The Historical Accuracy of the 1963 Film "cleopatra"

The 1963 film Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar and Richard Burton as Mark Antony is an essentially accurate account of actual historic events but does display some big box office elaborations and embellishments with a few minor historic inaccuracies. The epic came with a $31 million dollar price tag making it the most expensive film ever made at that time and almost bankrupted 20th Century-Fox. The film won four Academy Awards including Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography and Best Special Effects. The film’s glamorized interpretation of the time period and historical events made for a long admired, classic piece of Hollywood history. A grand love story with all the bells and whistles that cinematography could offer in the early sixties. To add a little spice and publicity to Cleopatra, as the movie was being filmed, Taylor and Burton became involved in an open love affair known worldwide even though they were both married to others. This was just one of the many production troubles the film encountered . The film received mixed reviews from critics and movie goers applauded Taylor, Harrison and Burton’s performances. Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony were portrayed very convincingly and stayed faithful to some but not all actual historical character descriptions.

Elizabeth Taylor held many of the characteristics of the Queen of Egypt. The historical character was said to be a petite, graceful woman as was Taylor. Cleopatra’s beauty is somewhat of a debate. Plutarch says, “her beauty was not itself altogether incomparable, nor to strike those who saw her…..her personal charm and magnetism were very great.” She was known for having a powerful voice that was very persuasive and seductive. “Her charm of speech,” Dion Cassius tells, “was such that she won all who listened.” Taylor’s monologues were very dramatic and expressive making the Cleopatra character come across as a very regal and elegant queen. The actual Cleopatra was said to be carefree and having a manner frequently what may be called reckless and daring. But Taylor’s portrayal lacked the childlike innocence and quirkiness that Cleopatra is said to have had that enchanted those around her. Taylor’s representation seems more aristocratic and refined. In the love scenes of this film, Taylor’s performance is missing the playful come-hither quality of the actual queen that was needed to illustrate the grand emotion and passion Cleopatra had for both Caesar and Antony.

Rex Harrison plays the role of Julius Caesar in Cleopatra winning him a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama. Historically, Caesar was known for his eagerness to obtain power and demonstrated considerable success in attaining it. Caesar was said to be tall in stature with dark and lively eyes. He did not take being partially bald with poise and grace. He would comb over what hair he had and wear the laurel crown to mask his bald spot. But this disconcertion never got in the way with his appetence for the opposite sex. He had a reputation for having a weakness for women. A couplet sung by the soldiers at the Gallic triumph with the words, “Romans, hide your wives: here comes the bald adulterer.” Harrison played the character of Caesar as commanding and robust which follows the historical descriptions of the Roman ruler. But the performance Harrison gave seemed to be a bit uptight and unfeeling for such a majestic and accomplished man. It was a hard time believing that the Caesar character portrayed by Harrison was enamored so with the young and bewitching Cleopatra.