Cleopatra (1963)

It’s no surprise that this brought on the end of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Everything about it is overblown: the sets, the cast, the costumes, the run-time, everything. With two parts split between Cleopatra’s relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, the story just goes on and on. Edited down to an hour or two shorter and it might have held my attention better. Elizabeth Taylor is truly a beautiful woman, but she was terribly miscast in the role of Cleopatra. She lacks gravitas, cunningness, and sexiness. There’s at least the feeling of building an alliance between Taylor and Rex Harrison’s Caesar; the relationship between Richard Burton’s Mark Antony is lackluster. There must have been some love flames between them in production, but they are not seen on screen. Obviously there was no expense sparred in the visuals. Cleopatra’s arrival in Rome is a live-action version of Aladdin‘s Prince Ali scene. Despite that money spent in costumes (there is one ridiculous scene where without hesitation Taylor changes between three different outfits and Burton between two), many of Taylor’s look like the same exact style just in an array of candy colors. But I did love the sets. They are lavish and beautiful, truly sights to behold. There are so many little details to be seen: wigs, clothing racks, and umpteen baths. It’s also great to see the various cast in smaller roles: Hume Cronyn, Roddy McDowell, Martin Landau and even Carroll O’Connor as a Senator. 

Oscar Wins: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Effects, Special Visual Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Sound; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Score – Substantially Original