Cleopatra

Based on the novel The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George, this mini-series is an okay adaption of a truly fascinating piece of literature. I think that it gives a fairer portrayal of Cleopatra is important, though Leonor Varela isn't that good an actress. I found her acting so amateurish next to that of Timothy Dalton and Billy Zane; at least she was better than Kassandra Voyagis was as Arsinoe. Also she made Cleopatra seem very childish and whiny at times, which was annoying.

Otherwise I liked this story, Timothy Dalton as Julius Caesar was fine in the role, though too dark and good looking (someone tell Daniel Craig please play Caesar sometime in his career!) and Billy Zane did a good job as Marc Antony. The sets lived up to what Alexandria probably looked like, except there was little sign of the Greek influence on the city. The costumes were lovely and the supporting cast were some of the best (though I could have changed some of their lines for them), and I was able to overlook historical inaccuracies, such as Arsinoe being murdered in the dungeons of the palace of Alexandria under Cleopatra's orders. Arsinoe appeared as a prisoner in Caesar's Triumph, and since the public showed sympathy for her, Caesar allowed her to be released. They also didn't explain at the end that Caesarion was executed under Octavian's orders, but I guess they wanted to leave the audience with a bit of hope. Fine to watch on a wet or snowy afternoon.

Cleopatra is one of the most fascinating figures from history. This 1999 TV movie does a good job of telling her story from her point of view. Granted Leonor Varela is a bit off, but she's not bad and the movie moves very well, its hard to believe its almost 3 hours, its time that never feels wasted. The story of Egypt's last great queen and her Roman lovers Julius Caesar and Marc Antony have been told before, most notably in '63 with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, this film is close to that and in some ways better.

Billy Zane is terrific here, he plays Antony better than Burton! Zane remembers Antony was a solider who was prodded into lofty ambition by Cleopatra, even pitting Roman against Roman and splitting an empire, in his heart he must have known he couldn't succeed, Zane never lets your forget that and his performance should have been honored. Timothy Dalton is a good Caesar too. He plays the conqueror full on, ambitious and powerful, but not a monster or a hero, just a man who wanted glory for Rome. His assassination is well handled here. Rupert Graves is a slimy Octavian (Augustus) and does well as the villain.

The look of the film is pretty good, though at times it feels like a filmed play. The music is unmoving, but the fx shots tolerable. The battle of Actium is brief but accurate, Antony always rushed in like a bull. For a TV move they manage to be sexy and violent, two things necessary to tell Cleo's story. The birth of Cesarion is realistic.

The only real downer here is I think this movie was made, or at least planned before the discovery of records found in the sea that told of Antony and Cleo's great love and of the fact they did have children! At least 4, including a set of twins. It is also possible that a girl was saved from Octavian's butchery. The rest did not make, including, probably Cesarion. Unfortunately we don't see that here and the end, though well played, is just like earlier versions. Still this is historical fiction at its best. Well done!

This Halmi extravaganza actually has a very promising start with a terrific entrance by Timothy Dalton as Caesar, followed up by a memorable first meeting between him and lovely Leonor Varela as Cleo. Unfortunately it soon goes downhill from there and by the time Cleopatra has consolidated her hold on Egypt we're getting dialogue like

Caesar: "I'm sorry about your library."

Cleo, (sighing like she's just scratched off a losing $1 lottery ticket): "Half of it is gone... half the world's knowledge."

However if you enjoy cheesy movies with beautiful people declaiming and narrowing their eyes at each other, you could do a lot worse than Billy Zane and Timothy Dalton, who are very much "into it" and who both look breathtakingly manly draped in togas and other bedsheets. (Dalton in particular looks amazingly fit and sexy for a 53-year-old, and it's hard to imagine another actor working today who could be a more commanding Caesar.) Unfortunately Varela's acting is just terrible and, well, the script is just hopeless. It gets slightly better when the plot goes from Egypt to Rome, where everyone speaks in English accents. But none of the acting in this is exactly Oscar caliber, shall we say. Take it for what it is and dig for the guilty pleasures.

According to the budget most of the TV-films have, I should tell that Martin Hitchcock did some great work as production designer and Enrico Sabbatini created some convincing costumes. David Connell his cinematography is sometimes breathtaking, but in the scenes on water it sometimes looks very fake, a pity. The action has its moments, but don't expect to much of it, especially the special effects are quite weak. But that is not really a failure because they probably did not have enough money for spectacular battle scenes. The main character Cleopatra is portrayed by Leonor Varela, she isn't bad and performed some good dialogs, but she does have a few very mediocre appearances. The first half of the film focuses on the relationship of the Egyptian quine and Julius Caesar. Timothy Dalton is as usual impressing. And although he played better roles in his wonderful career he gives an interesting interpretation of the Roman conqueror. The second part concerns about Cleopatra her interferences in the Roman civil war between Marc Antony and Octavian, both strong performances by Billy Zane and Rupert Graves. The most interesting supporting roles were Olympos (Art Malik), Brutus (Sean Pertwee) and Rufo (John Bowe). They did some good work with those roles, but Kassandra Voyagis (as Arsinoe, sister of Cleopatra) is painful to watch, she is a disturbing factor, and the actors appear to act more relaxed and with more confidence when her character isn't around anymore. This production outreaches the standard quality of an OK TV-film. And although there are some disappointing shots I think it is worth to watch, just do not be in the mood for a great epic adventure with tons of spectacle. Remember it is made for television.

Dalton was surprisingly good as Caesar, as was Zane as Marc Antony. Ms. Varela, however, gave a most unfocused reading of Cleopatra--varying from passion to cruelty to vapidity but with no established core. In an effort such as this, that proved a cruel disappointment.

Sets were gorgeous, as were costumes. One COULD wish that Hollywood might approximate historically accurate women's clothing more closely, though.

This was a visually rich spectacle. The story was fine. But some really effective bits (Cleopatra with attendants in final tableau) really rang enormous bells for those familiar with the Taylor/Burton version.

Not my top cleopatra, nor my 2nd to the top (Colbert is very very good), but definitely on the list. And, indeed, the DVD transfer is gorgeous.