Julius Caesar

Plot synopsis:
The play opens with the commoners of Rome celebrating Caesar's triumphant return from defeating Pompey's sons at the battle of Munda. Two tribunes, Flavius and Marrullus, discover the commoners celebrating, insult them for their change in loyalty from Pompey to Caesar, and break up the crowd. There are some jokes made by the commoners, who insult them back. They also plan on removing all decorations from Caesar's statues and ending any other festivities. In the next scene, during Caesar's parade on the feast of Lupercal, a soothsayer warns Caesar, "Beware the ides of March." This warning he disregards. The action then turns to the discussion between Brutus and Cassius. In this conversation, Cassius attempts to influence Brutus's opinions into believing Caesar should be killed, preparing to have Brutus join his conspiracy to kill Caesar. They then hear from Casca that Mark Antony has offered Caesar the crown of Rome three times and that each time Caesar refused it, fainting after the last refusal. Later, in act two, Brutus joins the conspiracy, although after much moral debate, eventually deciding that Caesar, although his friend and never having done anything against the people of Rome, should be killed to prevent him from doing anything against the people of Rome if he were ever to be crowned. He compares Caesar to "A serpents egg/ which hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous,/ and kill him in the shell." He then decides to join Cassius in killing Caesar.
Caesar's assassination is one of the most famous scenes of the play, occurring in Act 3, scene 1. After ignoring the soothsayer, as well as his wife's own premonitions, Caesar comes to the Senate. The conspirators create a superficial motive for coming close enough to assassinate Caesar by means of a petition brought by Metellus Cimber, pleading on behalf of his banished brother. As Caesar, predictably, rejects the petition, Casca grazes Caesar in the back of his neck, and the others follow in stabbing him; Brutus is last. At this point, Shakespeare makes Caesar utter the famous line "Et tu, Brute?" ("And you, Brutus?", i.e. "You too, Brutus?") Shakespeare has him add, "Then fall, Caesar!" This suggests that such treachery destroyed Caesar's will to live.
The conspirators make clear that they committed this act for Rome, not for their own purposes, and do not attempt to flee the scene. After Caesar is killed, Brutus delivers an oration defending his actions, and for the moment, the crowd is on his side. However, Mark Antony makes a subtle and eloquent speech over Caesar's corpse, beginning with the much-quoted "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!" In this way, he deftly turns public opinion against the assassins by manipulating the emotions of the common people, in contrast to the rational tone of Brutus's speech, yet there is method in his rhetorical speech and gestures: he reminds them of the good Caesar had done for Rome, his sympathy with the poor, and his refusal of the crown at the Lupercal, thus questioning Brutus's claim of Caesar's ambition; he shows Caesar's bloody, lifeless body to the crowd to have them shed tears and gain sympathy for their fallen hero; and he reads Caesar's will, in which every Roman citizen would receive 75 drachmas. Antony, even as he states his intentions against it, rouses the mob to drive the conspirators from Rome. Amid the violence, an innocent poet, Cinna, is confused with the conspirator Lucius Cinna and is taken by the mob, which kills him by tearing him to pieces for such "offenses" as his bad verses.
The beginning of Act Four is marked by the quarrel scene, where Brutus attacks Cassius for supposedly soiling the noble act of regicide by having accepted bribes. ("Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake? / What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, / And not for justice?") The two are reconciled, especially after Brutus reveals that his beloved wife Portia had committed suicide under the stress of his absence from Rome; they prepare for a war against Mark Antony and Caesar's adopted son, Octavius. That night, Caesar's ghost appears to Brutus with a warning of defeat. (He informs Brutus, "Thou shalt see me at Philippi.")
At the battle, Cassius and Brutus, knowing that they will probably both die, smile their last smiles to each other and hold hands. During the battle, Cassius has his servant Pindarus kill him after hearing of the capture of his best friend, Titinius. After Titinius, who was not really captured, sees Cassius's corpse, he commits suicide. However, Brutus wins that stage of the battle--but his victory is not conclusive. With a heavy heart, Brutus battles again the next day. He loses and commits suicide by running on his own sword, which is held by a soldier named Strato.
