(This comment contains specific examples of the story and plot that some might consider spoilers. If you have not seen the movie, you might want to wait until you have seen it to read this comment.)
This latest remake of Cleopatra is well done and surprisingly good for a TV movie (now in rental). I saw it on VHS in its entirety rather than broken down into two parts in the mini-series.
The costumes and sets were very well done, and true to the period. The battle scenes were lacking in realism, probably due to the prospects of a TV audience. The naval battles looked a little too much like toy models (which of course they were). The slave galleys showing the men rowing the boats were pristine and shiny like the cabin of some rich yacht, an obvious error.
My biggest bewilderment came over the fact that they shot this movie on video tape. They tried to make it look like film in the post production, but it didn't work. This seems to be fairly common practice in TV movies, but for a movie of this magnitude, where they obviously had a big budget for numerous sets, hundreds of extras, costumes and the like, why shoot it on video tape? It detracted from the overall richness of the photography and the movie as a whole. This is particularly disappointing since the sets and costumes were so meticulously well done.
The directing in this movie was very good. Franc Roddam coordinated the movements of large groups of people in very realistic ways. The camera work was very good and gave the viewer a lot of interesting perspectives. Unfortunately, there were some serious liberties taken with historical fact. For instance the film shows Ptolemy to be a cowering 12 years old when Caesar arrives in 47 BC. He was actually 19. It shows Caesar demanding that Cleopatra marry her brother, but she was married to him long before Caesar arrived in Egypt. The film shows Cleopatra having her sister Arsinoe killed and her brother-husband being killed in pursuit before Caesar left, but neither of those things happened. As a matter of fact, both were alive and well in 44 BC when Caesar was murdered.
Also, there is no definitive evidence that Cleopatra's son was fathered by Caesar and certainly no evidence that Caesar publicly declared such.
The biggest perversion of the truth was the death of Mark Antony. He did not die from wounds received in a naval battle. He committed suicide. Cleopatra realized that Octavian would defeat Antony and felt she had to get rid of him for political reasons. So she had her servants send word to him that she was dead and in grief he fell on his sword.
The story completely neglects her attempt at trying to seduce Octavian and his rebuking of her. It treats their last encounter more like a business negotiation. This was not inconsequential since it was one of the motivations for her suicide.
The acting was extremely well done. First honors go to Timothy Dalton for a powerful rendition of Caesar. He was both potent and passionate, just the way one would expect a brilliant ego maniac like Caesar to be.
Billy Zane delivered an excellent performance of the complex Mark Antony. I've seen criticism of his portrayal as being too sniveling with Cleopatra, but in reality he was utterly submissive to her and despite being a powerful leader, he was her emotional slave. He was torn between Rome and his obsession with Cleopatra, and continually submitted to her will. He carried off the internal conflict very well.
Leonor Varela is a newcomer and a little rough around the edges. In certain areas, she was magnificent. She captured the cunning seductiveness of Cleopatra, using her siren sexuality as a weapon to achieve her aims. She looked stunningly alluring, and her many translucent robes sometimes made it difficult to concentrate on the dialogue. Unfortunately, she tended to overact the emotional parts, especially rage. Hopefully, she will improve with experience.
I rated this movie a 7/10. If it were shot on film I probably would have added at least a point, maybe two. It was extremely entertaining and I would recommend those who missed it on TV to rent the video.
This latest remake of Cleopatra is well done and surprisingly good for a TV movie (now in rental). I saw it on VHS in its entirety rather than broken down into two parts in the mini-series.
The costumes and sets were very well done, and true to the period. The battle scenes were lacking in realism, probably due to the prospects of a TV audience. The naval battles looked a little too much like toy models (which of course they were). The slave galleys showing the men rowing the boats were pristine and shiny like the cabin of some rich yacht, an obvious error.
My biggest bewilderment came over the fact that they shot this movie on video tape. They tried to make it look like film in the post production, but it didn't work. This seems to be fairly common practice in TV movies, but for a movie of this magnitude, where they obviously had a big budget for numerous sets, hundreds of extras, costumes and the like, why shoot it on video tape? It detracted from the overall richness of the photography and the movie as a whole. This is particularly disappointing since the sets and costumes were so meticulously well done.
The directing in this movie was very good. Franc Roddam coordinated the movements of large groups of people in very realistic ways. The camera work was very good and gave the viewer a lot of interesting perspectives. Unfortunately, there were some serious liberties taken with historical fact. For instance the film shows Ptolemy to be a cowering 12 years old when Caesar arrives in 47 BC. He was actually 19. It shows Caesar demanding that Cleopatra marry her brother, but she was married to him long before Caesar arrived in Egypt. The film shows Cleopatra having her sister Arsinoe killed and her brother-husband being killed in pursuit before Caesar left, but neither of those things happened. As a matter of fact, both were alive and well in 44 BC when Caesar was murdered.
Also, there is no definitive evidence that Cleopatra's son was fathered by Caesar and certainly no evidence that Caesar publicly declared such.
The biggest perversion of the truth was the death of Mark Antony. He did not die from wounds received in a naval battle. He committed suicide. Cleopatra realized that Octavian would defeat Antony and felt she had to get rid of him for political reasons. So she had her servants send word to him that she was dead and in grief he fell on his sword.
The story completely neglects her attempt at trying to seduce Octavian and his rebuking of her. It treats their last encounter more like a business negotiation. This was not inconsequential since it was one of the motivations for her suicide.
The acting was extremely well done. First honors go to Timothy Dalton for a powerful rendition of Caesar. He was both potent and passionate, just the way one would expect a brilliant ego maniac like Caesar to be.
Billy Zane delivered an excellent performance of the complex Mark Antony. I've seen criticism of his portrayal as being too sniveling with Cleopatra, but in reality he was utterly submissive to her and despite being a powerful leader, he was her emotional slave. He was torn between Rome and his obsession with Cleopatra, and continually submitted to her will. He carried off the internal conflict very well.
Leonor Varela is a newcomer and a little rough around the edges. In certain areas, she was magnificent. She captured the cunning seductiveness of Cleopatra, using her siren sexuality as a weapon to achieve her aims. She looked stunningly alluring, and her many translucent robes sometimes made it difficult to concentrate on the dialogue. Unfortunately, she tended to overact the emotional parts, especially rage. Hopefully, she will improve with experience.
I rated this movie a 7/10. If it were shot on film I probably would have added at least a point, maybe two. It was extremely entertaining and I would recommend those who missed it on TV to rent the video.