Cleopatra (Blu-ray) (1963)

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General		Extras
Category	Historical Epic	Audio Commentary Featurette-Cleopatra Through the Ages Featurette-Cleopatra's Missing Footage Featurette-Fox Movie Channel presents Fox Legacy Featurette-The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence Featurette-Making Of-Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood Featurette-The Fourth Star of Cleopatra Featurette-Fox Movietone News Theatrical Trailer-x 3
Rating
Year Of Production	1963
Running Time	251:07
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Joseph L. Mankiewicz Rouben Mamoulian Darryl F. Zanuck
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Elizabeth Taylor Richard Burton Rex Harrison Pamela Brown George Cole Hume Cronyn Cesare Danova Kenneth Haigh Andrew Keir Martin Landau Roddy McDowall Robert Stephens Francesca Annis
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Alex North

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Dolby Digital 4.0 L-R-LS-RS French dts 5.1 Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish dts 5.1 English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.20:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.20:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	Danish Dutch English for the Hearing Impaired English Finnish French Hebrew Icelandic Mandarin Norwegian Portuguese Spanish Swedish Danish Audio Commentary Dutch Audio Commentary Finnish Audio Commentary French Audio Commentary Spanish Audio Commentary Chinese Audio Commentary Norwegian Audio Commentary	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     The plot of Cleopatra is probably less important than the off-screen carryings on or the sumptuous spectacle on screen. After his victory in the Roman Civil War at Pharsalus, Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) follows the defeated Pompey to Egypt, where he finds that Pompey has been killed by the order of the boy Pharaoh Ptolemy and his advisors. Determined to secure Egypt, Caesar meets and is captivated by the Pharaoh’s sister Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor); Caesar makes Cleopatra ruler of Egypt, they become lovers and she bears him a son. Caesar returns to Rome and later Cleopatra follows, making a spectacular entrance into the city. When Caesar is assassinated on the Ides of March by a group of Roman Senators led by Brutus (Kenneth Haigh), Cleopatra takes Caesar’s son and returns to Egypt.

     Caesar’s lieutenant Mark Antony (Richard Burton) and Caesar’s nephew Octavian (Roddy McDowall) pursue and destroy Brutus and the other assassins, but the two quickly become enemies. Antony seeks the support of Egypt and Cleopatra and the two fall deeply in love. But Octavian proves to be the better politician and tactician, and at the naval battle of Actium the forces of Antony and Cleopatra are defeated. They return to Egypt, but Octavian follows. Accepting the inevitable Antony and Cleopatra commit suicide, ending the last of a long line of Egyptian Pharaohs. Octavian (or Caesar Augustus as he became known to history) is now sole ruler of the Roman world.

     Cleopatra is perhaps best known for the torrid love affair commenced on set between Burton and Taylor, both of whom were married to others at the time. There was also cost over-runs created by a life threatening illness to Taylor, which delayed production for a substantial time, the fact that the shoot moved from England to Italy, and changed director to Joseph L. Mankiewicz, whose health was destroyed by the workload he undertook, including rewriting the screenplay as well as directing. It is all there in the comprehensive warts and all 2001 documentary included as an extra on disc 2 of this Blu-ray set, Cleopatra: The Film that Changed Hollywood , a fascinating piece of filmmaking in its own right and a must watch for anyone remotely interested in epic filmmaking.

     It is perhaps hard to judge properly the merits of Cleopatra as a film such was the hype surrounding the whole production. The film boasts magnificent sets, perhaps some of the most sumptuous and beautiful sets ever committed to a film. The Roman forum and Cleopatra’s palace and Alexandria are finely detailed to the smallest degree, and the money spent is all up there on the screen. However, it is some of the set pieces that take the breath away. For example, the triumphal procession of Cleopatra into Rome is magical and stunning, one of the largest and most spectacular set pieces ever committed to film (the one in Gladiator pales into insignificance in comparison), but there are others that are just as stunning, such as the arrival of Cleopatra’s gold barge, replete with red sails are ochre smoke, in Tarsus to meet Antony. The naval battle of Actium, in a period without CGI, is not too shabby either.

     Added to the spectacle is the magnificent score by Alex North which perfectly enhances the visuals. North was used to ‘big’ scores and was nominated for 15 Oscars between 1952 and 1985, including for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Spartacus (1960), Cleopatra and The Shoes of the Fisherman (1969), but won not one, although he finally received recognition in 1986 with an Honorary Award. Cleopatra itself was nominated for Oscars in 9 categories and won 4, for Art Direction / Set Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design and Visual Effects. Those four wins do indeed accurately point out the film’s strengths.