The play ends with a tribute to Brutus by Antony, who proclaims that Brutus has remained "the noblest Roman of them all" because he was the only conspirator who acted, in his mind, for the good of Rome. There is then a small hint at the friction between Mark Antony and Octavius which characterizes another of Shakespeare's Roman plays, Antony and Cleopatra.

Tags: tragedy, revenge, murder, violence

Review:
His performance of the famous "Friends, Romans, countrymen" speech is a marvel of clarity, and is the linchpin that makes all of the other action of the play make sense.James Mason is, I think, perfect as Brutus.
No less than five Hollywood stars - Marlon Brando, James Mason, Deborah Kerr, Greer Garson, and Edmond O'Brien, are in this film (although two of them have barely five minutes of screen time) and the entire cast gives fine performances.James Mason, who actually has the leading role of Brutus (despite the fact that Brando gets top billing) is excellent, giving a conscience-stricken, restrained performance--he even LOOKS the way one likes to imagine that Brutus must have looked.
"That we shall die, we know", all else is uncertain.Of course the key scene of the film and Shakespeare's play, takes place right after Caesar's assassination.
Greer Garson is Caesar's wife, warning him against making an appearance at the Capitol on the fateful day, but she is hardly given any screen-time.The film is not the last word in Shakespeare in any sense of the word, but it is entertaining and true to what it sets out to do.
Without subtitles it was a chore to keep up with, but when you do you are in for a treat.This classic tale of politics, treachery, love and death was performed to perfection by people such as Marlon Brando (Marc Antony), John Gielgud (Cassius, delivering a powerhouse performance as usual), James Mason (Brutus).
I think when you start watching a movie written by the Shakespeare you shouldn't expect a documentary on the life of Julius Caesar but a lyrical tale about ancient political Rome.The photography was great, with its glorious Black and White footage.Although the text can be offputting for some who are not at the least a bit interested in the language the Bard wrote in.A must for Shakespeare fans.8/10.
The shooting made an intent at historic realism finishing in the battle of Philippi where the second triumvirate(Marc Anthony,Lepido and Octavius Augustus: Caesar's grandnephew and his heir) defeat Caesar's assassins and posteriorly split the Empire among them.Displays outstanding performances from James Mason as Brutus, Louis Calhern as memorable Caesar, Deborah Kerr as Brutus's wife, and Greer Garson as Calpurnia ,Caesar's first wife, the second one was Cleopatra who is left out of the action entirely.
Caesar assassination is well staged and spectacular final regarding the battle of Philippi was added by production film , though Mankiewicz to be opposed because he wished a movie completely theatrical.Deservedly won Academy Award for art direction and production design by Cedric Gibbons.
Efficiently produced by actor John Houseman and directed with professionalism and imagination by Joseph L Mankiewicz.This gripping movie will like to Shakespeare devotees but its spirit is intact ,despite are taken a briefs liberties.Shakespeare would have admired this classic film.
It's followed by an inferior remake, being the original much better version, and directed in 1970 by Stuart Burge with Charlton Heston(Marlon Brando's role), Jason Robards(James Mason-lookalike),Robert Vaughn(Edmond O'Brien,Casca role-alike), Jill Bennet(Greer Garson), Diana Rigg(Deborak Kerr's character)and repeating acting by John Gielgud as Julius Caesar role substituting his phenomenal previous character as Cassius..
1953's JULIUS CAESAR was a milestone in it's time, and still is, perhaps, the finest American production of a Shakespeare play ever recorded on film.
For whatever reason, the British seemed to have a 'lock' on filmed versions of the Bard.But Mankiewicz understood that Shakespeare was both universal and timeless, and in his capacity of director and (uncredited) screenwriter, he 'opened up' JULIUS CAESAR, eliminating the 'studio' feel of key scenes, and, with producer John Houseman, gathered together an impressive array of talent, with British actors John Gielgud as Cassius, James Mason as Brutus, Greer Garson as Calpurnia, and Deborah Kerr as Portia, and stage-trained American actors such as Oscar winner Edmond O'Brien in supporting roles.Where the greatest gamble, and payoff, came was in the casting of Marlon Brando as Marc Antony.
