Cleopatra (TV Series) Part 1 (1999) User Reviews

Nose Bad (dvd)

[leplatypus · 7/10 · 30 December 2021]

The DVD version consists of 2 episodes, the parricide of Caesar being the juncture. In addition, the language was Spanish without subtitles. Hence, it's hard for me to review in depth this movie because because i didn't understand what was said.

Cleopatra being an historic icon, the part is very difficult and i found that for a newcomer, Leonor Varela just plays fine. She is strong-willed but also a very supportive, tender soul mate. Thimothy Dalton as Caesar is perfect and their romance is the main thing of the first episode. So, it is not really a documentary, nor a peplum but a great love story.

After the parricide, a new lover comes (Marc-Antoine) but the flavor is gone: we remember always our first love. So, i found the second episode dull and their tragic fate isn't told powerfully.

Nonetheless, the production is luxurious: the sets are big, tastefully decorated; the Moroccan live location exotic and the wardrobes splendid. The producers have a lot of money for sure, but they spend nothing on the special effects. They are so poor (blue screens, ships, Sphinx) that it's funny.

Finally, I would like very much to hear it in french or English to make a definitive opinion about this two movies.

Hard to get history right, but I felt I was there.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 15 April 2023]

An absolutely thrilling start to the saga of one of the most popular queens in history, or at least the one with the greatest legend. A difficult casting decision had lots of barriers even befkre the decision was made. Even predecessors Theda Bara and Claudette Colbert pale in comparison to the memory of Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 epic, and even being older than the real deal, it's Liz whom people think of when Cleopatra is mentioned in the context of film history. Chilean Leonor Varela plays the serpent of the Nile here, and while stunning to look at, isn't of similar star quality, effective to get the job done, a bit more than just serviceable, but nearly fading in the background in scenes with Timothy Dalton, perfectly cast as Julius Caesar.

There's a bit more detail to her banishment from Egypt after being declared pharaoh, with a younger half sister Arsinoe (along with the simpering eunich regent Ponthius) equally as scheming and getting her comeuppance thanks to the loyalty of Cleopatra's guard. When Julius admonishes her for her actions and other ruthlessness within the family, I immediately thought of Caesar's own family as documented in the BBC classic "I Claudius". This isn't particularly well acted outside of Dalton, with Kassandra Voyagis playing Arsinoe as if she was one of the real housewives of Cairo. But the episode scores beautifully with sensational sets and costumes, terrific photography (particularly the battle scenes) and most memorably, one of the most gorgeous film scores of the recent past. Half way through the episode, the first glimpse of Billy Zane as Mark Anthony and Rupert Graves as the future Augustus Caesar (Octavian) appears, and it's obvious that Graves has already taken over part II before it even begjns.