Cleopatra (1963) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC Historical epic. The triumphs and tragedy of the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra. Directors: a list of 22 titles created 02 May 2014 a list of 46 titles created 13 Jan 2015 a list of 24 titles created 24 Aug 2015 a list of 34 titles created 13 Sep 2015 a list of 33 titles created 8 months ago Search for " Cleopatra " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 13 nominations.

See more awards » Videos A fierce Roman commander becomes infatuated with a beautiful Christian hostage and begins questioning the tyrannical leadership of the despot Emperor Nero. Directors: Mervyn LeRoy, Anthony Mann Stars: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn The Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people. Director: Cecil B. DeMille The death of Marcus Aurelius leads to a succession crisis, in which the deceased emperor's son, Commodus, demonstrates that he is unwilling to let anything undermine his claim to the Roman Empire. Director: Anthony Mann In the Roman province of Judea during the 1st century, Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio is ordered to crucify Jesus of Nazareth but is tormented by his guilty conscience afterwards. Director: Henry Koster Brutish, fortune-hunting scoundrel Petruchio tames his wealthy, shrewish wife, Katharina. Director: Franco Zeffirelli Edit Storyline In 48 B.C., Caesar pursues Pompey from Pharsalia to Egypt.

Ptolemy, now supreme ruler after deposing his older sister, Cleopatra, attempts to gain favor with Caesar by presenting the conquerer with the head of Pompey, borne by his governors, Pothinos and Achillas. To win Caesar's support from her brother, Cleopatra hides herself in a rug, which Apollodorus, 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, 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, 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 ... Written by alfiehitchie The motion picture the world has been waiting for!

Genres: 31 July 1963 (UK) See more » Also Known As: (50th Anniversary) 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) Color: Did You Know? Trivia Nunnally Johnson was paid $140,000 for a script polish. As Rouben Mamoulian , the film's original director, insisted only on his original screenwriter, there was nothing for Johnson to do, except to receive his paycheck and cash it in. See more » Goofs Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene II and Ptolemy Philadelphus are all missing, and no mention is made to the Donations of Alexandria. See more » Quotes – See all my reviews Breathtaking photography, fabulous costumes, wonderful lead and supporting role performances, a dual love story that is timeless - the romance with Caesar for power and the romance with Marc Antony for love, unmatched music by Alex North, that's what's in Cleopatra.

From the time that it came out, I have remained a person who has not been afraid to say that I have loved it. Elizabeth Taylor's legendary beauty is very evident here. My favorite scenes of hers are Cleopatra's anguish upon finding out about Marc Antony's [Richard Burton] marriage and the closing scene with her reunited with the dying Marc Antony. Similarly, Caesar's [Rex Harrison] opening war scene, Marc Antony's gut-wrenching soliloquy as a broken man after the defeat at Actium , Octavian's [Roddy McDowall] harsh scolding of an officer that let him know of Marc Antony's death, Sosigenes' [Hume Cronyn] death scene, Apollodorus' [Cesare Danova] support for Cleopatra, and Rufio's [Martin Landau] support for Marc Antony are all permanently etched in my memory. The shear lushness of the production has to be seen to truly believed. Remember, this was released in 1963 far before the gimmickry of computer enhanced effects. The crowds in these scenes are real, the buildings are real, this is not a movie that was put together with the smoke and mirrors of computers.

I truly do hope that restorers are able to eventually find the footage that was deleted, primarily due to Zanuck's influence and not Mankiewicz's desire, so that we may see more of what Mankiewicz had in mind. I also strongly recommend that one view the DVD release. The included documentary about putting the film together helps one get a good perspective about the real headaches involved in getting this film made. 19 of 27 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Cleopatra (movie) Cleopatra Poster Cleopatra Movies Cleopatra is the name of several movies about the last Egyptian queen of the same name. Movies of this title were released in 1912, 1917, 1920, 1934, 1963, and 1999. 1917 Film Another Image of Theda Bara as Cleopatra The 1917 Fox film was directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starred Theda Bara in the title role. Fritz Leiber played Julius Caesar and Thurston Hall played Marc Antony.

It was one of the most elaborate Hollywood films ever produced up to that time, with particularly lavish sets and costumes. The story of this silent film was very loosely based on the plot of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Theda Bara appeared in a variety of fantastic costumes, some quite risqué. The film was a great success at the time. Years later with the imposition of Hollywood's Hays Code the film was judged too obscene to be shown, and no surviving prints are known to exist. 1934 Film The 1934 film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and won for cinematography (Victor Milner). It was written by Bartlett Cormack, Vincent Lawrence, and Valdemar Young and was directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It starred Claudette Colbert as Cleopatra, Warren William as Julius Caesar, Henry Wilcoxon as Marc Antony, Joseph Schildkraut as King Herod, and Ian Keith as Octavian. with Vivian Leigh as Cleopatra 1963 Film The 1963 film was also nominated for Best Picture and won for cinematography, art direction, costumes, sets, and special effects.

It was written by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Mario Franzero and was directed by Mankiewicz. It starred Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, Richard Burton as Marc Antony, and Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar (nominated for Academy Award for Best Actor). Cleopatra premiered at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City on June 12, 1963. The 1963 film is infamous for bankrupting 20th Century Fox. It was made at a cost of $40 million -- an impossibly extravagant figure for that time; in todays dollars it can be priced at $270 million. It was not a box-office flop, but it did not perform nearly as well as Fox hoped, and took several years to break even and the financial loss from the film forced the studio to file for bankruptcy. Supposedly, the film is still listed as a negative cost for Fox today, which means that, technically, the movie still has not made back its initial investment.

The suit of golden armor worn in the movie by Elizabeth Taylor was made from real gold, at a cost of about $1 million. It was so heavy that she could only wear it for short periods of time. Elizabeth Taylor in "Cleopatra" (1963) 1999 Film Billy Zane (American of Greek descent) as Antony The 1999 Cleopatra: starred Leonor Varela (Cleopatra), Timothy Dalton (Caesar), and Billy Zane (Antony). Based on the book Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George and more faithful to history than the earlier versions, it was shown first on television and then released on videotape. Olivia's Line On May 12, 2003, tied in with the 40th anniversary of the 1963 film, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 45-minute romantic comedy, written by David Varela (no relation to Leonor) called Olivia's Line. The play is set during the location shoot in Rome. Incidental music is taken from the 1963 film's score.