His performance became the keystone of the film's success.Not that JULIUS CAESAR is without faults; it is, occasionally, stagy and artificial, the pacing is a bit too slow and deliberate at times, and, as the title character, Louis Calhern is woefully miscast (he looks and sounds more like a jaded grandfather than the charismatic despot who both enthralled and frightened the Roman world).
Still, the film is so strong and dynamic that subsequent versions (such as Charlton Heston's ambitious 1970 production) pale in comparison.Hollywood finally got it 'right', and we can be grateful that a truly unforgettable presentation of JULIUS CAESAR is available for us, and future generations, to enjoy!.
His plays, written in the 16th and early 17th centuries for a small repertory theater, are today performed more often and in more countries than ever before..."Julius Caesar" is rich in its insights, the struggle for political power, the embellishment of the mind, and the characters of men...Joseph L.
Its message fills the screen with vitality on the plains of Shakespeare's imagination...The film is set in Rome 44 B.C. The city is rich with the privileges of its empire, much of it caused by the pretentious Caesar (Louis Calhern) appointing himself dictator...
Caesar's greater character flaw, thinking that he is far above others and somehow invincible...Loyal to Caesar is Mark Antony (Marlon Brando), a brave, intelligent, pleasure-loving cunning man - a character with many hidden traits, misunderstood by all...Mark Anthony looks at life as a game in which he had a signified part to play...
On the way, a blind beggar warns Caesar of 'The Ides of March' (On the middle of the month, the daggers came from every side...) but he is ignored...In the stadium, the sarcastic Cassius (John Gielgud) sees Brutus as the influential Roman able to unite the nobles in the conspiracy...
Brutus, the back-bone of the plan, agrees to the plot, but refuses Cassius's proposal to slain Mark Antony...After the conspirators have left, Brutus' wife Portia (Deborah Kerr) asks to know what it is that worries him...Caesar's wife, Calpurnia (Greer Garson) begs her husband to stay home and not to go to the Senate, for fear of danger...
Besides Brando and Mason the movie also stars the likes of John Gielgud, Edmond O'Brien, Deborah Kerr and many other actors that had already made name at the time of this production, both in theater and in movies.The movie is one about betrayal, loyalty and idealistic motives.
Marlon Brando, who played Julius Caesar's right-hand man, excelled as character Marc Antony.
Julius Caesar is one of my favourite plays and this film is one of my best-loved screen-versions of Shakespeare.
Which they in cowardly fashion instead of dying in battle or combat having their aides, instead of their enemies, run them through!The best film version of William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" with the late Marlon Brando's performance of Mark Anthony completely blowing away the entire Academy Award caliber cast.
With Louis Calhern in the titular role and Marlon Brando as his faithful friend Mark Antony, the film goes into great detail about what gets Caesar killed by associates of his, and even greater detail of the thirst for power after his death.
During a victory celebration Caesar attends with his most trusted allies Cassius (John Gielgud) and Brutus (James Mason) he is warned by a Soothsayer to beware the Ides of March.
The four leading actors, Marlon Brando, John Guilgud, Louis Calhern and James Mason , playing Mark Anthony, Cassius, Julius Caesar and Brutus respectively, not only give great performances but show a wonderful chemistry when acting together.
It is remarkable to a writer or an actor to see how well this speech-heavy presentation survives a good-enough performance but not excellent by Louis Calhern as Julius Caesar and one by Douglass Watson as Octavius and still manages to be a very powerful experience; I saw it eight nights running back in the 1960s and never tired of its excellences.
It is very easy, in this day and age of seemingly rote-like movie renditions of the works of Jane Austin, Henry James, and, of course, the Bard, to produce a film that just goes through the motions - without anything much to say, no interesting "spin" on the subject matter, and with dull, pretty-boy and girl ham-handed actors, speaking their lines, or some other catch, like state of the art FX, or some other gimmick (like the infamous "Nude Macbeth" version of the play that was filmed back in 1969) being the offering.To my mind, however, this particular rendition of Shakespeare's Juliuys Casear is THE defintive one ever filmed.
