Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72148 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-04
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Colour, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 177 minutes

Customer Reviews

Revisioning history
This production of Cleopatra, intended originally as a miniseries on television, is a reasonably good production with significant differences from the block-buster Hollywood version starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison. Cleopatra here is depicted as someone striving to maintain her own position, not necessarily someone with an eye toward world-wide conquest. Cleopatra is portrayed as an inexperienced person (both sexually and politically) until tutored by the more experienced Romans. She comes to understand her fate is inextricably intertwined with Caesar, then Antony, but her love for Antony keeps her from making the politically expedient move of giving in to Octavian. Apparently two Roman rulers are enough for one lifetime.

Like the earlier film production, this one plays fast and loose with the actual history, albeit in different ways. The figure of Octavian/Augustus is far more present earlier here than he was in history; for a production that goes on the greater part of three hours, remarkably little detail about the history is brought forward, and I found that distracting. The last hour could have easily been recut into a half-hour, and some judicious editing throughout the rest of the film could make it into a much better paced two-hour film.

The acting was tolerable but generally unconvincing. Timothy Dalton as Julius Caesar, Billy Zane (who got top billing) as Marc Antony, and Rupert Graves as Octavian were not up to their usual acting standards in this production. Dalton was not very expressive, and Zane and Graves were overly so (Graves plays an almost flippant character, not at all in keeping with the historical Augustus). Ironically, the title character Cleopatra was played by relative newcomer Leonor Varela, who was probably the best actor in the piece.

The sets are great, as are the costumes (if not always appropriate - Cleopatra rarely wore Egyptian garb, preferring her more native Greek), and the music is worthwhile. The battle scenes are pretty typical television fare (with occasional glitches that make these seem more minor skirmishes than great battles). Unfortunately, the sea-going scenes of ships looked far too obviously fake to suspend disbelief.

This is a pleasant diversion, but in the end not a truly memorable production save for bits and pieces here and there. But it is a good thing that such productions are still being undertaken.

Visual Splendour Rather Than Historical Accuracy
Less campy (and less embarrassing) than the famous Liz Taylor epic yet not quite as sexy as the Claudette Colbert version, this Cleopatra is still highly enjoyable - so long as you are not a stickler for historical accuracy. Originally a television mini-series, its three hour length is easily digested in a single viewing. The pace and visual splendour keep you interested as the comic book-style script unfolds. The settings - Morocco for the exteriors, Shepperton Studios for the interiors - and well researched costumes offer a never ending feast for the eyes. Some interesting twists are added to the overly familiar storyline - the inclusion of Cleopatra's sister, for instance. A nice mixture of soap opera and sword and sandal epic to be enjoyed with an open mind and lots of popcorn.

The acting is surprisingly good although Billy Zane is a weird choice for Marc Antony. But timothy Dalton relishes his role as Julius Caesar, tossing off dialogue as if it were Shakespeare and dominating every scene he's in. equally good is Rupert Graves as Octavius whose multi-layered performance becomes more impressive as the film progresses. Of course, the key role is Cleopatra herself and Leonor Varela takes a pretty good stab at eclipsing memories of Liz. She is certainly more the right age and has the prerequisite exotic looks (I will confess to being fascinated by her nipples throughout). Just when you think her acting is running the risk of leaving splinters in her co-stars, she explodes with a sudden dramatic intensity and you begin to believe that this spoiled little girl could be the Queen of Egypt. I found this film the perfect way to pass a few hours on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Based on a novel �The Memoirs of Cleopatra� by Margaret Geor
History for the longest time was based upon stories that were told and retold. History for the longest time was not necessarily facts, but stories told more for entertainment and or to convey lessons and how to live. The story of Cleopatra has been told many times in different ways for different purposes. This particular movie was based on a novel "The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel" ISBN: 0312187459. It is just as true in its way as Shakespeare's Cleopatra is in its way.

One the major advantage of this movie, is that the actors to not overwhelm the characters with their personality. You could not create better actors than the ones that were selected for these parts. Timothy Dalton made a great Caesar and instead of speaking like an orator, he made it seem like a real person actually negotiating an understanding the situation. And who would not fall in love with Leonor Varela as Cleopatra?

Depending on whether you are an action person a romantic scene person, the film sometimes seen as like it is dragging and at other times moves at a good pace. Either way this movie is worth viewing.