Cleopatra

The story of Cleopatra—both the real woman and the Fox epic—is more myth than fact. As Stacy Schiff points out in her fine 2010 biography, Cleopatra: A Life, the Egyptian queen was actually Greek, was a shrewd stateswoman, was far more likely to have died from poison than snakebite, and most certainly did not look like Elizabeth Taylor. Many heads would roll during Fox's bloated and deeply troubled production of Cleopatra, which producer Walter Wanger (later fired) initially brought to studio head Spyros Skouras (later fired), who green-lighted the film, which was directed by Rouben Mamoulian (who later resigned), filmed at Pinewood Studios in England (millions were spent to achieve 10 minutes of footage, none of which was used in the film), and starred Elizabeth Taylor (who demanded $1 million), along with Peter Finch (Julius Caesar) and Stephen Boyd (Mark Antony). After Taylor became ill (and nearly died) during the initial shoot, everything changed: the production moved to Rome, Joseph L. Mankiewicz came on as the new director, Rex Harrison replaced Finch, and Richard Burton stepped into the short skirt of Boyd. With elements now in place, Taylor and Burton suddenly embarked on the infamous Liz and Dick affair that would ultimately draw condemnation from both Congress and the Vatican. And the movie? Well, it's much less interesting than the surrounding backstory, but—as the Fox trailer billed it—Cleopatra truly is “the spectacle of spectacles,” boasting towering sets, the proverbial pre-CGI cast of thousands, and costume changes up the wazoo for Taylor (I don't know much about Egyptian dress, but Andy Warhol rightly noted that this film more than any other influenced ‘60s fashion). One can quibble about the occasionally turgid (but also often clever) dialogue, the questionable casting of Harrison (too dapper by far to convince as Caesar), and the wimpy (due to budget constraints) battle scenes towards the end. Also, when the dancer in the pasties jiggles toward the camera during the Queen of the Nile's triumphal (and historically inaccurate) entrance into Rome, you might well wonder where the “G” rating came from. Regardless, the fact remains that whenever Taylor and Burton are together onscreen, Cleopatra still retains the power to enchant. Blu-ray extras include audio commentary, an excellent feature-length “making-of” documentary, Fox Movietone newsreels, and a featurette on Cleopatra's lost footage. Recommended. (R. Pitman)