For more information about the play, and information on how you can listen to it online visit: Links Cleopatra on the Web : Movies ( ) (Tim Spalding) The Cleopatra Costume on Stage and in Film ( (David Clauson) Ancient Greece in the Cinema ( (Nick Lowe) Retrieved from "" All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License Cleopatra (1963) - Trivia Find your favorite actors or movies: Cleopatra (1963) The stunning French actress was considered for the title role. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor SIgned by director Rouben Mamoulian to play Marc Antony. Actor who got the part: RIchard Burton Stephen Boyd had been cast as Marc Antony in "Cleopatra" but numorous production delays and script changes led him to drop out to be replaced by Richard Burton. Actor who got the part: Richard Burton Sought after for the role of Marc Antony, but was unavailable. Actor who got the part: Richard Burton Cast in the title role in 1958, but after so many delays before the film was ready to go, she was unavailable.

Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor Considered for the role of Marc Antony. Actor who got the part: Richard Burton Cast as Julius Caesar (and also considered for the role of Marc Antony), he exited the production after so many production delays stalled the filming. Actor who got the part: Rex Harrison Considered for the role of Marc Antony. Actor who got the part: Richard Burton Was the first choice to play Cleopatra. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor Audrey Hepburn was considered when Taylor was dying of pneumonia. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor Producer Walter Wanger had Alfred Hitchcock in mind to direct the film project which Wanger hoped would emphasize the suspense elements of the tale. Actor who got the part: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Was strongly considered to play Marc Antony. Actor who got the part: Richard Burton Was considered for the title role. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor Another Italian actress who allegedly turned down the title role. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor One of the stars seriously considered as a likely candidate to play the beautiful, brilliant, witty, ambitious and complex Cleopatra.

Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor The great director resigned from the epic production after many disagreements, costly production delays and the illness of star Elizabeth Taylor. Actor who got the part: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Marilyn Monroe was considered for the lead role. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor Kim Novak was considered for the title role. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor High on the list of candidates to play Marc Antony. Actor who got the part: Richard Burton Suzy Parker was considered for the title role. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor One of the Fox contract players considered for the title role when the project was envisioned as a lower-budget, smaller-scope enterprise than it eventually became. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor Dana Wynter was considered for the title role. Actor who got the part: Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra - DVD Movie Central CLEOPATRA Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, Martin Landau Director: Joseph L.

Mankiewicz Audio: Dolby Digital 5.0, Dolby Surround Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Release Date: April 3, 2001 Film *** How strangely awake I feel  Cleopatra is a name that has become synonymous with extravagance, mismanagement and waste so much so that its $44 million price tag (well over $270 million by today's standards) nearly sank the then struggling 20th Century Fox studios. They went into the 1963 Cleopatra production conceiving it as an inexpensive remake of their popular silent classic starring Theda Bara. What went wrong? For starters, Elizabeth Taylor's incredible asking price of $1 million to star (the first time an actor's salary had reached that level) by the film was finished, with its numerous delays and production problems, her overtime pay would bring her check to a staggering $7 million. There were location problems as well Liz insisted in her contract that the movie be filmed abroad, and to fulfill that obligation, the production initially took up home in England.

Expensive sets were built, actors were cast, costumes were designed but two insurmountable difficulties would force the film's relocation to Italy: the incessant rain in England, and Liz's bout with pneumonia that almost took her life. In the end, nearly a year was spent at the British location. Millions had been spent by a studio who really couldn't afford it. The end result? Approximately ten minutes of useable footage. By the time the production moved to Rome, significant casting changes had to be made: the actors playing Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony had spent a year on the film, and now had other commitments. Though this turned out to be even more of a strain finance-wise, much more prolific actors were given the roles: Rex Harrison and Richard Burton respectively. Burton proved a rich and viable talent with Liz on screen. Off screen? Well, the rest, as they say, was history. Toward the end, Cleopatra had become a fiscal nightmare of garish proportions. With all monies just about gone, director and co-writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz was forced to cut corners during the filming of some of the movie's critical battle scenes.

No other film was in production at Fox; therefore all studio expenses whether related or not had to be charged to the picture. A five hour film was finally presented for release. Mankiewicz thought that two picture could be made from their material instead of one: Caesar and Cleopatra and Anthony and Cleopatra. After all, both Shakespeare and Shaw told them as separate stories. But newly restated studio head Daryl F. Zanuck felt they had to capitalize on the Taylor/Burton affair while it was the hot gossip talk of the day: a final cut, at just over four hours in length, was at last released. So much has been made about the behind-the-scenes spectacle of Cleopatra that over the years, people have tended to forget that the film didn't exactly buckle under the weight of it all. It may have strained in some places, but it never collapsed. Despite the excesses and problems, Mankiewicz offered up a superb and visually stunning achievement with Cleopatra, one that impresses and inspires awe even to this day. It is said not all of the $44 million spent made it onto the screen, but one viewing will convince you that at least most of it did.

The sets and art direction are impeccably detailed, as are the costumes and lighting. There are scenes of unequalled spectacle in the movie, from Anthony's ill-fated sea battle with Octavian (McDowall) to Cleopatra's triumphant entry into Rome, as memorable a sequence in film lore as the Odessa staircase one in Battleship Potemkin. Rome has never seen an entrance like this since Romulus and Remus, one remarks and it could be said that Rome hasn't seen an entrance like that since Elizabeth Taylor. As Mankiewicz indicated, the picture does indeed play like two films. Part one, on the first disc, is the story of Julius Caesar, who, fresh off of his victory over Pompey in the great Roman civil war turns his attention to the strife within Egypt. Wanting a joint rule by siblings Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the beautiful queen proved too ambitious for her brother's taste, who in turn banished her from Alexandria. Using her charm, her wits, and her undeniable sex appeal, Queen Cleo persuades Caesar to use his influence in putting her solely on the throne.

Eventually, her ambitions become his: supposedly a Republic, she convinces him that he is beloved enough of Rome to ask for a coronation as emperor. That ambition ended very badly for Caesar on the Ides of March. His longtime companion Marc Anthony soon takes up where Caesar left off in Cleopatra's bed. The Roman empire is divided up between himself and Octavian, but when Anthony's loyalties are questioned by the citizens of Rome, another civil war brews. This leads to the aforementioned sea battle, and the eventual dooms for both Anthony and Cleopatra. As a political figure, Cleopatra is the stuff of legends. Her ambitions, they say, altered the course of civilization by bringing irrefutable strife within the Roman empire. Her beauty is equally legendary, as she seduced two of Rome's most powerful leaders, but died before she would accompany a third, Octavian, back into Rome. It's no mistake that Elizabeth Taylor was needed for the role, even over the likes of Joan Collins or Audrey Hepburn, and even with such a price tag attached. Fresh from her Oscar winning role in Butterfield 8, Liz's unparalleled looks brought the Egyptian queen to smoldering life on screen.

