Cleopatra [50th Anniversary] [Blu-ray]

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian Joseph L. Mankiewicz

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

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	Marcus Antonius
Rex Harrison	Julius Caesar
Hume Cronyn	Sosigenes
Cesare Danova	Apollodorus
Pamela Brown	High Priestess
George Cole	Flavius
Kenneth Haigh	Brutus
Andrew Keir	Agrippa
Martin Landau	Rufio
Roddy McDowall	Octavian - Caesar Augustus
Robert Stephens	Germanicus
Francesca Annis	Eiras
Grégoire Aslan	Pothinus,Actor
Martin Benson	Ramos
John Doucette	Achillas
Michael Hordern	Cicero
Carroll O'Connor	Casca
Andrew Faulds	Canidius
Michael Gwynn	Cimber
Isabelle Cooley	Charmian
John Hoyt	Cassius
Marne Maitland	Euphranor
Richard O'Sullivan	Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII
Gwen Watford	Calpurnia
Douglas Wilmer	Decimus
Peter Grant	Palace Guard
Marie Devereux	Bacchanal Reveler
Herbert Berghof	Theodotos
Jacqueline Chan	Lotos
Mike Steen	Minor Role
Finlay Currie	Titus
Jean Marsh	Octavia
Meri Wells	Cleopatra's Handmaiden
Peter Forster	Officer
Jeremy Kemp	Actor
Alex North	Composer

Technical Credits

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Sidney Buchman

Ranald MacDougall

Joseph L. Mankiewicz	Director,Screenwriter
Sidney Buchman	Screenwriter
Ranald MacDougall	Screenwriter
Walter Wanger	Producer
Peter Levathes	Executive Producer

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.