     It is true that Cleopatra can be quite talky and slow moving in places, and the chemistry between Harrison and Taylor lacking (something that could never be said about the scenes between Taylor and Burton). The dialogue 50 years on can sometimes feel clunky as well, but at its best it can be quite exquisite. And, in the end, there is always Elizabeth Taylor who is stunningly beautiful throughout and gets to wear (or almost wear in some cases) some gorgeous costumes.

     Cleopatra is a sumptuous epic the like we will never see again. Made in the period before CGI, some of the sequences, such as Cleopatra’s entrance into Rome, have never been bettered for spectacle upon the screen. There is also opulent costumes and magnificent sets and Elizabeth Taylor at her most gorgeous. Forget the myths – this is filmmaking done on an epic scale where everything – including the behind the scenes – is larger than life! This is a one of a kind and Cleopatra looks stunning in this Blu-ray release.

Video

     Cleopatra is presented on Blu-ray in an aspect ratio of 2.20:1 in MPEG-4 AVC, 1080p. The film was released in two versions, a 70 mm print at 2.20:1 (which was also the negative ratio) and the 35 mm print at 2.35:1.

     In a word “stunning”. The Todd-AO process gives a wonderful depth of field meaning that the extensive sets and crowd scenes are beautiful realised, with every aspect clear and detailed far into the background. In this film, much of the money spent is up there on the screen and this Blu-ray allows us to see everything, picking out things in the back ground I had never noticed before. Colours are magnificent, deep, vibrant and rich, blacks intense and shadow detail pristine and there is pleasing film grain. Skin tones are natural although in some scenes, such as Cleopatra’s arrival in Tarsus on her barge (12:00 disc 2), she has a very dark suntan that disappears in her subsequent scene with Antony! These scenes were obviously filmed at different time over the long shoot, resulting in the different skin tones. However, this is one picture where one just looks at the colours and detail on screen in awe!

     The print is not perfect, however. There is an amount of ghosting with movement (examples include 34:14, 79:05 on disc 1, 30:10, 47:44 on disc 2 but there are many examples) plus the odd spot of aliasing (52:46 disc 1 on the verticals). Despite restoration, the occasional fleck of dirt still occurs, such as at 81:46, but only momentarily. Still, this is a 50 year old film that looks fabulous.

     Subtitles are available in a range of languages including Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Icelandic, Mandarin, Norwegian, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish x 2, Swedish and English for the Hearing Impaired. I portioned the English subtitles which only omitted the odd word.

     Subtitles are also available for the audio commentary in English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Mandarin.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
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Audio

     Audio is a choice of English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English Dolby Digital 4.0, French and Spanish DTS 5.1, Portuguese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and English commentary Dolby Digital 2.0. The English DTS is impressive.

     The dialogue is always clear and centred. Much of the film is also very front oriented, with most sound from the front speakers. The surrounds provide some music and the occasional effects, such as horses’ hooves during Cleopatra’s procession into Rome. The sub-woofer has occasional input for storm effects and some music.

     Lip synchronisation was occasionally off, but not excessively so.

     The original score by Alex North is a magnificent adjunct to the film’s visuals. It is epic in scope, moody and subtle when it needs to be and a character in its own right.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     A wealth of genuine extras, some in HD. Many, but not all, have been on previous DVD releases. The jewel in the crown is the fabulous documentary Cleopatra: The Film that Changed Hollywood which gets my vote as one of the best documentaries about a film ever made.

Audio Commentary

     There is a full length commentary running over both discs. This is a stitched together commentary with participants Chris Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz, Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky contributing at different times. Each was recorded separately and some information is repeated, or even contradicted. They were obviously part of wider commentaries for a number of them mention other things they will talk about, but don’t in the commentary. Chris and Tom Mankiewicz are the sons of director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Martin Landau played Rufio and Jack Brodsky was a publicist for the film and co-author of The Cleopatra Papers, a selection from which is included elsewhere in the extras.

