Customer Reviews

Cleopatra

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Firstly I must say that even though the approach they take is very different I really love and appreciate BOTH versions of "Cleopatra". It seems to be inevitable that the two are endlessly compared as to their general worth but in reality they are very different while essentially telling the same story.

I found Claudette Colbert to be an excellent Cleopatra and while she is most famous for portraying sophisticated modern women in "Cleopatra" and her other epic production from that time, "The Sign of the Cross" she captures beautifully the feel of that far off time in history. Claudette was an extremely capable actress equally adept at performing in comedy, drama and spectacle. Here she has a role of a lifetime and it is one of the roles she is justly remembered most for.

Contrary to what a lot of reviewers always state I find Cecil B DeMille's work wonderful to watch. I guess being a history buff I just love the times most of his productions are set in.I think that a great deal of thought and care has gone into all his productions...no more obvious than in his 1934 version of "Cleopatra"
The film positvely glows with one exotic scene after another. Cleopatra's seduction of Marc Antony on her barge has to be seen to be believed!! Surely the queen's real barge was never so lavish!! Her entry into Rome as part of Ceasar's entourage while well done can't possibly compare to the incredibly lavish entry scene in Elizabeth Taylor's version unfortunately.
As a history exercise it stays close to what real history says happened but never once does the entertainment let up. The settings , costumnes, music used are pure DeMille and are thus a sight for the eye. I feel that Claudette also has tried to inject more of a human element into her characterisation displaying frustration and fear of things that might occur and tiredness at the burden she must carry as one Queen up against the whole Roman Empire. When she exclaims "It's always Egypt!" meaning it is her resposibilities always ahead of her own needs she displays a great human side to a impressive character.

I can't fault this production and it still holds up today as impressive entertainment. I never tire of the story of the Queen of the Nile and all the intrigues of her court. And the costumns and sets make the film well worth viewing for that alone.

Not a really great history lesson but terrific entertainment as it was intended. They dont make films like this one nowadays mores the pity!!!.

After reading the reviews left by other AMAZON folk, I must admit that I am happy to (still) be able to view a cinematic work, using the frame of reference of its (own) time rather than that of the twenty-first century... even though this monument remains thoroughly watch-able today. I regard this film as neither Kamp(sic) nor Kitsch.

To me, whenever a film, of any era, comes close to "opera" , I am won-over... completely; I use "opera" in the sense of spectacle transcending its storyline to become something larger than itself... and this film soars.

Although of a film acting-tradition "of the grand gesture", most of the performances are thoroughly winning... and Henry Wilcoxen is simply STUNNING as Marc Antony... in all senses of that word. Miss Colbert equally triumphs as the young queen, wise beyond her years... "pulling-out all the stops" to secure her position as ruler of Egypt.

As another reviewer attests... that "royal barge" seduction scene, in which Cleopatra secures the devotion of Marc Antony is truly breathtaking... the most beautiful... and effortless "abduction" ever; the poor beguiled Roman wakes-up in Eqypt! This one, single, magically-crafted scene, on its own, warrants seeing this film.

As movie viewers, part of the experience must be acceptance and self-surrender. We must not impose our personal twenty-first century sophistication upon what we are viewing. Instead, we must accept any film on its own terms, understanding the era in which it was conceived, so much as we might be able. To do otherwise will almost invariably diminish the cinematic experience; we must allow a film to "wash over" us. In defense of C.B.deMille, I must cite that so many of the scenes... scenes of "huge-ness", were conveyed with beautiful efficiency by positioning... or "immersing" the camera in such a way as to capture the "intimacy" of that particular scene... even those scenes of battle... and that is something both practical and artistic... and very modern. It would very difficult to realistically capture the vastness of Egypt in any other way; the camera plunges us into the scene, as if the scene were unfolding around us.

