Cleopatra (1963)

In 48 BCE, Caesar defeated Pompey in the Roman Civil War.  The vanquished general fled to Egypt - then a wealthy kingdom that provided much of Rome's wheat.

Fearing Pompey's popularity with the Egyptian army, and also the risk of making Caesar an enemy if he provided shelter to the fugitive, King Ptolemy of Egypt conspired to have Pompey assassinated: a move that did not win him the Roman favour he hoped.  Caesar took his revenge by supporting Ptolemy's sister in the Egyptian civil war.

That sister?  Cleopatra.  A woman who would go on to (allegedly) bear Caesar's only son, and later wed Mark Antony, one of the two main faction leaders in the next Roman Civil War, some twenty years later, against Caesar's adopted heir, Octavian.

Unfortunately for Cleopatra, that wouldn't go so well ...

This film is a by-word for hubris and fiscal foolishness in Hollywood.  Despite being the highest grossing film of 1963, it still lost money, due largely to the immense sums squandered during its production (not least the fact that they built the sets three separate times in three separate countries).  It's also known for launching the famous Elizabeth Taylor - Richard Burton romance, when the two met on set as Cleopatra and Mark Antony respectively.

But setting aside the real world shenanigans, how is the film?  Well, it's a mixed bag, to be honest.

For one thing, despite the apparent real life chemistry between the two, Taylor and Burton don't really exhibit the same on screen.  Perhaps this is because the Mark Antony we meet in the film is already past his prime, dissipated by his taste for wine, and frankly not at all the match for Cleopatra that Caesar seemed to be.  For another, at 251 minutes, the film is also very, very long.

On the other hand, it's a sumptuous, gorgeous film to look at - they may have built the sets three times, but they built them really well - and there are some genuinely good sections in it (especially in the first half).  If you are in the market for an ambitious historical drama, it certainly is that.