Even more impressive is Burton: brash, bold and authoritative, he brings Anthony to life with all his braveries and fears, ambitions and apprehensions. His chemistry with Liz was something very few actors shared, and it would repeat itself in later films like Taming of the Shrew and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The film is too long, to be sure at least for a single night's setting. If broken up over consecutive nights, treating them like the two separate pictures Mankiewicz had envisioned, it becomes much more palatable and easier to lose oneself in the movie (though the second part with Burton is, in my opinion, much stronger and more engrossing). Despite the problems, Cleopatra serves as a landmark epic film when epic films were truly taken to extremes. It's a dazzling, enthralling production with sumptuous visuals, savory performances, and a juicy back story to discuss long after the credits have rolled. It may not be entertainment at its best, but certainly entertainment at its most complete. Video **** Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Let it clearly be stated that Fox has officially raised the bar for pre-1970's movies on DVD.

From the opening moments, I found myself in a state of euphoria over how flawless the transfer looked, and I waited nervously for the inevitable breaking of the spell. It never came not once in the entire four hours. Light scenes, dark scenes, it didn't matter. The coloring and detail in every frame was superb, from the subtle shade differences within scenes to the flesh tones, to even the nighttime coloring. The skies and waters were impeccably blue, the fields deep green with tiny but distinctive differences in tone, and the gold shimmered with spectacular flair. The sharpness was incredible, as many scenes were constructed to lead your eye further and further back into the scene nothing ever became soft or hazy or lacking in definition. Low light scenes have remarkably equal strength, with no grain, shimmer or image breakup, and no murkiness to spoil the beauty of the images. Even the print was remarkably clean I would say no more marks or spots than you would see watching a DVD of any brand new release on disc. Cleopatra marks the new apex of DVD quality for classic films. Absolutely enthralling!

Audio *** Though the box indicates 5.1 surround, this is actually a 5.0 mix (with standard 2 channel surround included). It's a good listen, but the film shows its age a little more here, with occasional thinness to the audio. Dialogue is crystal clear throughout, and Alex North's score is potent and forceful, and the 5.0 track definitely offers more openness and dynamic range than the 2 channel one. Certain scenes, like the interior of Cleopatra's tomb, make good use of surround for word echo and reverberation. Apart from that, there's not much in the way of noticeable distinctness from the rear stage. This is still a quality listen for an older film, but not quite up to the superiority of the visual transfer. Features **** Fox outdoes themselves yet again with a remarkable three disc package. Discs one and two contain the commentary track, which features Chris and Tom Mankiewicz, sons of Joseph L. and quite the experts on their father's work and style. Also included are Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky. The track is occasionally a little sparse, but still filled with good information.

Disc three's only problem comes in the form of packaging: in order to include it, it comes in a little cardboard sleeve attached to the DVD booklet. When I took it out, my fears were confirmed: the disc was horribly scratched and presented some navigational difficulties as a result. The content on disc three is superb, however, starting with one of the best movie documentaries I've ever seen on disc: Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood. This two hour special is a terrific evening's entertainment in its own right: filled with detail, gossip, information, behind-the-scenes stories and photos and unused footage, this film chronicles everything that truly was and has since come to be known about Cleopatra. A second featurette is contemporary with the actual movie: The Fourth Star of Cleopatra also good, but not quite as much as the former. There are numerous trailers, Movie Tone newsreels about the film's New York and Hollywood premieres, and a large stills gallery that includes photos and set and costume sketches. All three discs also boast attractive and appropriate animated menus. Summary: Before there was Waterworld or Titanic, there was Cleopatra, still by modern standards the most expensive and arguably most troubled production in Hollywood history.

It's an overly long but still largely enthralling visual spectacle that manages to preserve the human drama amidst the most impressive sets, locations and costumes ever captured on film. Classic movie fans should definitely give this three disc set a curiosity spin, if for no other reason than to see the most beautiful DVD transfer of a pre-1970's movie yet presented and the excellent features package. Fox scores yet another unqualified triumph. Cleopatra (1963) Cleopatra (1963) Wednesday March, 8 2017 at 08:00 PM Tuesday March, 28 2017 at 08:30 AM Films in BOLD will Air on TCM * | VIEW TCMDb ENTRY How could a film become one of the year's highest grossing movies and still manage to be widely regarded as one of Hollywood's biggest flops of all time? Perhaps if a film's budget surges from around $2 million to over $45 million (some reports say $60 million) and takes years rather than the allotted time to shoot, then you have a good justification.

Add Elizabeth Taylor's near-fatal illness, director and cast changes during filming, and constant rewrites to the mixture. Then top it all off with an adulterous love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and you have a perfect recipe for disaster. Well, either that, or just enough scandal and publicity to garner Oscar® acclaim and entice curious moviegoers to the theatre. This is exactly what happened when 20th Century Fox released Cleopatra in 1963. When the film opened, critics panned it as a debacle. Time magazine called it, "raddled with flaws, [lacking] style both in image and in action." Even the stars themselves condemned the final product. Elizabeth Taylor, who played the title role, explained, "It must be the most eccentric film ever made. I was finally forced to see it in London, knowing full well, after what I'd heard, that I'd be sick to my stomach. They had cut out the heart, the essence, the motivations, the very core, and tacked on all those battle scenes. It should have been about three large people, but it lacked reality and passion.

I found it vulgar" (Jerry Vermilye and Mark Ricci, The Films of Cleopatra). Bad reviews were just one of the many dark clouds looming over a film that was cursed even before production began. Originally, Fox aimed to release the film in March of 1960. Studio heads Buddy Adler and Spyros P. Skouras wanted an "economically made $2 million spectacle with `pre-sold names' such as contractees Joan Collins, Suzy Parker, or Joanne Woodward" (Matthew Bernstein, Walter Wanger: Hollywood Independent). However, the film's producer, Walter Wanger, saw a big-budget epic in the making. He set out to sell Adler and Skouras on the film he wanted by first demonstrating the visual possibilities for the epic. Wanger hired John DeCuir, who had worked on such grandiose films as The King and I (1956), to be the film's art director. One afternoon in February of 1959, Wanger set DeCuir's sketches and set models on display for the studio heads to see.

