Line #44 Film/Cleopatra


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4	->"''You know, it's possible, Octavian, that when you die... you will die without ever having been alive.''"
5	-->-- '''Mark Antony'''
6
7	''Cleopatra'' is a 1963 American {{epic\|movie}} historical film directed by Creator/JosephLMankiewicz, with a screenplay adapted by Mankiewicz, Ranald [=MacDougall=] and Sidney Buchman from the 1957 book ''The Life and Times of Cleopatra'' by Carlo Maria Franzero, and from histories by [[Literature/ParallelLives Plutarch]], Suetonius and Appian, with a dash of [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]]'s ''Theatre/AntonyAndCleopatra''.
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9	It chronicles the tale of the reign of UsefulNotes/CleopatraVII (Creator/ElizabethTaylor), the last Ptolemaic ruler of [[AncientEgypt Egypt]]. In the beginning, she romances UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar (Creator/RexHarrison), and tries to gain her place in the [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic Roman Republic]]'s growing empire. Unfortunately, the Ides of March happen, and Cleopatra's dreams hit a roadblock. So, she turns her attention to UsefulNotes/MarkAntony (Creator/RichardBurton), who comes to battle [[UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} Octavian]] (Creator/RoddyMcDowall) for the control of Rome's empire.
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11	The film had a notoriously TroubledProduction, and despite being the highest grossing film of 1963, nearly [[BoxOfficeBomb bankrupted]] [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] due to its humongous production costs.
12	----
13	!!''Cleopatra'' features examples of the following tropes:
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15	* AdaptationalWimp: Octavian, perhaps the most successful ruler in Roman history, is portrayed as an [[SissyVillain effeminate wimp]] and a two-faced schemer with delusions of grandeur.
16	* AdaptedOut: Arsinoe IV (half-sister of Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII), Ptolemy XIV (youngest brother of Cleopatra, co-ruler with his sister from the death of XIII until his own death in 44 BC) and the three children Cleopatra had with Mark Anthony do not exist in this movie.
17	* AgeLift: Agrippa is played as being similar in age to Julius Ceaser and already an experienced officer, rather than a childhood friend of Octavian.
18	* AgonizingStomachWound: Antony stabs himself in the stomach when he believes Cleopatra to be dead, he survives the wound long enough to be brought to her and die in her arms.
19	* TheAlcoholic: In the second part of the movie, there is hardly a scene where Mark Antony is not drinking.
20	* AlwaysSecondBest: Mark Antony gets jealous of Caesar after Caesar's death.
21	* AnachronismStew: Anytime the Roman Empire is referred to, as Rome's war against Egypt was the last war of the Roman Republic.
22	* AntagonistInMourning: Caesar initially comes to Egypt hunting his rival, Pompey. Ptolemy presents Pompey’s head to him, hoping to gain his favor by offing his enemy. Caesar is disgusted by the undignified death and mourns his former friend.
23	* AntagonistTitle: Sort of (see VillainProtagonist below). The movie is about the last pharoah of Ptolemaic Egypt.
24	* AthensAndSparta: The movie contrasts Ptolemaic Alexandria with Late Republican Rome. The former is a bustling, advanced city of knowledge, sexuality, and antique glories, while Rome is a kind of boring dilapidated area filled with conservative senators. UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar's attraction and romance with UsefulNotes/CleopatraVII and later hers and Mark Antony's is framed in the film as stuffy Romans enjoying and preferring Hellenistic sophistication (or decadence in the eyes of Roman senators), while the conservative Octavian scapegoats Cleopatra as a slutty vamp, and proceeds to (ahistorically) murder a wise Egyptian astronomer in Rome, to prove who's the better civilization.
25	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Different from the average one; nobody is allowed to watch Cleopatra during it.