I own this movie, and every so often, I indulge all over again, so if you have never seen this film, I encourage you to do so; like so many others, I am certain that you, too, will find yourself recalling the magic of this great movie, long after its viewing. Enjoy!!!

I have been looking forward to this film on dvd for some time. unfortunately
the print isn't especially in mint condition. i recently bought the Pre-Code
Hollywood set also from Universal Home Video and films in this set looked
much better. this is particulary surprising since the films in the boxed
set are older than CLEOPATRA. With all the digital technology available
today the 75th Anniversary Edition of Demille's 1934 Oscar winning film
could have looked a hell of a lot better.

The 75th Anniversary edition of Demille's Cleopatra is good. The Picture isn't any better than the previous one in the box set from a few years back. This could have been remastered in HD, and perhaps it will someday-------the "new way" in DVD entertainment is to re-issue and re-issue a film with a few new extra each time.
What baffles me the most is that the famous ten minute short "The Hollywood You Never See" which is a behind the scenes look at the filming Cleopatra with DeMille, Colbert and other members of the cast and crew wasn't an extra. It's quite interesting.

I am probably speaking against popular opinion, but for those who can look beyond the flamboyance of Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra, Claudette Colbert does far more justice to the image of Cleopatra. Not only does she have the perfect sultry and seductive charm, her deep, resonant voice depicts the powerful female far better than Taylor's ineffectively weak one.

Claudette Colbert isn't really an actress you'd expect to find playing the Queen of the Nile, but she and her co-stars make the 1930s film version a lot more entertaining than the mammoth Elizabeth Taylor version ever was: playing with tongue firmly in cheek from a very high-flown script indeed, they make CLEOPATRA a very entertaining show.

Although the film holds true to stereotypes rather than fact, it is consistent in its presentation of ancient Egypt, and everything looks and sounds like it belongs together. The 1930s costumes and sets (which refrence earlier Deco interpretations of Egyptian motif rather than the originals themselves) are lavish, and they lend a great deal of fun to the slightly whoopsie nature of the performances. If you're looking for a serious, historical Cleopatra, you won't find her in de Mille's over-the-top film--but it is a LOT of fun!

I love this movie. I especially love and admire Warren William who, in my estimation, was the greatest heart throb of his time. That beautiful voice and his profile -- well, he beats out John Barrymore's profile in my opinion! What I liked most of all was the music. The music was so beautiful, especially when Cleo seduces Caesar on her boat floating down the Nile! This movie wins over the remake with Elizabeth Taylor which I thought was a huge piece of nonsense. Claudette Colbert was exquisite as Cleopatra, so full of life and lust for power!

That's the one at the end of the seduction scene on Cleo's ship, when the curtains come down around the besotted lovers, and the air is full of flower petals, and best of all, we see the men rowing the boat away, as the big drum is struck over and over and all the oars have the gilded head of some animal, are they giraffles? The music, the artificial moon on the water, the drum the rise and fall of the oar heads.

And besides that, nobody ever looked better in a Roman helmet than Henry Wilcoxen. And even though there is a lot of hammy acting, Colbert is beautiful beyond anybody who ever did Cleo, and her voice is lucious, and when Henry says "I'm dying Egypt, dying," I always puddle up a little. It is my favorite DeMille movie.

I originally had to watch this for a University class, but after seeing it I couldn't stop raving about it! In a class studying your average 'sword&sandal' Roman spectacle, this movie had the class and lavish sets and costumes of Old Hollywood combined with a fresh humour that seems never to have tarnished. Claudette Colbert, I must admit, I'd never heard of before, but she was stunning in the title role. It was obvious that she had fun with it, and there isn't anything I like better to see! Definitely recommended for a good popcorn and couch night!

Visually stunning - Colbert included! One of De Mille's best - if not THE best - sound films, in GLORIOUS BLACK AND WHITE.

Please, ignore another reviewers comments - colourised films do nothing but injustice to the original material, and are purely for the lazy and unappreciative.