Wanger later explained, "They all flipped because it was the God-damndest thing they had ever seen" (Bernstein). Wanger continued his campaign for a bigger film by casting Elizabeth Taylor to play Cleopatra. Initially, Fox was not happy with the decision, but Wanger held out, and Skouras conceded that the decision would increase the box-office draw. Taylor was shooting Suddenly, Last Summer in London when Wanger called her in September of 1959. She said that she would play Cleopatra if a few script changes were made, the film was shot in England for tax and publicity purposes, and she was guaranteed a salary of $1 million dollars. Wanger, and the studio, balked at her asking price, but Taylor got her wish. While filming Butterfield 8 (1960), Taylor secured one of the most astonishing deals in Hollywood up to that time.

The contract she signed assured her a salary of $125,000 per week for sixteen weeks; $50,000 weekly after sixteen weeks; 10% of the film's gross; $3,000 per week living expenses ¿ plus food and lodging; and first-class tickets for herself, three adults, and three children. Taylor's total earnings for a film with a supposed budget of $2 million eventually totaled more than $7 million. After Taylor signed on, Adler and Skouras secured Rouben Mamoulian to direct. Casting was also finalized with Peter Finch to play Caesar and Stephen Boyd to play Antony. However, Cleopatra still lacked a finalized script. Many re-writes and writer replacements during nearly two years of pre-production had not produced a filmable script. Thus when shooting began in the fall of 1960, there was no structured production plan. Shooting the film in England also proved disastrous. Despite previous assumption, England's Pinewood Studios did not process the technical capacity for the film's production. Ceilings were too low to allow for the set design, there were not enough soundstages for all the different scenes, and the unions were very limiting.

To compensate, the projected budget now soared over $6 million. Filming was rescheduled for September of 1960 and Fox hoped to complete the project by February of 1961. However, England's chilling temperatures and high humidity immediately caused Taylor to fall ill with a cold. Mamoulian shot around her, capturing Egyptian landscapes and dialogue scenes between minor characters, yet costumes and sets were no more ready than the script. Mamoulian was also having trouble controlling the crowd scenes, and England's weather was frustratingly unstable. The resulting footage did not befit an Egyptian setting. Mamoulian explained, "The great white columns of that beautiful set were wreathed in light mists; while every time anyone spoke, there were clouds of steam from his mouth. It had a marvelous quality, quite beautiful, but not exactly Alexandrian" (Bernstein). These complications once again forced Fox to raise the budget to $9 million. Meanwhile, specialists were brought in to see about Taylor. As her fever, headaches, and congestion continued, the press began to swarm. Reports surfaced that she was suffering from a nervous breakdown or a miscarriage.

Queen Elizabeth II's personal physician finally diagnosed the cause of her illness as an abscessed tooth, and she would need more time to recover. Taylor's illness cost Fox an additional $2 million. The company ordered production to cease and demanded a replacement be found for the leading lady. Wanger once again went to bat for Taylor, and she remained on the picture. After two years in the making, and $7 million spent, Fox had ten minutes of useable footage. Mamoulian subsequently resigned before shooting resumed, and Taylor suggested Joseph Mankiewicz to take his place. Mankiewicz had directed her in Suddenly, Last Summer, for which she earned an Academy nomination. He had also directed Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in 1953, proving his keen sense of classical history. Thus, Mankiewicz seemed like the perfect choice. Fox paid out $3 million dollars to secure the director and buy him out of previous obligations. When Mankiewicz read Mamoulian's script, he found it to be "shockingly barren of either scope or magnitude" (Bernstein).

He criticized its stereotyped characterization of Cleopatra as "a strange, frustrating mixture of an American soap-opera virgin and an hysterical Slavic vamp" (Bernstein). Instead, he saw her as a femme fatale and perceived the rivalry between Caesar and a weak Antony as the motif of the film. This story transformation called for a completely new script. Mamoulian's ten minutes of footage was discarded, and Fox had to abandon the $7 million spent thus far. Mankiewicz composed an outline and hired Ranald MacDougall, who wrote Mildred Pierce (1945), to pen the new script. Just when it seemed like the film might be back on track, Taylor became ill again in the spring of 1961. She suffered from acute staphylococcus pneumonia and underwent an emergency tracheotomy. Her condition was critical, and the press flocked to the hospital. The media alerted the world that Elizabeth Taylor could die at any moment. Taylor eventually recovered and flew home to California just in time to receive the Best Actress Oscar® for Butterfield 8.

During her six-month recuperation, she underwent plastic surgery to remove the scar from the tracheotomy, but it was never completely hidden. When filming was to resume in the fall of 1961, production had been moved to Italy, where Fox hoped to cut costs due to the Italian six-day work week and warm weather. Mankiewicz had yet to receive a finalized script and began writing it himself. Sets and costumes were still yet to be completed. However, Fox remained rigid to its September start date. The company's production department had to prepare the film's budget and production plan with only a script outline. Even though Mankiewicz had written 132 pages of script by this point, which would equal about a 100-minute film, 195 pages remained to be written during shooting. Mankiewicz worked himself to sheer exhaustion during the next several months of production. He would shoot all day and write all night, going on little if any sleep. With no time to make script edits or rewrites, he shot everything he wrote, costing Fox millions in wasted time. Sets were built at high overtime costs only to sit unused for months due to lack of production planning.

Extras waited on set doing nothing for weeks while still on payroll. Every day, Fox sent wires to the set complaining about the films skyrocketing costs. And still, another complication was brewing - one that would create more of a scandal than anyone imagined. During Cleopatra's hiatus over the summer of 1961, the role of Caesar had been recast to be played by Rex Harrison, and Antony was to be played by Richard Burton. Burton had just won a Tony as King Arthur in Camelot. Fox bought him out of his contract in New York and signed him to the film for $300,000. Cleopatra was to be the biggest film thus far in his career, and he was happy to go to Rome. Despite being married for 12 years with two daughters, Burton had developed a reputation for romancing his leading ladies. Taylor was also married at the time to Eddie Fisher, a highly publicized relationship itself that began while Fisher was still married to Debbie Reynolds. At first, Burton could not stand Taylor, referring to her as "Miss Tits" and remarking to Mankiewicz, "I expect she shaves" (Melvyn Bragg, Richard Burton: A Life).