26	* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Determined to die with dignity in Egypt instead of being taken back to Rome as a prisoner of war, Cleopatra committed suicide by letting an asp bite her wrist. Aiding her in this decision was when she learned that [[OutlivingOnesOffspring her son Caesarion was caught and killed by Octavian]], who wore a ring she herself had given to Caesarion.
27	* BettyAndVeronica: Both Caesar and Antony leave their kind and dutiful, but plain and uninspiring, Roman wives for the sharp, sultry Cleopatra.
28	* BigEntrance: Cleopatra's arrival in Rome. She's preceded by cavalry, archers, chariots, and four different dance troupes. Then a hundred slaves tow in a giant stone sphinx with Cleopatra and Caesarion seated atop it. Her later arrival at Tarsus is slightly less grand, but her elaborately decorated barge is still an impressive display.
29	* BungledSuicide: Antony fails to deliver an instantly fatal blow to himself and laments that the final betrayal he has suffered is from his own hand.
30	* {{Catchphrase}}: Caesar's is "For the time being."
31	* CensoredChildDeath: The death of Caesarion is not shown. [[spoiler: We only see the boy’s corpse in a wagon with a trickle of blood coming from his mouth.]]
32	* ComfortTheDying: Antony dies of his wound laying with his head in Cleopatra’s lap as she soothes him.
33	* ConspicuouslyPublicAssassination: Consistent with his historic death, Caesar dies in the middle of the Senate.
34	* CoolOldGuy: Caesar, Cicero and Sosigenes.
35	* CultureClash: Rome and Egypt. Cleopatra the absolutist Queen has a hard time understanding Roman politics and why even a dictator is not fully an Emperor, and why the Romans have a taboo against a King. In the end, [[HoistByHerOwnPetard Cleopatra gets her desire for Rome to have an Emperor but the new Emperor, Augustus, decides to conquer Egypt too]].
36	* CulturedWarrior: Caesar.
37	* DeadManWriting: Cleopatra sends a message with her request to Octavian after her capture. It reads simply [[spoiler:that she asks to be buried next to Antony. Octavian immediately realized what she must be doing and sends his guard to stop her, but they are too late.]]
38	* DeadpanSnarker: Cleopatra and Caesar to a degree. Their exchanges are therefore highly entertaining. Mark Antony, however, is no match for her.
39	* DeathByIrony: Caesar is stabbed to death at the base of a monument to Pompey, his former arch-rival.
40	* DeathSeeker: After finding his army has deserted him and his most trusted lieutenant has been killed, Antony rides into battle against Octavius’s army alone, [[SuicideAttack intending to die]]. Not knowing Octavius has ordered him to be captured alive, he strikes at the soldiers and screams at them to fight back as they merely block his blows. In final frustration, he begs for someone to give him a warrior’s death.
41	* DeathWail: Cleopatra screams in horror as she watches Caesar’s death through the fortune teller’s flames.
42	* DecapitationPresentation: Ptolemy gives Pompey’s head in a basket as a present to Caesar. It has the opposite effect he intended.
43	* DepartureMeansDeath: Ptolemy is overjoyed when Caesar tell him he will be released from custody in Alexandria to rejoin his troops. His advisor quickly admonishes his foolishness, telling him that the army is soon to be destroyed, and them along with it.
44	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Antony dies with his head in Cleopatra’s lap.
45	* DistractedByTheSexy: Cleopatra tries this several times to varying degrees of success. Caesar sees through it more often than not, but he becomes impressed with her cunning. It works better on Antony, who is definitely not her intellectual equal.
46	* DirtyCoward: Cleopatra flees from Actium, causing Antony to follow her. As a result, Antony's forces lose to Octavian, and Antony considers it his [[MyGreatestFailure his greatest failure]].
47	-->'''Mark Antony:''' ''[about what his surviving men would say to him if they saw him again]'' Why are you not dead? Why do you live? ''How'' do you live? Why do you not lie at the deepest hole of the sea, bloodless, and bloated, and [[FaceDeathWithDignity at peace with honorable death?]]
