You wouldn't know that by watching this movie because Mankiewicz in his obvious sexism and chauvinism did everything to present him as benevolent but he was nothing of the sort, just another tyrant.
shareHave you read Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico?
For all the carnage in the conquest of Gaul, Caesar was a masterful politician and tried very hard to get cooperation and alliances with Gallic tribes and generally only fought them when they betrayed him or wouldn't negotiate. I think he would have much preferred a negotiated peace that led to alliances with Gauls rather than an extended campaign.
I also think Caesar's political position was more complex than mere power hungry dictator. It's easy to cast him as merely competing with Crassus and Pompey, in many ways he challenged the existing aristocratic order which is what so enraged Brutus, et al, and led to his assassination. I think it's possible had he not died, he may have actually ended up stabilizing the Republic and revitalizing the Senate.
Of course it's also possible to argue that the Republic was doomed anyway after the conflicts between Marius and Sulla and Sulla's dictatorship, and whoever accumulated enough power would have been dictator anyway, as Octavian ultimately did.
No I haven't read it, I'm sure your assessment of Caesar is correct, the point is that, the SEXIST script of this movie makes Cleopatra to be the responsible one for his dictatorial, monarchical ambitions, which is ridiculous.
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