Considered by the Canne Film Festival to be one of the great classic movies of all time, Cleopatra did not do well on opening weekend back in the 1960s. The film has been recently digitally remastered and for a limited time is back on the big screen.
Seeing it on the big screen is impressive, the colors and sound really pop. The movie is close to four hours long but it moves well, and keeps a good pace throughout. Having done a little work in student films, I would love to see some of the scene breakdown sheets on Cleopatra.
The iconic scene where Cleopatra arrives in Rome must have been very difficult to schedule and setup. There are over a thousand people on screen; wardrobe alone must have been passing out costumes in small, medium and large.
Some filmmakers could learn a lot from this movie, from staging to use of color and all without CGI. Intermissions are great and would be nice if they’d make a comeback.
Screenshot from the trailer for the film Cleopatra. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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