- published: 30 Nov 2014
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Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, and Martin Landau. The music score was by Alex North. It was photographed in 70 mm Todd-AO by Leon Shamroy and an uncredited Jack Hildyard.
Cleopatra chronicles the struggles of Cleopatra VII, the young Queen of Egypt, to resist the imperialist ambitions of Rome.
In all of cinema history, Cleopatra is the most expensive film ever made (adjusted for inflation). Despite being a critical failure, it won four Academy Awards. It was the highest grossing film of 1963, earning US $26 million ($57.7 million total), yet made a loss due to its cost of $44 million, the only film ever to be the highest grossing film of the year yet to run at a loss.
The film opens in 48 B.C. shortly after the Battle of Pharsalus where Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) has defeated Pompey. Pompey flees to Egypt, hoping to enlist the support of the young Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII (Richard O'Sullivan) and his sister Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor).
Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; Late 69 B.C.E. – August 12, 30 B.C.E.), known to history as Cleopatra, was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis.
Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father Ptolemy XII Auletes and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.
Cleopatra as a firm ruler and military tactician who embarked on a ruthless rise to power. Cleopatra twice married brothers, killing each of them as well as a sister. Romantic alliances with the much-older Roman honchos Julius Caesar and Marc Antony helped her solidify power, but her dalliance with Antony undid both of them.
Keywords: character-name-in-title
Actors: Rodrigo Saquel (editor), Rasmus Mortensen (actor), Caroline Staunton (producer), Peter Sturm (writer), Peter Sturm (director), Aphroditi Evangelatou (actor), Cathy Walker (actor),
Plot: Alexander the Great in contemporary London. He appears by the Shard, perfect symbol for his panoramic domination. Smithfield Meat Market becomes the Macedonian Palace where his father is butchered. In this experimental short the mythical weaves with the modern, as Alexander re-enacts sequences from the crucial night that propelled him to immortality. Structured as a Triptych the viewer is invited to travel through both painting and frame, like a tube travels through tunnels to stations. Poetry, haunting sounds and stunning imagery create an hypnotic experience. The final long shot of the rising sun is a breathtaking metaphor for Alexander venturing forth to conquer the East.
Genres: Drama, History, Short,Actors: Mick Cusimano (writer), Mick Cusimano (director), Mick Cusimano (editor), Dawn Reger (actor), Deb Priestly (actor), Eric Zinman (actor),
Genres: Animation, Comedy, History, Sci-Fi,Actors: Jordan Funderburk (producer), Matt Hulme (miscellaneous crew), Matt Hulme (writer), Matt Hulme (director), Matt Hulme (producer), Jordan Funderburk (editor), Jordan Funderburk (writer), Jordan Funderburk (writer), Matt Hulme (costume designer), Jordan Funderburk (director), Jordan Funderburk (actor), Matt Hulme (actor), Ben Beck (actor), Joshua Sherman (actor), John Singleton (producer),
Plot: Set in the post-Apocalyptic Southwest seven years after the outbreak of a deadly and unstoppable virus, Zompyre Rising tells the dramatic and action-packed story of a small band of survivors who face relentlessly insurmountable odds. As their numbers dwindle and infighting threatens to tear the survivors apart, new hope is found that may be the very key to mankind's survival. But as they soon discover, they are not alone; they are being watched, and the virus might not be the biggest threat to their survival after all.