Even though he had never seen her perform, he saw her as just another movie star with no acting talent. Taylor knew of his reputation as a highly acclaimed actor, yet she did not think much of the loud-mouthed, womanizing Welshman at first either. All that was soon to change. Many times, Burton had said, "I cannot act with a person unless I'm powerfully sexually interested in that person" (Kitty Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor: The Last Star). If this was the case, then Burton's opinion of Taylor had undoubtedly changed by the time they played their first scene together. Fox described it as an "electrifying encounter" (Bragg). Everyone on set then realized that the actors were now actually living their parts. "There comes a time during a movie when the actors become the characters they play," said Wanger. "This merger of real personality into the personality of the role has to take place if a performance is to be truly effective. That happened today...The cameras turned and the current was literally turned on. It was quiet, and you could almost feel the electricity between Liz and Burton" (Kelly). It was only a matter of weeks before the media buzz of the scandal reached the rest of the world.

Paparazzi followed the couple everywhere, and the story dominated headlines around the world. "Le Scandale," as Burton termed it, even incited the Vatican to publicly denounce the adulterous affair. When filming wrapped, Fox had spent over $30 million on production. Another $15 million would be spent on the picture's promotion. Mankiewicz delivered the final product at over six hours long. Fox toyed with the idea of releasing the film in two parts to try to recoup as much money as possible, but that idea was scrapped. The film opened in New York on June 11, 1963 with a running time of 243 minutes. A week later, it was reduced to 222 minutes. The reviews were discouraging, yet the film's publicity did attract consumers to the box-office. Although it grossed over $26 million, making it one of the highest grossing films of 1963, it was nowhere near enough to recover the studio's losses. Wanger later explained Cleopatra's high disappointment as resulting from two reasons. "The first was corporate politics that resulted in executive indecisiveness.

The second was that the film went into production `before we had a script or a well-thought-out and practical production plan or organization' " (Bernstein). Looking past Cleopatra's enormous cost and confusion, some critics did praise the film. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times wrote, "Unless you are one of those skeptics who are stubbornly predisposed to give Cleopatra the needle, I don't see how you can fail to find this a generally brilliant, moving, and satisfying film." The Academy agreed. The film won Oscars® for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Visual Effects. It also received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Best Editing, Best Score, and Best Sound. The dark clouds lingering over Cleopatra's production undoubtedly stained its release, overshadowing the actual quality of the film itself. The plot, Cleopatra using her feminine wiles to stabilize her Egyptian power by seducing Caesar and Marc Antony, seemed almost irrelevant. Audiences were more interested in the romance between Taylor and Burton than Cleopatra and Antony. The film's dialogue was smart and the spectacle was stunning, yet never quite seemed worth the price tag.

Over time, Fox did eventually make its money back. In 1966, ABC paid $5 million for two showings, finally putting Cleopatra in the black. Producer: Walter Wanger, Peter Levathes Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Screenplay: Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Carlo Mario Franzero (book) Cinematography: Leon Shamroy Film Editing: Dorothy Spencer Art Direction: Herman Blumenthal, Hilyard Brown, John DeCuir, Boris Juraga, Maurice Pelling, Jack Martin Smith, Elven Webb Music: Alex North Cast: Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra), Richard Burton (Marc Antony), Rex Harrison (Julius Caesar), Pamela Brown (High Priestess), George Cole (Flavius), Hume Cronyn (Sosigenes). C-243m. Letterboxed.

Movies about Julius Caesar and Cleopatra | Movie Journeys | Travel & the Movies Movies about Julius Caesar and Cleopatra · Add Comment · In Republican Rome , Roman Empire Five hundred years of experimentation with the Republic as a form of government began to unravel with the life and death of Julius Caesar (100 BCE – 15 March, 44 BCE). His military triumphs in expanding the empire far to the north had won him unparalleled power. He had ambitions for becoming a monarch. His assassination by the Republicans on the Senate floor is the landmark event in clearing the way for Empire. Thanks largely to Shakespeare, this story has been kept before the public through the 20th century. Personally, I find Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to be among the dullest of his plays. It takes a single event and talks it to death. The only character with any star power in the play is Mark Antony, and he does little more than speak on behalf of the murdered Caesar. Various attempts to pump the play up for movie audiences have depended entirely on the casting of this role. Marlon Brando played Antony in 1953 at the peak of his career. He drew some crowds.

Charlton Heston played the role in 1970 and fell on his face. Not to compete with the star, Caesar has typically been portrayed as an aging bureaucrat, which seems unfair and unrealistic. Julius Caesar (1953) – Brando A quotation from Plutarch’s Lives establishes that after his defeat of Pompey in the Civil War, Caesar was granted extraordinary powers and earned the mistrust of conservatives in the Senate. The Shakespearean action opens in 44 BCE with some marketplace chatter. Caesar enters the city in a triumphal procession. Marc Antony (Marlon Brando) makes a brief appearance. Caesar is warned to “Beware the Ides of March.” Brutus (James Mason) is not enthusiastic for Caesar’s ambitions. He discusses his concerns with Cassius (John Gielgud). The conspiracy gathers momentum. Significantly, women have no role in this matter except to complain or lament. Caesar is beset with bad omens. Calpurnia, his wife, tries to dissuade him from going to the Senate on the day of the Ides, but pride will not let him stay at home.

He gets an opportunity to hold court at the Senate, but is cut down by the assassins among the senators. When the deed is done, the public reacts with fear and unrest. Brando now steps into the spotlight, carrying Caesar’s lifeless body to the steps of the Senate. He delivers the famous “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech to the restive crowd, wringing maximum irony out of the allegations of Caesar’s “ambition,” and the assassins as “honorable men.” Rome is still a republic and Marc Antony does not attempt to dictate the response of the crowd, but cleverly manipulates them into demanding justice for the murder. This was a watershed moment in Brando’s career, when he proved he could step out of his familiar Method acting style and deliver Shakespeare with force and precision. The great success of the movie had more to do with the public’s fascination with Marlon Brando than their hunger for Roman history. The rest of the film dissipates with the pursuit of the assassins into Northern Greece. Octavius, Caesar’s nephew, soon to become the first Emperor of Rome, and Marc Antony lead the efforts at finding the culprits.

The one advantage of film over stage presentation is that some of the scenes could be filmed on location. The genius of Shakespeare and Marlon Brando have given us a flawed but memorable marker of Rome’s disastrous transition from Republic to Empire. Julius Caesar (1970) – Heston A British film with high intentions and disappointing results, this was an attempt to update the movie presentation of Shakespeare’s play with higher production values and color photography. Most in the cast were British actors, with Charlton Heston and Jason Robards providing counterbalancing American energies. Heston plays Mark Antony and Robards plays Brutus. John Gielgud plays Caesar with British gentility. Heston was at the end of his ability to turn his roles into cultural icons, and Robards took a critical drubbing for a flat performance. The film failed at the box office. Heston went on to make a film of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra in 1971. It also failed at the box office. See below.