"Dull?"  If he has on his mind Bruce Willis and the Die Hard films (as by his own comments it is clear that he does), well, yes than anything that does not have to do with rocket ships, or blazing machine guns, or steriod-laden super heroes rescuing scantily clad well-endowed women might seem "dull."  But frankly, Signet, such being your defintion of what is exciting and interesting, I really don't know why you would even bother checking this film out, or any work of Shakespeare, for that matter, in the first place!This JC film plays out like a taut, well-placed political thriller - showing the machinations of scheming politicians, of their egos and jealousies, and a quite simply SUPERB Mark Antony funeral oration scene.
Is there any Hollywood actor today who could play Julius Caesar like Louis Calhern?
There were enough colorized period piece epics that came out of the 1950s; by keeping it simple, he let the acting shine through and made the bleak tone of the film more evident.With Louis Calhern as Caesar, James Mason as Brutus, Marlon Brando as Mark Antony, John Gielgud as Cassius, Deborah Kerr as Portia, and Greer Garson as Calpurnia, this is an all-star classic you don't want to miss!
John Gielgud plays Cassius, the leader of a group of high-ranking Romans who seek to assassinate Julius while James Mason appears as reluctant accomplice, Brutus.
Brando is captivating as usual, particularly in his extended funeral speech to the citizens, but he has greater performances playing more interesting characters in better movies, like "The Young Lions" (1958), "One-Eyed Jacks" (1961), "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), "The Missouri Breaks" (1976) and "Apocalypse Now" (1979), to name a handful.
Interesting to see the intensity so LARGE on the fronts of both fronts of British classical-trained theater (John Gielgud, as the most psychologically pathological character, Cassius, fully delivering the goods, plus James Mason being his Mason-iest) and the Method (Brando, seeming like he's always been in these robes - at least this week).It's Shakesepare on Golden-age Hollywood scale, but it's kept intimate when it counts, and the material is allowed to shine fully.
And yet it's not simply that these actors get some of the meatiest-dramatic lines ever written, like in the history of all civilizations, but that this is all about what it means to have, take, live with, demolish and get back or keep protected Power, with a capital P.It's almost unfair to give a proper review to the film after seeing it once, as certain big set pieces - or even a couple of the conversations that Cassius has with Brutus or the other Roman senators plotting the death of their "beloved" Caesar - are quite dense with visual touches and details of performance.
Especially Gielgud impresses here, with a role that requires a lot of forceful talking, bordering on yelling, with declarations and insinuations and other things - as big as his acting is, just as with Brando and Mason to an extent, though he kind of pulls it back when he can (see the tent scene between Brutus and Cassius before battle), there's subtleties there, little moments you can see the actor working through the emotional logic first, the dense Shakespeare poetry second.As with many Shakesepare movies, it may help being familiar with the play ahead of time to get all of the words and idiosyncracies of the Bard prose.
Mankiewicz achieves a very tight film adaptation that preserves the full taste of Shakespearean language and displacement, and achieving more than satisfactory characterizations, especially in the roles of Marlon Brando (Mark Anthony) and John Gielgud (Cassius).
Whit his stars, like Marlon Brando, John Gielgud, James Mason, Louis Calhern, Greer Garson and Deborah Kerr and with Joseph Ruttenberg's brilliant B&W pictures and Miklós Rózsa's fantastic and pompous music, he made one of the finest Shakespeare adaptation of all time.
OK, Marlon Brando is mad as always, but in my opinion John Gielgud steals the show with such lines like: 'I do fear of people choose Ceasar for their king.' He is the best Cassius.
In this movie, you have the world's greatest playwright (Shakespeare) combined with one of the world's greatest actors (Brando), two other fantastic talents (Mason and Gielgud), and a compelling historical tale (the assassination of Julius Caesar and resulting civil war).
Then comes James Mason as Brutus, followed by Louis Calhern, who seemed a little old and dumpy as Caesar.I have no other Julius Caesar performances to compare it to as I am not a Shakespearean authority, I just love movies.