Genres: Action, Horror, Thriller,Actors: Kevin MacLeod (composer), Christopher Dockens (producer), Christopher Dockens (producer), Christopher Dockens (writer), Christopher Dockens (editor), Christopher Dockens (actor), Christopher Dockens (director), Rebecca Reynolds (actor),
Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Short,Actors: William Shakespeare (writer), Liz Tabish (editor), Liz Tabish (director), James Claude Bristow (actor), Ryan Nickell (actor), Colin Fleishacker (actor), Dustin Saied (actor), Lauren Casey (actress), Nick Ley (actor), Mathew John Miller (editor), Ginny McCollom (actress), Adrian Owen (actress), Charissa Lee Prchal (actress), Shannon Werner (actress), Will Hughes (actor),
Plot: A series of six short films based on Shakespeare's tragedies, conceptualized by a variety of film genres. Including: Othello: A Silent Film, Romeo & Juliet: A Film Noir, Hamlet: A Classical Hollywood Motion Picture, Macbeth: A Horror Film, Antony & Cleopatra: A Cult Musical, Julius Caesar: A Surrealist Film
Keywords: anthology, genre-mix, neo-noir, reference-to-shakespeare's-antony-and-cleopatra, reference-to-shakespeare's-hamlet, reference-to-shakespeare's-julius-caesar, reference-to-shakespeare's-macbeth, reference-to-shakespeare's-othello, reference-to-shakespeare's-romeo-and-juliet, surrealismActors: Alain Jakubowicz (editor), Danny Trejo (actor), George Payne (actor), Anthony Geary (actor), George Payne (actor), Jack Rader (actor), J.J. Johnston (actor), Rick Nathanson (miscellaneous crew), Ric Mancini (actor), Bert Williams (actor), Garry Schyman (composer), Steve Antin (actor), Leon Isaac Kennedy (producer), Leon Isaac Kennedy (actor), Anthony Winters (actor),
Genres: Comedy, Crime, Sport,Actors: María Luisa San José (actress), Pedro del Rey (editor), Alberto Dalbés (actor), Rafael Hernández (actor), Luis María Delgado (director), Máximo Valverde (actor), Luis María Delgado (writer), Bárbara Rey (actress), Carlos Ballesteros (actor), Carmen Platero (actress), Víctor Alcázar (actor), Ángel Pavlovsky (actor), Peter Koch (writer), Azpilizcueta Artime (writer), J.A. Valdeón (writer),
Genres: Comedy,Actors: Elizabeth Taylor (actress), Leon Askin (actor), Peter Ustinov (director), George Raft (actor), Dominic Frontiere (composer), Peter Ustinov (actor), Leon Ames (actor), Beau Bridges (actor), Richard Burton (actor), David E. Blewitt (editor), Anthony Holland (actor), John Schuck (actor), Bonnie Prendergast (miscellaneous crew), Brook Williams (actor), Marjorie Eaton (actress),
Plot: The Faust legend retold (loosely) and applied to a mentally disturbed patient in a hospital run by a doctor of dubious sanity himself. The patient (Burton) offers the innocent orderly (Bridges) vast riches if he'll help him escape.
Keywords: black-comedy, character-name-in-title, escape, independent-film, insane-asylum, insanity, mental-institution, pact, patient, scamActors: Samuel Z. Arkoff (producer), Richard Matheson (producer), Joe E. Brown (actor), Boris Karloff (actor), Peter Lorre (actor), James H. Nicholson (miscellaneous crew), Les Baxter (composer), Harvey Parry (actor), Vincent Price (actor), Basil Rathbone (actor), Samuel Z. Arkoff (miscellaneous crew), Richard Matheson (writer), James H. Nicholson (producer), Richard Matheson (writer), Jacques Tourneur (director),
Plot: Waldo Trumbull, an undertaker who hasn't had any 'customers' in a long time is forced the pay one year's back-rent. To get money he starts to kill people in order to get new clients.
Keywords: alcoholic, animal-in-cast-credits, axe, black-comedy, breaking-and-entering, buried-alive, carpenter, casket, cat, coffinActors: Jack Benny (actor), Jack Benny (actor), Milton Berle (actor), Milton Berle (actor), Kirk Douglas (actor), Laurence Harvey (actor), Laurence Harvey (actor), Charlton Heston (actor), Lena Horne (actress), Janis Paige (actress), Barry Shear (director), William O. Harbach (producer),
Plot: Berle tries a comeback with this special, with highlights showing him competing with Jack trying to demonstrate the right approach Laurence Harvey should take in comedy, and a musical skit where Jack as Ben Hur, Harvey as Spartacus and Milton as Cleopatra lamenting their Movie depictions. Kirk Douglas and Charlton Heston make silent, uncredited cameos.
Genres: Comedy,