Julius Caesar: His Time Has Come (2003) – TNT Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar portrayed the great man only briefly in the last days of his life, killing him off early in the play. This two-part television miniseries begins the biography of Caesar in 82 BCE. He would have been eighteen in that year, though here he is seen as a young man with a wife and daughter of about eight years. The tyrant Sulla (Richard Harris) takes power in Rome by military coup and Julius comes close to being executed. He survives through a friendship with Sulla’s second in command, Pompey (say Pom-pee). Sulla makes himself dictator of Rome and dies four years later. Pompey steps in to restore the Republic. Young Julius distinguishes himself by his eloquence. He is given command of the legions in Gaul (France). Part 1 ends with him vastly outnumbered by the united Gaulish tribes. Part 2. Caesar is victorious in Gaul and returns toward Rome with designs on power. He wants to be named dictator but is opposed in the Senate by Pompey and Cato (Christopher Walken).

Public opinion sways toward Caesar as the man to “restore sanity to Rome.” He enters the city to accept the crown of dictator. His wife, Calpurnia, has remained loving and loyal. Pompey decamps to Greece and then to Egypt where he is killed in Alexandria. Caesar arrives in pursuit and is handed the head of his old ally. Pompey was also Caesar’s son-in-law, having married his daughter, who died in childbirth. Cleopatra comes to Caesar, not rolled in a carpet, and makes a seductive argument. “Rome is masculine, Egypt is feminine …. make me your queen and East and West will be united. We will be god and goddess ruling the world.” He is persuaded enough to father a child with Cleopatra. On the streets of Rome, comic actors parody the love affair with humor about the fecundity of Egypt. Caesar pursues Cato to a fortress at Utica in North Africa. Cato takes his own life. The unstoppable Caesar returns to Rome with Cleopatra. We do not see either of them enter the city. Calpurnia is not amused. There are rumors that Caesar would be king.

When he goes before the people in the Forum, Cleopatra holds their baby. He says he would not be king, but the people should have a king whose manhood embodies their collective identity. As the Ides of March approach, the ritual murder becomes inevitable. In the end, it is the wronged Calpurnia who runs to Caesar, dying alone on the Senate floor. A legend says that fifteen years of civil war followed the death of Caesar. Not one of the conspirators died a natural death. Rome (2005 – 2007) – HBO/BBC This miniseries ran for two seasons with twenty-two episodes. The time frame spans only the last two years in the life of Julius Caesar, until his death in 44 BCE. The fictional frame involves two adventurous young men, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, and provides occasions for them to participate in the historical events of the time. There are fictional women in their lives as well, and plenty of opportunities for sex and violence. It is the two adventurers who deliver Cleopatra to Caesar on his arrival in Alexandria. This is background material.

If your interest is in the scenes of ancient Rome, look behind the actors for well-researched settings. Often, the HBO formula is a good fit for depicting the early decadence of Rome. Young Octavius (resembling Doogie Howser) is on hand. He will become Emperor in 27 BCE. Cleopatra If you looked for Cleopatra in Egypt, you were, I hope, directed to Rome. There are no movies about Cleopatra that shed much light on the history and culture of Egypt. There are, on the other hand, many movies set in the few years it took for the Romans to arrive in Alexandria and wrest Egypt from the seductive embrace of its last Pharaoh. When Cleopatra lost her kingdom, 3000 years of its ancient history effectively came to an end. Over the last 2000 years, she has become the preeminent figure of historical legend. There are two notable early film treatments of the Cleopatra story in my archive. Cleopatra: The Romance of a Woman and a Queen (1912) is a gem from the infancy of the film industry.

It dates to the time before the rise of Hollywood, and was filmed along the Hudson River in New York. Produced in the style of theatrical pantomime, the fictionalized narrative is merged with the real-life story of Antony and Cleopatra. There is not much reliable history here but the vintage silent film makes it feel almost as if it was made 2000 years ago. As I write, this movie can be found on YouTube. Cleopatra (1917) was a blockbuster film for its time. Made with elaborate sets and costumes (however brief), it was a vehicle for the daring Theda Bara in the title role. Later judged to be obscene by Hollywood code enforcers, all copies of the film were destroyed. Cleopatra (1934) Claudette Colbert plays the title role in this Cecil B. DeMille production. It is a black and white epic, with the De Mille flair for choreographed spectacle. Colbert is a very able Hollywood temptress and carries her assignment with confidence, though she lacks a Mediterranean quality.

The actor who plays Caesar is classically strong in his role, and it is interesting to note his tone of dismissive superiority in the scenes after Cleopatra rolls seductively out of the rug. The Queen of Egypt returns to Rome with Caesar, and follows his chariot in a triumphal procession through the city. She is carried on a large litter. She luxuriates in a bath while Caesar goes to the Senate on the Ides of March. Back in Alexandria, there is even more DeMille spectacle as Cleopatra lures Antony to his doom. She flirts with the idea of poisoning him to get back in the good graces of Emperor Augustus. The epic battle at Actium, fought on land and sea, is dispensed with in a brief and somewhat clumsy montage. Egypt is lost. Colbert dies with a regal dignity while Anthony dies slowly with too much dialogue. Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) A British film version of the 1901 play by George Bernard Shaw, this is an uncomfortable mix of stage drama and epic moviemaking.

Vivien Leigh plays a flirtatious Cleopatra, bringing along a little too much baggage from her signature role as Scarlett O’Hara. Claude Rains plays a believable Caesar, who had the strength and character to defeat the Gauls, write a book about it, and become dictator of Rome. Action scenes vie for screen time with scintillating conversational dialogue. Shaw has Caesar burn the Library of Alexandria. An Egyptian noble laments that what is burning is the memory of mankind. “Let it burn,” says Caesar, “it’s a shameful memory.” He plans to build a new world. Modern historians suggest that the famed library may have burned on four possible occasions. The fire caused by Caesar was only the first of them. The film was poorly received at the British box office, but it enjoyed some popularity in the US. After she finished filming A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951, Vivien Leigh joined with her husband, Laurence Olivier, for a theatrical tour of two alternating plays, Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare and Caesar and Cleopatra by Shaw. Their reputations suffered for it.