48	* DueToTheDead: Brutus gets this from Antony after defeating him at the Battle of Philippi. Antony however faces no such luck from Augustus.
49	* TheEmpire: Rome is this even without an emperor yet (though [[UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} he's on the way]]), expanding all over the Mediterranean, even before it was [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire labelled as such]].
50	* EndOfAnAge: The movie ends with the death of Cleopatra, Egypt's last true monarch. This also symbolized the end of Ancient Egypt's millennia-old glory and power, now overtaken by the rising Roman Empire.
51	* EpicFail: Mark Antony's "brilliant" decision to branch into naval warfare at Actium.
52	* EpicMovie: One of the biggest. It cost $44 million to make, which, adjusted for inflation, would be '' $310 million'' in today's dollars. It took 44 years to top this figure (and even then, just barely), with ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd''. To put it into perspective: it remains the only movie to be the highest-grossing film of its year and ''still'' lose money. It would have had to become the third most successful film ''of all time'' just to break even.
53	* ExactWords: The final exchange between Cleopatra and Octavius is full of this. When she realizes he has killed her son, she asks for a concession of Octavius promising her son and his descendants will rule Egypt. Octavius tells her he will “do all he can” to ensure it happens. Cleopatra then promises on her son’s life that she will not hurt herself.
54	* FictionalizedDeathAccount: The real Caesarion outlived his mother, if only by a few weeks.
55	* ForgivenessRequiresDeath: Very literal. The girl who offered Cleopatra a poisoned drink begs her forgiveness. Cleopatra grants it, then makes her drink it. Also a Moment of Awesome.[[note]]Cleopatra was very probably genuinely offering forgiveness, when you think about it. The quick, relatively painless death from the poison would be a gentler way to go than the one the law would reserve for someone who tried to assassinate the Queen.[[/note]]
56	* ForegoneConclusion: Egypt obviously did not become a world superpower.
57	* GentlemanSnarker: Caesar. It wouldn't be a stretch to say Rex Harrison plays him as a Roman [[Theatre/MyFairLady Professor Higgins]].
58	* AGodAmI: {{Discussed}} and {{lampshaded}}. Caesar, Cleopatra, Marc Antony and Octavian all claim divinity and discuss the ramifications of being deified.
59	* GoingNative: Mark Antony likes "almost all things Greek". It becomes a big problem when the Romans start taking offense.
60	* GorgeousPeriodDress: Legendary queen, big-budget movie...
61	* GoThroughMe: When Octavian demands Antony's head, Cleopatra states he can either have two or none at all.
62	* HerHeartWillGoOn: It’s a few years between Caesar’s death and when Antony and Cleopatra meet again, but she wastes no time in seducing him.
63	* HistoricalBeautyUpdate: By Roman accounts, the real Cleopatra was plain-looking (her allure was in her personality).
64	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: UsefulNotes/CleopatraVII, UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, Mark Antony, Agrippina, Octavian/UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}}, Agrippa, Achillas, Ptolemy, Sosigenes, [[UsefulNotes/MarcusJuniusBrutus Brutus]], Cassius, Creator/{{Cicero}}, Calpurnia, Caesarion, Octavia. It's a who's-who's of the Twilight of Republic phase of Ancient Rome.
65	* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Brutus is shown in a very sympathetic light. Likewise, the fact that Caesar is painted to have openly sought Imperial titles vindicates and justifies TheConspiracy where earlier accounts at least kept things ambiguous.
66	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: While Octavian was certainly ruthless during the Civil Wars, he was really no worse than Mark Anthony and the film went out of its way to vilify him. He certainly never killed Sosigenes whose death was invented for the movie. And while he did have Caesarion executed, he was a young man of seventeen rather than the child the movie depicts him as.
67	* HypercompetentSidekick: Agrippa is an astute politician and a highly experienced naval officer. He leads Octavian's armies for him and destroys Anthony and Cleopatra's navy at Actium, by luring Anthony into a trap.
