Watch: Cleopatra 1963 123movies, Full Movie Online – In 48 B.C., Julius Caesar (Sir Rex Harrison) pursues Pompey from Pharsalia to Egypt. Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII (Richard O’Sullivan), now supreme ruler after deposing his older sister, Cleopatra VII (Dame Elizabeth Taylor), attempts to gain favor with Caesar by presenting the conquerer with the head of Pompey, borne by his governors, Pothinus (Grégoire Aslan) and Achillas (John Doucette). To win Caesar’s support from her brother, Cleopatra hides herself in a rug, which Apollodorus (Cesare Danova), her servant, presents to Caesar. The Roman is immediately infatuated. Banishing Ptolemy, he declares Cleopatra Egypt’s sole ruler and takes her as his mistress. A son, Caesarion (Loris Loddi), is born of their union. Caesar, however, must return to Italy. Although he is briefly reunited with Cleopatra during a magnificent reception for the Queen in Rome, Caesar is assassinated shortly thereafter, and Cleopatra returns to Egypt. When Mark Antony (Richard Burton), Caesar’s protégé, beholds Cleopatra aboard her elaborate barge at Tarsus some years later, he is smitten and becomes both her lover and military ally. Their liaison notwithstanding, Antony, to consolidate his position in Rome, marries Octavia (Jean Marsh), sister of the ambitious Octavian (Roddy McDowall). The marriage satisfies no one. Cleopatra is infuriated, and Antony, tiring of his Roman wife, returns to Egypt. There he flaunts his liaison by marrying Cleopatra in a public ceremony. Sensing Antony’s weakness, Octavian attacks and defeats his forces at Actium. Alarmed, Cleopatra withdraws her fleet and seeks refuge in her tomb..
Plot: Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.
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A Story That Always Fascinates – No Matter How Many Versions We See Of It.
The tale of the last great ruler of Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra, has been the subject of many films. Theda Bara played her in 1917. That version (if it still exists) is rarely seen – and if it were the broad gestures of early silent movies would probably strike us as funny. Nearly twenty years later, in 1934, Claudette Colbert did a wonderful job as the Queen of the Nile under the guidance of Cecil B. DeMille. In 1946 England produced CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA with Claude Rains sharing acting honors with Vivien Leigh, to dialog by Bernard Shaw. Finally came this 1963 version – which is different from most of the others (the 1946 is the closest to it for a different reason).The 1963 version with Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison is remembered for the beginning of the Taylor – Burton relationship which destroyed their respective marriages, and got more news coverage than any items of that period except for the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassination of President Kennedy. The film is also remembered for being (up to that time) the most expensive “flop” film of American movie history. It cost (in 1963 money) twenty five million dollars, which was nearly twenty two million over original budget. Which is why the 1946 version is also so similar – it was the most expensive film of the British cinema up to that time, and it too was a box office flop.
The film was a mess – it was started without decent control of budget and cast from 20th Century Fox’s leadership. The original filming was in England under Rouben Mamoulian, but he got no where with his stars (they included Peter Finch as Caesar and Stephen Boyd as Anthony). He was replaced by Joseph Mankiewicz, at the demand of Taylor (who had worked well with him on SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER). Mankiewicz tried to give coherence to the script – and eventually created a plan for a six hour, two part movie first about Cleopatra and her romance with Gaius Julius Caesar, and then her relationship with Marc Anthony. Mankiewicz apparently shot that much (or almost that much) but the leadership at 20th Century Fox was changed, and Darryl Zanuck returned to command. Zanuck insisted on a single long film – the four hour version that most of us have seen.
Despite the cuts, the remaining film is quite a worthy one. It is attacked as pompous because the dialog is more formal than ours – it is based on Plutarch, Suetonius, and other ancient Latin and Greek historians, as well as Shakespeare (and a little of Shaw). But the basic story of the princess who fought her way to the oldest throne in the ancient world, and twice came close to being the lover/wife of the most powerful man in the Roman Empire. The supporting cast is fine, including Hume Cronym as an Egyptian adviser to Taylor, and (possibly the best performance) Roddy MacDowell as Octavian (later Emperor Augustus) who is a compound of brains, suspicions, and respect for his foes. Look at the end when he berates a soldier for dismissing Anthony as a drunken failure, reminding the soldier that he was one of Rome’s greatest soldiers.
Mankiewicz may lack De Mille’s gift for special effects (only eight years after THE TEN COMMANDMENTS) but there were no miracles in the tale of Cleopatra – she used her wiles, her intelligence, her looks to beguile to powerful men, who also saw her as a key to their own ambitions. So there was no “parting of the Red Sea” here. But there is a fine production of the naval battle at Actium to really climax the second part of the story.
For all the expense, the ego clashes, and the pompous language, CLEOPATRA remains a good epic film retelling of a remarkable ancient figure and her world. It’s nice to note that after twenty years, it finally made a small profit from television rentals, foreign distribution, and later videos and DVDs.
Original Language en
Runtime 3 hr 12 min (192 min), 3 hr 52 min (232 min) (Sweden), 3 hr 53 min (233 min) (Argentina), 3 hr 53 min (233 min) (TV) (Germany), 5 hr 20 min (320 min) (director’s cut) (USA), 4 hr 8 min (248 min) (roadshow), 4 hr 11 min (251 min) (50th Anniversary) (USA), 3 hr 54 min (234 min) (HD)
Budget 44000000
Revenue 71000000
Status Released
Rated G
Genre Biography, Drama, History
Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall, Sidney Buchman
Actors Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison
Country Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States
Awards Won 4 Oscars. 6 wins & 13 nominations total
Production Company N/A
Website N/A
Sound Mix 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints), 4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints), Stereo (Westrex Recording System), DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)
Aspect Ratio 2.39 : 1, 2.20 : 1 (negative ratio), 2.35 : 1 (35 mm version)
Camera Mitchell BFC 65mm Camera
Laboratory DeLuxe
Film Length 6,370 m (1963) (35 mm version) (Finland), 5,265 m (Sweden)
Negative Format 65 mm (Eastman 50T 5250)
Cinematographic Process Todd-AO
Printed Film Format 35 mm (anamorphic) (Eastman 5385), 70 mm (Eastman 5385)