Cheap Caeser & Cleopatra (DVD) (Gabriel Pascal) Price

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Customer Reviews of Caeser & Cleopatra

To be in Bernard Shaw 's mood!
Claude Rains as Caesar and Viviane Leigh as Cleopatra star this dazzling story that rides between the drama and comedy. A splendid occasion to crown once more the corrosive humor that literally permeates a good part of the dialogues. There is humor but also a formidable description and bold personal statement of this privileged dramaturge. The movie ha its particular rhythm, you may consider something theatrical, but that does not diminish at all its intrinsic virtues. <
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>Basil Sydney as the Caesar 's shield, Flora Robson as Totatita and Stewart Granger are particularly effective in this British gem, that I insist maintains a very special feature, that demands from you the major attention. <
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>Delicious and admirable portrait of a very special approach around the emotional, political, social and backstage in this satirical, clever and always reminded adaptation of Georges Bernard Shaw. <
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>Go for this. One of the most admirable British gems of the middle forties. <
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Read your history, folks!
One of the reviewers states that Cleopatra "was said to be in her 40s when she met Caesar." That would be impossible, since she died at the age of 39 (her dates are B.C.E. 69-30). In actuality, she was 18 when she met Caesar, so Miss Leigh's youthful portrayal is based on history. (It is widely accepted nowadays, however, that the historical Cleopatra was nowhere near as gorgeous as the young Vivien Leigh.) This is not hidden knowledge; it is commonly known historical fact that anyone could easily verify with a little research. The problem with the internet is that people can say anything and present it as a fact, even when they are totally wrong. I have not seen the DVD version of this film; I have an old VHS copy that unfortunately "compresses" the time slightly to make it fit on one cassette, with the result that everyone seems to be speaking incredibly fast and in a high-pitched voice. I hope the correct running speed was restored for the DVD.

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Give it a chance
Ceasar & Cleoptra is based on Shaw's play and alas it's very, almost painfully stiff and stagey. They essentially took the play and filmed it and that rarely if ever, works on screen. So let's talk about the good. Vivien Leigh was marvelous as the beautiful but dangerous kitten with a knife girl-queen. In real life Queen Cleo was said to be in her 40s when she met Ceasar but anyway, Vivien is sparkling. <
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>Claude Raines is great as always as Ceasar and it's fun watching the all Brit cast and spotting people you've seen in character roles in every other English movie made in the 30s and 40s. Oh and did young Stewart Granger have some magnificent legs or what? <
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>Little happens because this movie is a battle of wits between Cleo and the Roman conqueror. There is (perhaps because of the age difference of the leads) little passion and no mention of the child Cleopatra had by Ceasar. It's not as fun as the Elizabeth Taylor epic but when you're in the mood for old time British drama give this version a chance.