Cleopatra [50th Anniversary] [Blu-ray]

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian, Darryl F. Zanuck

Overview

Set in the year 48 B.C., just after the death of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra concerns the Egyptian queen and her romance with Mark Antony. The film eventually ballooned out to over four hours and set a record for its $60 million budget.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/28/2013
UPC:	0024543774594
Original Release:	1963
Rating:	G
Source:	20th Century Fox
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	4:11:00
Sales rank:	3,979

Special Features

Disc 1 - Commentary with Chris Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz, Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky; Cleopatra Through the Ages: A Cultural History; Cleopatra's Missing Footage; The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence; ; Disc 2 - Cleopatra (part 2) Continued Film Commentary; Cleopatra: The Film that Changed Hollywood; The Fourth Star of Cleopatra; Fox Movietone News: Archival Footage of the New York Premiere; Archival Footage of the Hollywood Premiere

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Elizabeth Taylor	Cleopatra
Richard Burton	Mark Antony
Rex Harrison	Julius Caesar
Roddy McDowall	Octavian Caesar Augustus
Pamela Brown	High Priestess
George Cole	Flavius
Hume Cronyn	Sosigenes
Cesare Danova	Apollodorus
Kenneth Haigh	Brutus
Andrew Keir	Agrippa
Martin Landau	Rufio
Robert Stephens	Germanicus
Francesca Annis	Eiras
Martin Benson	Ramos
Herbert Berghof	Theodotus
John Cairney	Phoebus
Isabelle Cooley	Charmian,Charmian
Jacqui Chan	Lotos
John Doucette	Achillas
Andrew Faulds	Canidius
Michael Gwynn	Cimber
Michael Hordern	Cicero
John Hoyt	Cassius
Marne Maitland	Euphranor
Carroll O'Connor	Casca
Richard O'Sullivan	Ptolemy
Gwen Watford	Calpumia
Douglas Wilmer	Decimus
Marina Berti	Queen at Tarsus
John Karlsen	High Priest
Loris Loddi	Caesarion (age 4)
Jean Marsh	Octavia
Gin Mart	Marcellus
Furio Meniconi	Mithridates
Kenneth Nash	Caesarion (age 12)
Del Russell	Caesarion (age 7)
John Valva	Valvus
Finlay Currie	Titus
John Alderton	1st Officer
Jeremy Kemp	Actor
Peter Forster	2nd Officer
Laurence Naismith	Archesilaus
Gesa Meiken	Actor
Marie Devereux	Actor
Michele Bally	Actor
Kathy Martin	Actor
Maria Badmajev	Actor
Maureen Lane	Actor
Simon Mizrahi	Actor
Gr?goire Aslan	Pothinus,Actor
John Gayford	Actor
Alex North	Composer

Technical Credits

Ranald MacDougall

Sidney Buchman

Suetonius

Appian

Carlo Maria Franzero

L.B. Abbott	Special Effects
Emil Kosa Jr.	Special Effects
Walter Wanger	Producer
Ranald MacDougall	Screenwriter
Sidney Buchman	Screenwriter
Suetonius	Screenwriter
Appian	Screenwriter
Carlo Maria Franzero	Screenwriter
Peter Levathes	Executive Producer
Bernard Freericks	Sound Effects
Fred Hynes	Sound Effects
Murray Spivack	Sound Effects
John Mack	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

This opulent epic -- at the time of its 1963 release the most expensive film ever made by a Hollywood studio -- still captivates audiences and deserves a place in movie history as the film that united Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton both on and off the screen. Their torrid affair during production made tabloid headlines and attracted more unwanted attention to an already troubled project that virtually bankrupted 20th Century Fox. Cleopatra’s literate, comprehensive script (primarily written by All About Eve’s Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also directed) covered an 18-year period leading up to the formation of the Roman Empire, beginning with Cleopatra’s historic meeting with Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison), the conqueror of her beloved Egypt, and ending with her oft-dramatized suicide. Visualizing the love affair between the Nile Queen and Marc Antony (Burton) enabled Mankiewicz to capture some sizzling scenes, and Taylor would never again look so alluring. But even her fabled beauty paled alongside the lavish sets, costumes, and hordes of extras deployed to re-create the splendor of ancient Rome. Derided by some as an overlong, kitschy mélange, Cleopatra has actually weathered the years quite well, and for many viewers it remains the epitome of screen spectacle. Fox’s DVD edition adds two documentaries, "The Film That Changed Hollywood" and "The Fourth Star of Cleopatra," along with footage from the film’s New York and Hollywood premieres.