MovieChat Forums > Cleopatra (1963) Discussion > Rex Harrison was the worst.

Rex Harrison was the worst.


I absolutely detest his I'm so hot even though I'm a mummy demeanor, and his scenes are the most boring ones in the entire film.

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I enjoyed Rex in the role. He brought a self-assurance to the character.

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how could you withstand that role and the ridiculous homoerotic mute manservant?

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Never thought much of the manservant one way or the other.

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Pretty much in the majority about viewing Rex Harrison as a highlight of the film. I always liked that scene of George Cole mourning his master at the funeral.

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Only a sexist who can't deal with the fact that this film is about a woman, would say this and call Harrison the highlight of this mess.

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One would think it's about a woman, after all the movie is named Cleopatra. However Caesar dominates the first half of the movie and we generally see things from his perspective. In the second half we watch Richard Burton over act, like he was doing Shakespeare on the stage. Taylor under acts or plays the role is if she were doing "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf".

Taylor had the star power in the day so she was given top billing and the movie was named after her character. But after that I don't think the filmmakers knew what to do with her or her character. The story turned out to be mostly Roman politics and Roman battles.

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Exactly, because Mankiewicz was a sexist enamored with the men in the story. Still, none of them can compete with Taylor's star power and talent, so the ones drawn to Harrison are sexist too.

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Whatever.

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WHATEVER yourself.

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LetThemEatCake01 - just what is your problem?

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That this film is 4 hours long when it needn't be.

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What has that got to do with Rex Harrison? Or any of the other countless threads you have made because of that chip on your shoulder?

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It's 4 hours long because of Mankiewicz's homoerotic fascination with the men in the story. Are you daft?? What about that do you not understand?

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Rex Harrison is my favorite thing about this movie. Elizabeth Taylor was OK, but there were times when I thought she was too shrill and Richard Burton just whined too much. I felt that Harrison was the only one of the three who didn't overact.

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