History Trivia / Cleopatra

** More importantly, it proved to be one of the final nail in the coffin of [[UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem the post-studio system era]].

* GenreKiller: The film is one of the last of the {{Epic Movie}}s of the UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, and its box office failure along with that of ''Film/TheFallOfTheRomanEmpire'' the following year made it unsustainable for studios to pursue more costly SwordAndSandal projects. Further smaller scale attempts such as 1970's ''Film/{{Julius Caesar|1970}}'' and 1972's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' weren't successful despite packing star power, albeit the genre would survive on television with a few examples standing out such as ''Series/IClaudius'' and ''Series/{{Masada}}''. It wouldn't be until 2000 that the genre would be truly revived on the big screen, with ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/ElizabethTaylor reportedly threw up when she saw the finished product for the first time.

* OldShame: Creator/JosephLMankiewicz tried to have his name taken off the credits, claiming he only did the film as a favour to his friend Creator/ElizabethTaylor.

* GenreKiller: The film is one of the last of the {{Epic Movie}}s of the UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, and its box office failure along with that of ''Film/TheFallOfTheRomanEmpire'' the following year made it unsustainable for studios to pursue more costly SwordAndSandals projects. Further smaller scale attempts such as 1970's ''Film/{{Julius Caesar|1970}}'' and 1972's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' weren't successful despite packing star power, albeit the genre would survive on television with a few examples standing out such as ''Series/IClaudius'' and ''Series/{{Masada}}''. It wouldn't be until 2000 that the genre would be truly revived on the big screen, with ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''.

* TheOtherMarty: The young actor playing Cleopatra's son had to be recast because the sequence of her arriving in Rome took so long to film - that he had grown quite a bit.

** Planned as two three hour epics, the first one dealing with Cleopatra and Caesar and the second with Marc Anthony. As noted above, the studio decided instead to cut it down into one film.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Although it did well at the box office, Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox only got half of the $57 million in profits, the rest of it going to movie theaters. The profits only started to come with the TV broadcasting rights. With its budget of $44 million (over $350 million when adjusted for inflation in the 2010s), this film nearly put the studio out of business. It remains the only film to be the highest-grossing of its year and ''still'' lose money.

*** More importantly, it proved to be one of the final nail in the coffin of [[UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem the post-studio system era]].

** The film ultimately did lead to at least one victim: Walter Wanger, the once-successful Hollywood producer, never made another film again after this. Joseph L. Mankiewicz' career also went into a spiral until he directed ''Film/{{Sleuth}}'' in 1972, a critical and commercial success. Mankiewicz retired immediately after ''Sleuth'', allowing him to rest on his laurels.

* LifeImitatesArt: In the second part of the movie, there is hardly a scene where Mark Antony is not drinking. Richard Burton had serious problems with alcohol, including on the set. ElizabethTaylor also attempted suicide but thankfully didn’t die like her character.

* LifeImitatesArt: In the second part of the movie, there is hardly a scene where Mark Antony is not drinking. Richard Burton had serious problems with alcohol, including on the set.

%% * GenreKiller: It killed the SwordAndSandal epic for over three decades, until ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' [[PopularityPolynomial restored it]].

** Creator/MarlonBrando was heavily courted for the role of Marc Anthony, having played it already in ''Film/JuliusCaesar''. He was committed to ''Film/MutinyOnTheBounty1962'', so it went to Creator/StephenBoyd instead. Boyd left the role due to the extensive TroubledProduction as he was cast in ''Film/TheFallOfTheRomanEmpire'', and it eventually went to Creator/RichardBurton. Creator/PeterOToole was also seriously considered, while Creator/KirkDouglas, Creator/LaurenceHarvey and Creator/JasonRobards were also considered.

** Joseph L. Mankiewicz originally wanted to have either Creator/LaurenceOlivier or Creator/TrevorHoward as Julius Caesar. Olivier was running the National Theatre of Great Britain, and Howard was caught up in the protracted filming of ''Film/MutinyOnTheBounty''.

** ''Barely'' averted. Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox nearly went bankrupt as a result of this film's bloated production; it rebounded only because ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' was such a phenomenal success, as well as sell its 200-acre back lot (which is now Century City) to real estate developer William Zeckendorf, and managed to stay afloat for another 56 years before being acquired by Creator/{{Disney}}, losing its major studio status in the process.

** ''Barely'' averted. Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox nearly went bankrupt as a result of this film's bloated production; it rebounded only because ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' was such a phenomenal success, as well as sell its 200-acre back lot (which is now Century City), and managed to stay afloat for another 56 years before being acquired by Creator/{{Disney}}, losing its major studio status in the process.

** ''Barely'' averted. Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox nearly went bankrupt as a result of this film's bloated production; it rebounded only because ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' was such a phenomenal success, as well as sell its 200-acre back lot which is now Century City, and managed to stay afloat for another 56 years before being acquired by Creator/{{Disney}}, losing its major studio status in the process.
*** More importantly, it proved to be one of the final nails in the coffin of [[UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem the studio system]].

** ''Barely'' averted. Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox nearly went bankrupt as a result of this film's bloated production; it rebounded only because ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' was such a phenomenal success, and managed to stay afloat for another 56 years before being acquired by Creator/{{Disney}}, losing its major studio status in the process.

* MoneyDearBoy: Creator/ElizabethTaylor jokingly said that she'd only do the film for $1 million. To her surprise, Fox paid up.

* RomanceOnTheSet: Creator/ElizabethTaylor's and Creator/RichardBurton's romance on set was one of the most famous and scandalous in movie history. Not in the least because they were both still married.

* FakeNationality: Like most Western works set in Ancient Rome and Egypt, not a single Egyptian or Italian (Roman) is cast in this film.

* AllStarCast: Creator/ElizabethTaylor, Creator/RichardBurton, Creator/RexHarrison, Creator/RoddyMcDowall, Creator/MartinLandau, George Cole...need more?

** When it seemed like Creator/ElizabethTaylor wouldn't recover from her illness, Creator/AudreyHepburn was considered to replace her. Also considered were Creator/BrigitteBardot, Creator/JenniferJones, Creator/GinaLollobrigida, Creator/SophiaLoren, Creator/ShirleyMacLaine, Creator/MarilynMonroe and Creator/KimNovak.