It then seems ironically necessary to say: "All Shakespeare buffs, lend me the eyes and ears of your world so that I can acquire what I see and hear" As a matter of fact, JULIUS CAESAR is rather a movie about a growing conspiracy, struggle for power, murder and bringing the murderers to justice than the linear plot of a colossal epic.
Here, I would like to address such scenes as the battle, Caesar's triumph in the streets of Rome and the aforementioned realistic speech of Brutus and Antony to the Romans.
The thing about all these professionals like Calhern, James Mason, John Gielgud, Greer Garson and Deborah Kerr, is that they all know how Shakespeare is "supposed" to be done.
Brando had not done Shakespeare before, and he appears to have taken a fresh approach to the material, viewing Mark Anthony not as a character in the works of the most renowned literary figure the world has ever known, but as an individual to inhabit like anyone else he might play.
James Mason as Brutus and John Gielgud as Cassius have some very good scenes, and even the minor conspirators are played well.Louis Calhern was a somewhat odd choice to play Caesar, and it's rather easy to think of choices that probably would have been better, but he still works all right in the role.
Julius Caesar is one of Bill Shakespeare´s greatest tragedies; this movie version lives up to its name, with a superb cast (it´s a thrill to see the late Sir Gielgud, John Mason and Marlon Brando portray some of the best characters ever on a drama) and big-production sets, with lots of props and extras.
He is completely at ease with the language, but unlike many of the other cast members, does not let the stately poetry do his work for him, and invests Brutus with a great deal of emotional depth.The film looks marvelous; director Mankiewicz sends his camera prowling around sumptuously designed sets, and sheds a chilly black and white glow on the action.However, despite the mostly strong acting and terrific production design, I never really warmed to the movie, just as I rarely do to any filmed version of a Shakespeare work.
Pardon me for saying but I think William Shakespeare is the most overrated cultural icon ever so this adaption of one of his works looked more than a nightmare instead of a joyful event and yet I kept on watching till the end nontheless and there is only man responsible for it : Marlon Brando, an acting so good that you even tend to forget James Mason is giving a great performance as well.
The story is known I suppose : the great emperor Julius Caesar isn't as popular by his surrounding politicians and so it happened one day that he got killed by a gang led by Brutus and Cassius, while his guardian angel Marc Anthony (Marlon Brando) can't shut up about it and think the noble people of Rome must know the truth...
As long as you assume that this is not an action film, or at least the typical roman's film, you will discover a complete universe of performances, this is to say that it is almost a Theatrical version more than a film.All the actors develop in front of the camera a huge variety of skills, well learned in theatre, that carry you to the superb, genial, unique, scene of the SPEECH, with capital letters, of Marc Anthony to the roman people.After and before that, the film is only an excuse to lead the movie watcher to that 6 minutes, but believe me there is no other Marlon Brando than that you see in those 6 minutes, that should receive a dozen of Oscar's(R).Take a big amount of pop-corn and prepare yourself to enjoy.
He BY FAR gave the best performance an actor has ever given in a Shakespear movie play.
Well, the Ides of March has come to General Julius Caesar (Louis Calhern) in Joseph Mankiewicz's 1953 film version of William Shakespeare's play based on the real life Roman figure.
I think that Mason deserved a Best Actor nomination for the role.Without a doubt, however, the best performance of the film comes from Marlon Brando as Mark Antony in his only on screen Shakespearean role.
I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of Brando and, like some people at the time, I was a little apprehensive before watching the film as his mumbling style of acting certainly would not fit into the world of Shakespeare.
With the exception of Brando and Mason, the strongest performer is the great Sir John Gielgud - who later played Caesar himself in the 1970 version - as Cassius, another extremely compelling character.
It would have been quite helpful if I had read the play 'Julius Caesar' by William Shakespeare before seeing this film, but I am not an avid reader.
This is the best film version of Will Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." It stars a young Marlon Brando, only 28, as Marc Antony.
This movie also has a number of other big name actors and actresses, like James Mason who plays Brutus, John Gielgud as Cassius, and Louis Calhern as Julius Caesar.