"Monumental Mouse"
An all-region British Bluray of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's tediously talky Cleopatra ('63) will be available in three weeks. The 20th Century Fox release opened in June '63 so where do they get off calling it a 50th anniversary edition?
I hate to admit it but I'll be buying this damn thing because it was shot by Leon Shamroy in 70mm Todd-AO and will therefore almost certainly look immaculate on Bluray. I can watch stodgy big-studio films if they were shot by seasoned pros on expensive large-format stock. I have that skill, that knack. I shut my mind off and meditate on the resolution and the tonalities and push the other stuff aside.
Update: It turns out the British version is good for regions A, B and C. The Amazon page says it's only Region 2.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cleopatra-Blu-ray-Elizabeth-Taylor/dp/B005QV2OV6/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1326079675&sr=1-1
Here's my best Cleopatra piece, called "20 Brilliant Seconds."
What New York critic called Cleopatra a "monumental mouse" in her review? Not Kael.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 8, 2012 at 6:51 PM
comment #1
Jericho Cane
says ...
50 years since the beginning of principal photography?
They should've had that Judith Crist "monumental mouse" quote on the cover.
Posted by Jericho Cane
at January 8, 2012 7:17 PM
comment #2
Jeffrey Wells
says ...
Photography on the first version (i.e., the one with Peter Finch as Ceasar) began in London in 1960. The Taylor-Burton-Harrison version began filming in Rome the following year, and kept filming through much if not most of '62. Additional filming (i.e., the post-battle opening with Harrison after Caesar's defeat of Pompey) was shot in early '63.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_(1963_film)
Posted by Jeffrey Wells
at January 8, 2012 7:41 PM
comment #3
Robert Cashill
says ...
It's region-free. Zoom around the back cover image and you'll see: http://www.play.com/DVD/Blu-ray/4-/24317082/Cleopatra/Product.html?searchtype=allproducts&searchsource=0&searchstring=cleopatra&urlrefer=search
Posted by Robert Cashill
at January 8, 2012 7:42 PM
comment #4
raygo
says ...
There are so many guilty pleasures in Cleopatra, it's hard not to enjoy it. Taylor was smoking hot in the tub scene.
Posted by raygo
at January 8, 2012 7:48 PM
comment #5
Jericho Cane
says ...
Good lord. The production was even more than a clusterfuck than I thought.
Speaking of Leon Shamroy, the minute they release LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN on the format is the minute I finally take the plunge and get myself a bluray player.
Posted by Jericho Cane
at January 8, 2012 7:51 PM
comment #6
arispil
says ...
Liz Taylor = gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh...
Posted by arispil
at January 8, 2012 7:53 PM
comment #7
George Prager
says ...
I'll buy a BluRay when DOGS IN SPACE comes out.
Posted by George Prager
at January 8, 2012 7:58 PM
comment #8
Jesse Crall
says ...
Vanity Fair ran a pretty good article on the disastrous Cleopatra shoot a while back. It's probably available online.
At the very least, Cleopatra and its ilk helped usher in the New Hollywood.
Posted by Jesse Crall
at January 8, 2012 8:08 PM
comment #9
Travis Actiontree
says ...
Jeffrey needs a Bluray intervention.
Posted by Travis Actiontree
at January 8, 2012 10:56 PM
comment #10
Kakihara
says ...
Jeff: Maybe they heard about that attempted David Fincher and Angelina Jolie Cleopatra movie, and just wanted to get the BD in while it's still in the news.
Posted by Kakihara
at January 9, 2012 4:46 AM
comment #11
Paul
says ...
This is one of my big Hollywood regrets. The finished product is a mess, but the tragedy is that it was meant to be two films. Those could have worked really well. Unfortunately, the extra footage is (I believe) lost so we will never see it. It would have been cool to see an attempt to cobble together that two-film vision.
There is a lot in the film that I really enjoy. If I'm remembering my Hollywood Elsewhere history, Jeff, didn't you once highlight Roddy McDowell's "Antony is dead" speech a few years ago? That's one of those moments in the film that I really appreciate.
Thanks for the head's up on that "Vanity Fair" article, Jesse. I am going to try tracking it down.
Posted by Paul
at January 9, 2012 7:49 AM
comment #12
the sandwich
says ...
One of Liz's hottest roles.
And for all the sluggishness of the story, like Jeff, the spectacle carries me through the run time.
Now where's my Butterfield 8/ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Blu? HD super hot Liz.
Posted by the sandwich
at January 9, 2012 8:06 AM
comment #13
Jeffrey Wells
says ...
"Is that how one says it? As simply as that? Antony is dead. Lord Antony is dead. The soup is hot, the soup is cold, Antony is living, Antony is dead.
"Shake with terror when such words pass your lips, for fear they be untrue! And Antony cut out your tongue for the lie, if not true!
"For your lifetime boast that you were honored to speak his name even in death! The dying of such a man must be shouted, screamed...it must echo back from the corners of the universe. Antony is dead! Marc Antony of Rome lives no more!"
Here's the mp3.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells
at January 9, 2012 8:51 AM
comment #14
Paul
says ...
Ha! That's the one! I think you posted the .mp3 of it, or someone here did because it ended up on my old .mp3 player. This led to the occasional humorous moment when I had the "Random Play All" feature going.
While the whole "ushering in the New Hollywood" part is a pleasant cause and effect of the "Cleopatra" debacle, I do miss the films that it represents. Over the Christmas holiday I had occasion to watch both "Doctor Zhivago" and "Spartacus", and do miss the pageantry of those kinds of films. I particularly miss overtures in film!
Posted by Paul
at January 9, 2012 9:18 AM
comment #15
LicentiousMaximus
says ...
Been forever since I've seen this, what I remember most though is the stark contrast between the old school stage acting of Rex Harrison et al and Burton's more modern approach. Of course I was on a lot of drugs at the time, so there's that....
Posted by LicentiousMaximus
at January 9, 2012 9:49 AM
comment #16
SummitTechnology
says ...
We have to watch the earliest edition make on the same story first then only thing about buying it, but the main thing is that it has got the Elizabeth taylor to mesmerize us through her beauty.
http://www.summittechnology.com.au
Posted by SummitTechnology
at January 17, 2012 9:21 PM