MovieChat Forums > Caesar and Cleopatra (1946) Discussion > Cinematic Craftiness

Cinematic Craftiness

posted 7 years ago by abishai_gangulee
3 replies | jump to latest

This well-composed (if somewhat ambitious) film featuring two screen icons (Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains) gives us a very sensory 'semi-tour' of the emotional grip that a bygone era held over its people and the larger-than-life personality of its 'celebrities.'

The only flaw I find with this otherwise meditative 'self-aware film' is that it could have casted the historical character of Mark Antony. I would have liked to have seen a visceral actor such as Stephen Boyd (who portrayed the antagonistic Messala from William Wyler's uncanny Ben-Hur).

Even if Mark Antony does not perfectly 'fit' in this 'elegiac' timepiece film, they could have found some method to 'sneak' him in there (to add to the overall 'human-mentalism flavor' of this film perhaps at the very end of the film).

This film, though a box-office disappointment fraught with many human problems of serious note (including Leigh's miscarriage), was released after WWII, suggesting that movie audiences were 'hungry' for something 'safely sardonic.'

Finally, I think it's a great 'cinematic feather' for cool actress Vivien Leigh.

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CAESAR: You look 'self-absorbed.'
CLEOPATRA: I am dreaming of the crowd.
CAESAR: You're not a gladiator, my dear.
CLEOPATRA: You're no poet, my lord.
CAESAR: What is your question?
CLEOPATRA: How is honor carried with ambition?
CAESAR: One eye is closed.
CLEOPATRA: I feel very indulgent.
CAESAR: You may be destined for fortunes.
CLEOPATRA: I need a man.

====

😷

Ben-Hur (1959):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben-Hur_(1959_film)

Mark Antony:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Antony

[–] brunodutch 7 years ago

You do understand that it's based on Shaw's play?

[–] brunodutch 7 years ago

It's taken from Shaw's play. So the movie follows its source.

[–] abishai_gangulee 7 years ago

I haven't read the Shaw play, but the film exudes a 'skeletal confidence,' which suggests to me that the director was focused about keeping the storytelling flow intelligible, so I conclude that the film is nicely-logistical.

However, I would have liked it if the director took an extra liberty and decided to add Mark Antony in a cameo somewhere near the end of the film (instead of all the standard 'allusions').