68	* IdiotBall: For reasons that are never quite explained. Anthony goes out of his way to antagonize Caesar's Admiral, Agrippa. With Caesar dead, Agrippa goes over to Octavian, providing the future emperor with a highly experienced naval and land commander.
69	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Sosigenes arrives in Rome to negotiate peace at the exact wrong moment. [[spoiler:Octavius is standing with the symbolic war spear in front of a crowd howling for Antony’s blood. When Sosigenes shows up, Octavian finds the perfect spot to put the spear and buries it directly in his chest.]]
70	* InTheBack: One of the most famous examples in history: Brutus killing Caesar.
71	* InspirationalMartyr: Killing Caesar has the exact opposite effect the conspirators hope for, he becomes even more beloved in death and they must name his heir as emperor.
72	* KickTheDog: Octavian throwing a spear at Cleopatra's old mentor Sosigenes and killing him.
73	* KneelBeforeZod: Cleopatra makes Mark Antony kneel when he asks her for a treaty.
74	-->"I ''asked'' it of Julius Caesar - I ''demand'' it of you!"
75	* LastKiss: Cleopatra kisses Antony one last time as he dies in her arms.
76	* LastRequest: Cleopatra sends only one request to her vanquisher, [[spoiler: that he bury her next to Antony]].
77	* LeftForDead: Cleopatra sails away from the battle of Actium after being told Antony is certainly dead. The reports were very wrong and it costs them the battle.
78	* LonelyAtTheTop: Cleopatra insists Caesar does not have to be that anymore.
79	* LoveAtFirstSight: Cleopatra and Antony both declare that they loved the other the moment they saw them.
80	* LoveRuinsTheRealm: The end of Egypt as an independent empire, and of Anthony’s dreams, arises from some personal attractions.
81	* MayDecemberRomance: Caesar is in his fifties when he marries Cleopatra. Antony is closer to her age, but she does note that he was an adult soldier when they first met, whereas she was twelve years old.
82	* MementoMacGuffin: Cleopatra had a necklace made with only coins of Caesar, which she says she always wears. Mark Antony tears it off.
83	* MonumentalDamage: Cleopatra is furious when Caesar's troops accidentally burn down the famous Alexandrian Library. This includes the baffling part where Sosigenes refers to various books being burned, such as the manuscripts of Aristotle, and the... Testament of the Hebrew god, which he refers to as the Book of Books? When did a Greek philosopher in Egypt convert to Judaism?
84	** He could be referring to two separate works. This Book of Books could be some unnamed source that is now lost forever by the fire. Mankiewicz's script gives more emphasis on Egyptian religion (a deleted scene suggests the deities are genuine!).
85	* NoLoveForTheWicked: Octavian. Even though the other main characters are as scheming and ruthless as he is, they do have PetTheDog moments, mostly in the manner of EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Caesar and Cleopatra love their son, Antony and Cleopatra love each other, and all of them feel warmth towards certain servants and companions. Octavian, on the other hand, is extremely economic with affection of any kind.
86	* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: When it is reported to Cleopatra that Antony has died in battle, no one actually saw him die, but with his ship surrounded and burning, it must be true.
87	* NotHisSled: The original Creator/CecilBDemille film starring Creator/ClaudetteColbert has a scene where Cleo's introduction to Caesar involves her glamorously rolling out of an unfurling rug. In ''this'' film, the rug's brought to Caesar, and the audience who saw the original braces itself...but Caesar turns out to be a bit smart, thinking a spy may be in it--and draws his sword. Cleo rolls out all right...[[EpicFail but on her face without the situational control she intended.]]
88	* OnOneCondition: Octavian is willing to leave the Egyptians alone, but requires as a small token of faith that Cleopatra delivers him Antony's head.
89	* OscarBait: No, duh? (It won four in technical categories, but none for the director or actors.)
