The Film "Cleopatra" and Some History

Over the past few days J and I watched the movie film classic "Cleopatra." We've had to watch the film in spurts, since it is about four hours long! This year is the 50th anniversary since this film first came out in 1963, and I have been wanting to watch it for some time since it is one of the most expensive films ever to be created. The sets and costumes are quite elaborate, for one thing. You can get a sense of the lavish expense and spectacle-of-a-film by looking at this very interesting list: "15 Things You Might Not Know about the Movie 'Cleopatra.'"

The film, which involves the ill-fated love affair of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, was ill-fated in its production as well. For one thing, Elizabeth Taylor became sick and contracted pneumonia, and she needed an emergency tracheotomy in the process. This tracheotomy is said to have saved her life. J and I noticed a scar on her neck during her coronation scene, and it wasn't until after noticing the scar that I learned about the tracheotomy.

Some other thoughts I had when watching this film:

• At times Rex Harrison's role as Julius Caesar seemed oddly reminiscent of how he played the character of Dr. Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady." Maybe it's because he seemed a little bit too bossy and condescending with Cleopatra at times, which reminded me of Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. Cleopatra definitely was more manipulative and commanding than Eliza Doolittle though. (And honestly, I liked seeing Elizabeth Taylor playing such a commanding and assertive role. She may be a sex symbol with sixty-five costume changes in this film, but at least she comes across as a very smart and savvy sex symbol.)
• I feel like I have a better understanding of how Julius Caesar and Cleopatra met now, having watched the film. The Romans became involved when a civil war broke out in Egypt, due to power struggles between Cleopatra VII and her brother Ptolemy XIII (who were supposed to jointly rule Egypt). Caesar came down to Egypt to help mediate through the conflict, and it seems like he favored Cleopatra's claims because Ptolemy XIII had a Roman general named Pompey killed. Ptolemy XIII thought that Pompey's death would have pleased Caesar, since Pompey was a rival of Caesar, but Ptolemy was mistaken.

• The film plot stays somewhat true to historical accounts, even following Plutarch's description of how Cleopatra first came to Caesar (sneaking past Ptolemy's men) by being rolled up into a carpet. The 19th century Orientalist painter Gerome tried to imagine what such a scene might have looked like in his painting 'Caesar and Cleopatra" (1886, see image above).
• I have always thought of Cleopatra's affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony to be terribly romantic, but this film has made me think otherwise. Instead, I'm starting to view Cleopatra more as a power-hungry individual. The conflicts with her brother formed because she didn't want to share power with him. Additionally, she seemed to form romantic attachments to whatever man could bring her the most power. And she controls her situation to make sure that her power can continue, such as seems to be the case with her son Caesarion (whom Cleopatra claimed was fathered by Julius Caesar). It seems like her children with Marc Antony were other attempts to solidify her power.
• Before watching this film, I didn't realize that Octavian also claimed the title of Caesar, in order to link himself with his great-uncle (and prove that he was the legitimate heir of Roman power). I wonder if he always felt compelled to stress the "Caesar" title after he became emperor and was given the new title of "Augustus." Or, I wonder if did he felt differently about the "Caesar" title after he had Caesarion killed? After Caesarion's death, Octavian didn't need to worry that his inherited throne would be questioned or compromised.
• I also have a better understanding of the Battle of Actium and the tensions between Marc Antony and Octavian. I also learned more details about the aftermath of the Final War of the Roman Republic: Marc Antony stabbed himself after feeling cornered by Octavian (although in the movie he stabs himself because he thinks that Cleopatra is dead). Before dying, Antony was taken to Cleopatra's mausoleum, where she was in hiding. Antony died in Cleopatra's arms. A few days later, Cleopatra committed suicide, allegedly from the bite of an asp.
• Although Cleopatra committed suicide a few days after Marc Antony (and thus ended the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt), I get the sense that her suicide was more a political one than an emotional/romantic one. The end of the movie shows Cleopatra calling out to Marc Antony as she is about to die, but it seems to me that he really committed suicide because she was cornered by Octavian.

Has anyone else seen this 1963 movie? What are your thoughts? Does anyone know how this movie compares with the 1934 "Cleopatra" film that was made by Cecil B. DeMille (starring Claudette Colbert)? I'm pretty sure that I will like both of these films better than Cleopatra: A Life, which is a forthcoming film starring Angelina Jolie.

Do you know any other interesting facts about any of these Cleopatra films or the history surrounding Cleopatra VII?