This was a British production based on the stage play of the same name by George Bernard Shaw.\u00a0 It is a fictionalized account of Julius Caesar\u2019s actual campaign in Egypt during the Roman Civil War.\u00a0 Caesar had defeated his former ally Pompey in a battle at Pharsalus and pursued him into Egypt.\u00a0 The Egyptians inform Caesar that they have assassinated Pompey and so he is left with the task of deciding whether Cleopatra or her younger brother Ptolemy will be the ruler of Egypt.<\/p>\n
The play presents Cleopatra as a childlike woman who combines vivacity, intelligence and cruelty in equal measures.\u00a0 As opposed to the actual sexual relationship between the historical Caesar and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar is presented as an avuncular figure trying to teach Cleopatra how to grow into the responsibilities of a queen.\u00a0 And over the course of the stories she does grow.\u00a0 We see her go from a selfish child into a shrewd player who uses her relationship to Caesar to destroy her enemies and get what she wants.<\/p>\n
Claude Rains as Caesar is remarkably amiable and if the real Caesar had been as pleasant you could imagine him having avoided all those daggers in the Senate that day in 44 B.C.\u00a0 G.B. Shaw\u2019s script gives him any number of wonderful lines and speeches.\u00a0 They combine wit, philosophy and humanity.<\/p>\n
Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra is charming both to look at and to listen to.\u00a0 She is given free rein to indulge herself and the audience with the spectacle of a child who thinks herself a goddess and a beast.\u00a0 And she portrays both.\u00a0 She can be delightful and winning or she can be a heartless murderess dripping venom from her fangs.<\/p>\n
The supporting cast surround us with the spectacle of a \u201cswords and sandals\u201d epic with Roman legions and Macedonian phalanxes squaring off in the sands of Egypt.\u00a0 We see the burning of the Library of Alexandria and cavalry charges across the desert.\u00a0 The gruff but powerful Roman soldiers are contrasted to the cultured but ineffective Egyptian nobles.<\/p>\n
Caesar and Cleopatra are still immortal names that stand for power, strength and passion.\u00a0 Their story can\u2019t help but fire the imagination.\u00a0 But it\u2019s also clear that G.B. Shaw is using the Romans as a stand in for the British Empire of his day.\u00a0 The dynamism of the Romans is shown to be the reason for their dominance of the older, more cultured but less powerful nations that surround them.\u00a0 And Caesar, the confident, competent and intelligent man is the prime example of this power.\u00a0 But we know that in just a few years Caesar will be dead and the Roman world will be plunged into civil war.\u00a0 The comedy of Caesar and Cleopatra will become the tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra.\u00a0 But that is no different than the First and Second World Wars that obliterated the British Empire in the modern world.\u00a0 And it doesn\u2019t prevent us from marveling at the courage and daring that planted the British flag on every continent and archipelago on this planet.<\/p>\n
Shaw has given us this sunny story of court intrigue, war and a pretty girl.\u00a0 It is amusing and diverting and allows us to enjoy his witty script and the considerable acting skills of Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh.\u00a0 Recommended for those who enjoy history, the stage or both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This was a British production based on the stage play of the same name by George Bernard Shaw.\u00a0 It is a fictionalized account of Julius<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239,238,237],"tags":[433,2709,2707,989,2708],"class_list":["post-12549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","category-classic-movie-reviews","category-reviews","tag-claude-rains","tag-cleopatra","tag-george-bernard-shaw","tag-julius-caesar","tag-vivien-leigh"],"yoast_head":"\n