Cleopatra (1963) Cleopatra resides in the late 20th century imagination primarily in the form of Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 blockbuster film, Cleopatra. Taylor, as the fated Egyptian Queen, seems trapped in her legendary beauty, and forced to parade herself as a trophy of the reigning powers. Richard Burton, who was to marry Taylor in 1964, likewise, seems caught in a web of his own passion and ambition. Rarely has a movie so thoroughly mirrored the lives of its stars. The paradox of this picture is that it was number one at the box office for the year, yet it failed to earn back its investment and nearly bankrupted the studio. The reviews were decidedly mixed, but the public could not get enough of the scandalous love affair between the two stars. Rex Harrison plays a mature and commanding Julius Caesar with rather too much British wit. Roddy McDowell plays Octavian, soon to become Augustus Caesar, as a whimpering and ineffectual child of privilege. Once again, Hollywood relies on British actors for the core classical characters. Elizabeth Taylor’s Americanized inflections are out of place.

The action begins with Caesar/Rex pursuing the defeated general Pompey to Alexandria, capital of Egypt. He is presented with the severed head of Pompey. Cleopatra appears later that evening rolled in a carpet. The banter between Caesar and Cleopatra owes something to Bernard Shaw. There is verbal jousting and no immediate sex. Cleopatra calls herself Queen of Egypt, though the title is disputed. Much is made of her identification with the goddess Isis. Caesar is more concerned with the threat posed by Cleopatra’s little brother, who has massed an army in the desert. Soon there is a destructive battle in the city. When the Library of Alexandria burns, Hume Cronyn, as a trusted minister, recites a brief catalog of the losses, including works by Aristotle and the Greek playwrights. Cleopatra is pertly indignant, and Rex treats her as if she were Eliza Doolittle. The relationship grows into something like love. She reads Caesar’s accounts of his battles in Gaul. Together, the lovers visit the tomb of Alexander the Great, a translucent sarcophagus. She beseeches him to carry out the destiny of Alexander.

She tells him that she is pregnant and will bear him a son to fulfill the legacy of “one world” united under Caesar’s sword. Caesar remains in Alexandria until his son is born. His mother names the boy Caesarion. He departs for other campaigns, making his way eventually back to Rome to face Calpurnia, his disappointed wife. The Senate makes him dictator for life. Cleopatra’s triumphal entry into Rome on a giant black sphinx, preceded by international dancers (Hollywood choreography by Hermes Pan), is a spectacle unlike anything that actually occurred. She has her son, Caesarion, at her knee. The people of Rome are mad for her. Everyone, including Calpurnia and Antony, is greatly impressed. Only the senators are suspicious; and the Shakespearean plotting begins. The Ides are not far off. Caesar dies in a swirl of visions played across Cleopatra’s face. She flees from Rome after a brief exchange with Antony. It is the first time we have seen them together, more than halfway through the movie.

Antony rides to Greece in pursuit of Caesar’s assassins, and Cleopatra surprises him by arriving on a fabulous royal vessel, like a float in the Rose Bowl Parade. Each of them makes a stab at playing hard-to-get and in the end, they fall into bed. Their fate is sealed. The tempestuous romance of Anthony and Cleopatra swings back and forth between Rome and Alexandria. Their opposition to the rising power of Octavian (Roddy McDowell) ultimately leads to the naval battle at Actium. Octavian is the victor, though he acts like a sniveling child, and Antony is humiliated. This is not the stuff of Hollywood heroism. Back in Alexandria, Cleopatra makes a desperate effort to restore Antony’s courage and sends him out to face the advancing army of Octavian. Once again he is put to shame, and returns to Alexandria with no alternative but to fall upon his sword. He dies in the arms of the woman who unmanned him. Roddy McDowell marches into the city looking like Oliver Twist.

When word of Antony’s death reaches him, he is called upon to perform the Shakespearean task of declaring that few within the sound of his voice could hold a candle to such a man – but the histrionics are hollow. There is a talky exchange between Octavian and Cleopatra full of false promises; and then a long scene in which she prepares for death. A basket with the fatal serpent is brought to her. Octavian rushes to the tomb to find her laid out in splendid funeral array. The End. Antony and Cleopatra (1971) – Heston This is the only Hollywood movie made from Shakespeare’s play. Charlton Heston adapted the play, directed the movie, and played the lead. Be assured, in this version, Antony is the lead. Cleopatra is played by the very attractive but little-remembered Hildegarde Neil. She has a British elegance and is miscast in this role. If approached with low expectations, this is not really a bad Shakespeare film, though Heston weights it down with his trademark bombast. Pleasing to the eye, it is Shakespeare half way between Hollywood and the Elizabethan stage and it loses something on both counts.

Cleopatra (1999) This late 20th century version of the Cleopatra legend is notable, if for no other reason, for its contemporary casting of the characters. This is Cleopatra for the youth market. And why not? She was twenty-two when she seduced Caesar, though she was almost 40 when she ended her life with Antony. She is played by Lenor Varella, a twenty-six-year-old Peruvian actress. British actor Timothy Dalton, a former James Bond, gives us, at last, a hard and vigorous Julius Caesar. Marc Antony is played by Billy Zane. At times, the acting level has the quality of a high school play. Caesar dies at precisely the halfway point in the movie and much is lost. Rex Harrison, a Leading Man With Urbane Wit, Dies at 82 Rex Harrison, a Leading Man With Urbane Wit, Dies at 82 By ERIC PACE Rex Harrison, the suave British actor who won a Tony in 1957 and an Academy Award in 1964 for his portrayals of Prof. Henry Higgins in ''My Fair Lady,'' died of pancreatic cancer yesterday at his home in Manhattan.

He was 82 years old. The actor, who was knighted in July 1989, played a wide variety of roles during his long career in theater and films, but he was best known for his portrayal of the waspish professor of phonetics in the musical based on George Bernard Shaw's play ''Pygmalion.'' Sir Rex made his last stage appearance on May 11 in a revival of ''The Circle,'' a comedy by Somerset Maugham. The production, in which he co-starred with Glynis Johns and Stewart Granger, opened Nov. 20, 1989 at the Ambassador Theater. ''He wanted to be on the stage - that was it,'' said Sir Rex's attorney, Harold Schiff. ''He didn't care about retiring.'' ''He died with his boots on, no question about it,'' said Elliot Martin, producer of ''The Circle.'' A popular actor who loved his craft, Mr. Harrison was known for his wit and charm. He was tall and elegant and was often cast as a man of wealth and refinement. In ''The Circle'' he played a British lord whose scandalous past comes back to haunt him.