     Martin Landau provides the comments for the first 90 minutes of disc 1. There are silences but he is watching the film and has entertaining memories of the shoot although he also provides wide-ranging views on a number of topics including the missing footage and the Burton /Taylor romance. For the final 30 minutes of disc 1, plus the first 12 minutes on disc 2, Tom Mankiewicz remembers being an 18 year old on the set in Rome with some interesting anecdotes about Harrison and Burton /Taylor. From 12 to 68 minutes on disc 2, Chris Mankiewicz takes over. He is more candid about tensions and problems on set, but does say things look “fabulous” or “terrific” a few too many times. At 68 minutes, Martin Landau returns for 10 minutes (without reintroduction it must be said, even in the subtitles), mainly talking about his character, but with lots of gaps. At 80 minutes, Jack Brodsky starts, talking about the book he co-authored, his experience and the Burton /Taylor affair. Then at 108 minutes Tom Mankiewicz returns for the rest of the picture, although there are significant gaps.

     Given the various contributors, and the way this commentary track has been put together, this is a patchy commentary, sometimes interesting, sometimes hard going and with gaps. Still worth a listen.

     The other extra features are on both discs.

Disc 1

Cleopatra Through the Ages (7:51)

     Academic Stuart Tyson Smith examines how Cleopatra has been portrayed in literature, plays, painting and film through the ages starting with Plutarch and her demonization by the Romans (who were the victors). Outlines what little we know about the real Cleopatra. Short but interesting. In HD.

Cleopatra’s Missing Footage (8:12)

     The original rough cuts and work-prints of Cleopatra ran over eight hours and five hours respectively. The film was released in 3 versions, with the original New York premier lasting 4 hours and 6 minutes before being cut down to just over 3 hours for general release. Film historian Brad Geagley and Fox Film Archivist Schawn Belston discuss the search for the missing elements as part of the restoration of the film for DVD / BD release. In HD.

Fox Movie Channel presents Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman (29:29)

     A more modern (2011) look at the troubled shoot of Cleopatra. Rothman draws on his own experiences with Titanic and re-evaluates some of the myths about Cleopatra, including the myth that it lost a lot of money for the studio. The true legacy of Cleopatra is that the off screen antics of the stars and the shoot overshadowed the film itself. Light hearted, amusing and entertaining. In SD.

The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence

     Jack Brodsky and Nathan Weiss were two 20th Century Fox publicists during the shooting of Cleopatra, one in America, one in Rome. Originally published in book form in 1963, collected here are 20 of their letters to each other from 1961 – 1962 giving an insider’s insight into the scandals on set as they developed. Fascinating stuff. In HD.

Disc 2

Cleopatra: The Film that Changed Hollywood (119:50)

     This comprehensive 2001 Documentary narrated by Robert Culp that tells one everything one wanted to know, and more, about the making of Cleopatra from the inception of the project as a quickie “B” movie to Hollywood myth, is thankfully repeated from the earlier DVD Special Edition release. It is all here; the false start in England, Taylor’s near death illness, the filming in Rome and the scandal that got everyone involved, even the Vatican. The documentary consists of archive footage and stills, footage shot during the false start in England with Peter Finch as Caesar and Stephen Boyd as Antony, as well as interviews with the wife and sons of Joseph Mankiewicz (director), the daughter of Walter Wanger (producer), the son of Rex Harrison, friends of Richard Burton, various journalists, film publicists, film historians and film archivists, ex-Fox executives David Brown and Richard Zanuck and actors Roddy McDowall, Keith Baxter, Hume Cronyn, John Karlsen and Martin Landau. A fabulous, entertaining documentary that warrants repeated viewings. In SD.

The Fourth Star of Cleopatra (9:06)

     A 1960’s EPK looking at the set and production design of Cleopatra. In SD.

Fox Movietone News (6:19)

     Two Fox Movietone news segments lauding the Cleopatra premiers in New York, Hollywood and Washington DC. In SD.

Theatrical Trailers (10:03)

     Three 1960’s theatrical trailers. In SD.

     The release of Cleopatra is identical worldwide.

     Cleopatra is a sumptuous epic. Some of the sequences, such as Cleopatra’s entrance into Rome, have never been bettered for spectacle upon the screen, there is opulent costumes, magnificent set design and Elizabeth Taylor at her most gorgeous. This is filmmaking done on an epic scale.

     Cleopatra has never looked more stunning than on this Blu-ray release. The video is wonderful, the audio great and there are fabulous extras, although many, but not all, were on the previous DVD 3 disc special edition. For fans of epic Hollywood filmmaking, this is a no brainer. Buy it!

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Extras
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