Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, Martin Landau, Hume Cronyn, George Cole
Distributed By: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: June 1963
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This is a sumptuous feast for the eyes, made all the more remarkable by the challenges it faced whilst being made.
The sets are truly stunning as is most of Elizabeth Taylor's wardrobe and although it is a very long film the story is gripping and well told.
Rex Harrison makes Caesar intelligent, witty and sensitive when the situation calls for it and I enjoyed the relationship he forms with Cleopatra and his troops.
Elizabeth Taylor brings style, grace and a sometimes scathingly funny wit to every situation that Cleopatra encounters and she fully embraces the fact that she's an important, intelligent and powerful leader who needs to be heard.
Richard Burton's Mark Antony has the most diverse journey and it's interesting to see him go from being a confident soldier to a love stricken coward that has to face his countries and his own self-loathing!
The chemistry between Taylor and Burton is of course magical and it's easy to see exactly why they fell for each other off screen and I wonder about the parallels between some of their characters intimate scenes and their real life relationship which was said to be just as turbulent!
Full of drama, passion and well placed humour this is an amazing and beautiful movie that deserves to be held in high regard!
~~Nikki~~
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