Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6975 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-06
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 248 minutes

Synopsis
This epic, spectacular love story of Egyptian queen Cleopatra and the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Marc Antony has dazzled audiences with its elaborate sets, daring costumes, and thrilling sea battle since its release, but these can't compare with Elizabeth Taylor as the mesmerizing Cleopatra, struggling to save her Egyptian empire. When this film was released, it was known as much for its opulent filmmaking as it was for its huge budget overruns it took two years to film because of Taylor's various ailments and a major script rewrite by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, moving the shooting studio from England to Italy, and replacing the original director and the actors to play the Roman leaders as well as the very public and tempestuous offscreen affair between costars Taylor and Richard Burton, who duplicated their romance on the silver screen as the doomed Cleopatra and her true love, Marc Antony. Despite all the hubbub surrounding the film, audiences realised that its spectacular story could not be denied, and it has remained a classic ever since. The triple-star power of Taylor, Burton, and Rex Harrison (playing Julius Caesar) radiates throughout this lengthy production, and Mankiewicz, a consummate magician at depicting the shadings of human emotion, directed this threesome in one of the most famous and gloriously powerful love triangles ever to be captured on film.

Customer Reviews

The Cleo that we all know and love
Cleo's have come and gone. There have been many films and books depicting Cleo as she really was to great melodramatic Cleo. Three other popular Cleo's were the Claudette Colbert (1934), Vivien Leigh (1945), and Leonor Varela (1999). There were many more variations between those years.
The one Cleo that will always stand out and lets not forget Mark, is the one staring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (1963). I was old enough to enjoy it on the big screen. Rex Harrison made a good Caesar; watch him have a similar attitude in "The Honey Pot" (1967).
Enough time, thought, and money have been put into this production that I am bound to overlook a few of the most important items about this film. The movie is more than just the actors are. The characters are very well portrayed. The set and costumes are dazzling. They really showed up in the scene when Cleopatra enterd Rome. And the navel battle was spectacular.

Every one is going to have a favorite Cleo and find flaws in the others. However this Cleo will always the one others are gauged by.

WONDERFUL BUT LONG
This is a wonderful but very long movie that goes over two discs.
A classic love story with two brillant actors taking the led, Richard and Liz steal the movie with wonderful lines and classic acting.
The extras are not up to much and some are very dated but this still gets a 5 star rating.
Let us hope the remake is just as good.

Cleopatra Special edition
This DVD contains 5 hours of viewing, containing the film itself and interesting additional extras. In my opinion well worth the modest price paid