90	* PoorCommunicationKills: Cleopatra and Antony suffer massive losses against Octavian due to a series of pretty stupid mistakes and miscommunications.
91	* PurpleIsPowerful: Caesar on his return to Rome wears the Purple toga, the picta toga during Cleopatra's arrival to Rome. He also wears this in private. Indeed it was Caesar's decision to irregularly wear such outfits that made conspirators believe he wanted to be king.
92	* TheQueensLatin: Every Roman and Egyptian in the film has an English accent.
93	* RecliningReigner: Cleopatra and Caesar can be argued to be the {{Trope Codifier}}s.
94	* ReCut: Originally meant as two films, the original running time was supposedly ''six hours''.
95	* RequisiteRoyalRegalia: Especially during the Roman triumph.
96	* RoyalBrat: Ptolemy.
97	* SayMyName: Cleopatra screams Antony's name when she finds out he married Octavia.
98	* ShiningCity: Rome and Alexandria.
99	* ShownTheirWork: The film, although no stranger to HollywoodHistory, is remarkably respectful of Classic sources. Many colorful and dramatic episodes (Cleopatra rolled in a carpet, Caesar killed near Pompey's monument, Mark Antony covering Brutus' body with a cloak) are directly lifted from Suetonius, Plutarch, and other ancient writers. Many historical events, place-names and figures are mentioned in the movie, raising its educational value.
100	* SissyVillain: Octavian, of the seemingly asexual variety. Ptolemy and some of his advisors also qualify.
101	* SlapSlapKiss: Antony and Cleopatra.
102	* TheSpeechless: Flavius, Caesar's loyal manservant.
103	* StealthInsult: A lot. For example, Cicero quips "Finally I've seen the real extent of Egyptian wealth" (implying that Cleopatra has bribed Roman senators to let her into Rome).
104	* StraightForTheCommander: Mark Antony attempts this in the final sea battle against Octavian. He sails his ship right at Octavian's flagship because even if he loses the battle, killing Octavian will still win him the war. It fails because Octavian is not actually on his flagship and is instead on another ship away from the fighting.
105	* SuccessionCrisis: Who should take up Caesar's name and power, Mark Antony or Octavian?
106	* SuicideWatch: Octavius has Cleopatra closely watched after her capture, figuring she will try to escape through death. She fools him into relaxing her guard to allow her privacy in her tomb by swearing on her son’s life not to kill herself. Octavius doesn’t realize she knows the boy is already dead, so the promise is meaningless.
107	* TagTeamSuicide: Antony and Cleopatra, followed by her maids Iras and Charmian.
108	* TemptingFate: Sosigenes, Cleopatra's beloved and longtime advisor, decides to travel to Rome alone in a plea for peace; Cleopatra anxiously watches him go and begs him to be careful. Predictably, he dies.
109	* ThatManIsDead: "There is no one here by the name of Mark Antony... alive".
110	* UnlimitedWardrobe: Taylor wore 65 different costumes in the film.
111	* VillainProtagonist: All three main characters (Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony) and Octavian/Augustus are portrayed as scheming, power-hungry politicians and brutal warlords, caring nothing for the masses under their rule and seeking only personal gain.
112	* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Cleopatra.
113	* WomanScorned:
114	** Averted when, despite all the public acknowledgments Caesar makes of his relationship to Cleopatra, Calpurnia stays dignified.
115	** Played straight with Cleopatra after Mark Antony marries Octavia. She humiliates him thoroughly during an audience when he needs a treaty from her.
116	* WorldOfHam: The sheer scale of the movie sends a lot of very competent actors over the top.
117	* WorldOfSnark: Entire scenes consist of sarcastic exchanges. Caesar probably takes the cake as the ultimate DeadpanSnarker, but Cleopatra is not far behind.
118	* WouldHurtAChild: Octavian murders Caesarion, who's depicted as a young boy here. (In real life, he was seventeen at his death)

Context Film / Cleopatra