. Of course the riveting "behind the scenes story" is the Burton-Taylor love affair which ignited during the making of this film in 1962. Poor Eddie Fisher and Sybil Burton back then... and poor us nowadays watching this limping dinosaur. The 1934 Claudette Colbert "Cleopatra" is superior to this bloated turkey, buy that one instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A Timeless Epic
Review: Without question this is a Timeless Epic starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rex Harrison. With Martin Landau, Hume Cronyn, and Roddy McDowall in great supporting roles this movie seems to be loosely based on Shakespeare's play: Anthony and Cleopatra. Even so the performances are fantastic with the only disappointment being that Harrison as Caesar is not showing being attacked in the Senate. Harrison is perfect for the role and one can almost hear him say, "Et tu, Brute'? Then fall Caesar!" Without a doubt this picture deserved its Oscar for for cinemotography, although the spectacle comes off a little too campy for my liking. Well written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz this movie reminds one of the glory days of Hollywood fim making when form and content was well mixed with great realistic scenery and a little Shakespearean diaglogue. Certainly the last scene where the soldier asks, "Is this well done of your mistress," recalls Shakespeare's play. Truly this movie was well done indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Wretched Excess Was Never More Enjoyable
Review: So what if it was tremendously over budget, historically inaccurate, politically incorrect, and, at times, hammily performed! "Cleopatra" still remains one of those movies that I can pop in the VCR everyday and enjoy. I hate it when a reviewer tells too much about the plot in his/her critique, but I am so enamored by this film that I must list my favorite scenes and bits: 1) Cleopatra being unveiled from a rolled-up rug to Julius Caesar; (2) Pompei's head being revealed to a stunned Caesar; (3) The burning of Alexandria and the Great Library; (4) Cleopatra's triumphant entrance into Rome; (5) Cleopatra's vision of Caesar's death and his death at the hands of the Roman Senate; (6) Cleopatra "playing" in her bathtub; (7) Cleopatra's magnificent barge; (8) The party/orgy on the barge; (9) Cleopatra's emotional eruption upon finding out about Antony's marriage to Octavian's sister; (10) The death of trusted aide Sosigenes at the hands of Octavian; (11) Anthony and Cleopatra having a little physical exchange in the form of shared slaps; (12) Antony on horseback futilely charging the Roman army; (13) Antony's suicide;(14) The final verbal exchange between Cleopatra and Octavian; and (15) Cleopatra's eventual suicide and how elegantly she looked "laid out." As far as the acting is concerned, Taylor as Cleopatra was the logical choice for the time to portray the legendary queen. Who else but she could have gone through so many costume changes and looked as good in each one? Who else at the time had the range and experience, as well as beauty, to tackle the role? Richard Burton had just the right fire and flair to pull off the role of Marc Antony. It didn't hurt, either, that he was infatuated by his co-star. Rex Harrison utilized his commanding presence to his advantage in the somewhat third-tier part of Julius Caesar. Although he appears roughly in the first half of the film, he still is memorable in his part. Hume Cronyn, Cesare Donova, and the great Roddy McDowall are brilliant in their supporting roles. Future "Archie Bunker" Carroll O'Conner and Academy-award winner Martin Landau are also on board in significant parts. Veteran character actor John Hoyt, always effective, portrays a Roman senator. Alex North's score is one of his best. Too bad that it is not in circulation at present. Now, I would be extremely satisfied if Twentieth Century Fox could find those reported missing two hours of film. Would love to see how the whole bloody pleasure would have looked at six hours long!
Rating:
Summary: The Making of Cleopatra
Review: If you want to find out about the real-life tragedies and troubles behind the making of Cleopatra, check out Curse of the Silver Screen - Tragedy & Disaster Behind the Movies by John W. Law in the book section.
Rating:
Summary: CLEOPATRA,THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD
Review: This is one of the greatest films of all time.Though it isn't the most historically accuarte film ever made.But then again,neither was Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast;yet we all treasure those stories as if we ourselves had writen the stories.The bottom line is that everyone should see this movie just to say that they have seen it.After all, who's ever heard of a fairy tail that is accurate!
Rating:
Summary: cleopatra- the queen of the nile
Review: cleopatra was a great movie. i really liked it. it seemed to be historicly accurate and harrison. taylor, and burton did a wonderful job. for not having computers the effects(i.e.the parade and cleo's palace) were good.
Rating: 
Summary: LOTS OF GLITZ, BUT LITTLE ELSE
Review: This film is so bad at some points that it's good. At least it's bad in a big way. Strangely enough, it IS entertaining, but not for the reasons I'm sure were intended. The script is frequently terrible. One example, when one of the soldiers ask Julius Caesar "what happens at dawn"? Caesar's reply? "The sun comes up!". There are worse moments, to be sure. Nevertheless, there are some spectacular moments as well ----- Cleopatra's entrance into Rome, her barge floating down the Nile, etc. The battle scenes are ordinary. Besides occasionally loony script, I find little here to reflect the fact that the film had a great director. Joseph Mankiewicz directed some great films in his career ("Letter to Three Wives", and "All About Eve", to name two), but one would hardly be able to discern this from watching this film. The best performances come from Rex Harrison, whose Julius Caeser is right on the money. Harrison is so good in this role that you really miss him after his demise at the end of the first half of the film. Richard Burton shows what a fine actor he could have been had he taken a different career road. By the time Elizabeth Taylor came to make this film, she had already won the 1960 best actress Oscar for "Butterfield 8" (as well as having been nominated for three previous films).She was to win another Oscar in 1966 for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"?. While all of this is impressive (and she could, under the right circumstances, act up a storm), the fact is that her work in "Cleopatra" is very poor indeed. Of course she is stunning to look at ---- that goes as a given ----- but with the dialogue she is given to deliver ---- her Cleopatra lacks any sort of stature and power. She walks into a scene, delivers a line, and ancient Alexandra is transformed into Madison Avenue. Critics were highly critical of Taylor's performance when this film was released ----- many felt it was the worst performance of her career. They were probably right. One would never guess that the actress seen here was the same who had already given us such fine performances in such films as "Giant", "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", etc, and who was still to make film history in "Virginia Woolf". Whatever, there it is. It's big, lush, sometimes very bad, but also sometimes a lot of fun to watch. It's a film that has made for itself a very unique place in movie history, and I can see why so many enjoy it. But a great film?Hardly.
Rating:
Summary: Liz at her best
Review: The costumes and hair designs were amazing. This role was made for Liz. The role of mark was also made for Burton because he was a wimp when it came to women. Absolutely my favorite film.
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