Serious but unpretentious about his work, the actor once said: ''There's always a struggle, a striving for something bigger than yourself in all forms of art. And even if you don't achieve greatness - even if you fail, which we all must - everything you do in your work is somehow connected with your attitude toward life, your deepest secret feelings.'' Mr. Harrison gained international fame with his award-winning stage and film portrayals of the sharp-tongued professor in the Alan Jay Lerner-Frederick Loewe musical. His co-stars as the cockney flower girl Eliza were Julie Andrews on Broadway and Audrey Hepburn in the movie. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1963 for his other favorite film role, Julius Caesar in ''Cleopatra,'' in which Elizabeth Taylor played the title role. He appeared in more than 40 films, and many stage productions over the decades, in the United States and the United Kingdom, including his portrayal of Henry VIII in ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1948), for which he won his first Tony, and ''The Love of Four Colonels'' (1953), which he also directed. Despite all his theatrical experience, Mr.

Harrison, a musical duffer, had to work hard on his performance in the first stage production of ''My Fair Lady.'' ''Originally I had a block about appearing in a musical,'' he recalled years later. ''I went to a voice teacher for a while, but that did no good. My range is about one and a half notes. I ended up talking the musical numbers, which was revolutionary at the time.'' ''The lyrics are extremely intricate,'' he added. ''They move along like a precisely acted scene. If you miss a word - heaven help you - the orchestra rattles past like an express train, and you've got to run like the devil to catch up.'' 'Just a New Haven Hit!' After successful warm-up performances out of town, there were still moments of panic during the Broadway opening, on March 15, 1956, at the Mark Hellinger Theater. Mr. Lerner recalled later in his autobiography, ''On the Street Where I Live,'' that the New York audience was disappointingly hushed during the first scene, which had generated much laughter out of town. Aghast, the director, Moss Hart, rushed up to co-workers in the rear of the theater, crying: ''I knew it!

It's just a New Haven hit! That's all! Just a New Haven hit!'' Mr. Hart erred. In The New York Times the next morning, Brooks Atkinson wrote: ''Bulletins from the road have not been misleading. 'My Fair Lady' is a wonderful show. As Professor Higgins and Eliza, Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews play the leading parts with the light, dry touch of top-flight Shavian acting.'' ''Although Mr. Harrison is no singer,'' Mr. Atkinson said, ''you will probably imagine that he is singing when he throws himself into the anguished lyrics of 'A Hymn to Him' in the last act.'' ''By that time, he has made Professor Higgins' temperament so full of frenzy that something like music does come out of him,'' he went on. Mr. Harrison recalled in his autobiography, ''Rex,'' which came out in 1974: ''My contract for 'My Fair Lady' was for nine months only - but how could you leave a show like that?

It was all far too exciting, and I stayed with it for two years.'' He went on to act for another year in a ''Fair Lady'' production at the Drury Lane Theater in London, where he and the show also had an enormous success. 'By George, They've Got It!' Film critics also applauded the movie ''My Fair Lady'' and Mr. Harrison's performance in it. Bosley Crowther wrote in The Times: ''As Henry Higgins might have whooped, 'By George, they've got it!' They've made a superlative film from the musical stage show - a film that enchantingly conveys the rich endowment of the famous stage production in a fresh and flowing cinematic form.'' Mr. Harrison won further praise from Mr. Crowther for his performance in the film ''Cleopatra.'' ''Caesar is no fustian tyrant,'' the critic wrote, ''Played stunningly by Rex Harrison, he is a statesman of manifest wisdom, shrewdness and magnanimity. And he is also a fascinating study in political ambiguities. Mr.

Harrison's faceted performance is the best in the film.'' Rex Carey Harrison was born March 5, 1908, in Huyton, England, a granite-quarrying town six miles east of Liverpool. His parents were William Reginald Harrison, a cotton broker, and Edith Carey Harrison. Stagestruck from boyhood, he went to work backstage for the Liverpool Repertory at the age of 16. His first part was one line; he moved on to other acting parts, then toured for nine years in road companies of successful plays before he made his mark, initially on the London stage, where he appeared for the first time in 1930 and for the last time in 1988, in ''The Admirable Crichton.'' In 1981, Artistic Control Mr. Harrison never attended drama school, but had no regrets on that score. ''The important thing is to learn through experience,'' he said in an interview for The Times before ''The Circle'' opened in 1989. ''The more you do the more you learn. I don't think anyone can teach acting from a podium.'' Mr.

Harrison later returned to the role of Professor Higgins, to repeated standing ovations, in a 1981 Broadway revival of ''My Fair Lady,'' in which he was given total artistic control. Lauding Mr. Harrison's re-creation of the part, Frank Rich's review in The New York Times said: ''Yes, he's 25 years older - so are we all, God help us - but he still looks natty in his cardigans, his velvety smoking jacket, his ballroom finery. And he is investing the role of Henry Higgins with a generosity of spirit and mellifluous humor that only years and experience can bring.'' Mr. Harrison was married in 1934 to Marjorie Noel Collette Thomas, with whom he had a son, Noel; to the actress Lilli Palmer in 1943, with whom he also had a son, Carey; to the actress Kay Kendall in 1957; to the actress Rachel Roberts in 1962, and to Elizabeth Rees Harris in the early 1970's. All the marriages ended in divorce except the one to Miss Kendall, who died in 1959.

Sir Rex is survived by his sixth wife, Mercia Tinker, whom he married in 1978, and by his two sons. The funeral will be private, but there will be a public memorial service at 11 A.M. June 18 at the Little Church Around the Corner in Manhattan. Don't You Pause, 'Enry 'Iggins? Some of Mr. Harrison's better-known stage appearances were in the following plays: Anne of the Thousand Days, 1948 The Cocktail Party, 1950 Book and Candle, 1950 The Love of Four Colonels, 1953 My Fair Lady, 1956 The Fighting Cock, 1959 Caesar and Cleopatra, 1977 The Kingfisher, 1978 Heartbreak House, 1984 The Circle, 1989 His more than 40 films include: Major Barbara, 1941 Blithe Spirit, 1945 Anna and the King of Siam, 1946 The Ghost and Mrs.

Muir, 1947 Unfaithfully Yours, 1948 The Four Poster, 1952 Midnight Lace, 1960 Cleopatra, 1963 The Yellow Rolls-Royce, 1964 My Fair Lady, 1964 Doctor Doolittle, 1967

Question: Which actor played the role of Julius Caesar in the 1963 film "Cleopatra"?
Answer: REX HARRISON