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I always assumed that this version was a full restoration. Am I wrong?
Yes. A full restoration would be 6 hours long. Much as I thought Cleo a failure overall, I'd like to see this version. I always had the feeling some of the best bits of the film had been discarded in favour of Liz and Dick, Dick and Liz. I believe the original film was much more military/politico focussed, which indeed would be far more interesting than Liz's wading in ass's milk and Dick's shameless histrionics. I have a feeling that if they restored it to 6 hours and then cut it back to two, but using completely different bits of the film, there might just be some kind of masterpiece in there.
Before the interval Cleopatra & Mark Anthony are hardly aware of each other. After the interval they're old lovers that have had a big falling out. I think the stuff that was cut out was the Liz & Dick show. Like most epics the first half is great, the second half not so good.
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1D575E2B2F063F1E244A5B2C0926373D39575B, what else is there in the script that isn't in the finished movie?
This is an extremely long post. It reproduces the Films In Review article that describes the 6-hour version of Cleopatra, and gives the most complete explanation I've seen of how that version differs from the released 4-hour version. Obviously, spoilers abound.
Mankiewicz’s Cleopatra
By James Beuselink
Films In Review, January 1988
It was the most talked about, most written about, and the most anticipated motion picture of the nineteen sixties. Cleopatra, Twentieth Century-Fox's massive production, was the ultimate movie of its era. A quarter of a century later Cleopatra still remains the most spectacular film of all time.
Walter Wanger (1894-1968) had long dreamed of filming Cleopatra. A long-time independent producer and not one to compromise on quality in his productions, Wanger was able to produce Cleopatra his way. He fought with Twentieth Century-Fox to attain the artistic integrity that marks Cleopatra as being the finest film of its kind. The picture remains Walter Wanger's greatest achievement.
The production itself is superb. Tremendous attention was given to the art direction of the film in order to accurately depict Rome and Egypt. Thousands of props, many of them works of art, were created by craftsmen. Among the acres of sets constructed was the largest ever created for a motion picture: the palace complex at Alexandria. Over 26.000 costumes were worn by the cast and the thousands of extras. The film's principal star, Elizabeth Taylor, wore over four dozen costumes in her role as Cleopatra. Over forty-four million dollars was spent on the production alone and the results show on the screen. Walter Wanger and the artists connected with the picture set a new standard for depicting history on the screen. This high standard was particularly apparent in Cleopatra's screenplay.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz shared the writing credits with Ranald MacDougall and Sidney Buchman. However, it was Mankiewicz who was the creative force behind the screenplay. He was also the film's director, a situation that had him shooting by day and writing by night. One of Mankiewicz's major contributions to the Cleopatra screenplay is his creation of an "intimate epic," a film in which the characters are not "lost" in the lavish spectacle. In achieving this, Mankiewicz created the first intelligent epic. He also created an intensely political work of art that unfortunately has remained unseen by the public. Cleopatra has never been viewed in the form that Mankiewicz intended it to be shown.
In Joseph Mankiewicz's original conception of Cleopatra, the film was to be a six-hour production, released in 70 mm. In essence, Mankiewicz filmed two three-hour movies. The first three hours covered Cleopatra's relationship with Julius Caesar. The second three hours dealt with Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. It was Mankiewicz's plan to release the two halves simultaneously, having them play on alternate nights. There was also another plan that would release the "Caesar" half first, followed by a later release of the "Anthony" half. Both plans were rejected by Darryl Zanuck, who had recently become head of Twentieth Century-Fox after a long power struggle. Before any post-production work on the six-hour version could begin. Zanuck ordered Cleopatra edited to a four-hour, 70 mm. release.
Cleopatra premiered on June 12, 1963, as a four-hour event. Including the intermission between the "Caesar" and "Anthony" halves, the film ran 4 hours and 6 minutes. A few months after the premiere an even shorter print appeared. That version of Cleopatra ran only 194 minutes in 35 mm. Unfortunately, the butchered, 194-minute general release version has become the syndicated television print. (The four-hour version can still be seen as a CBS/Fox pre-recorded videotape.)
What was in the two additional hours of footage in the six-hour Cleopatra? A great deal of Cleopatra memorabilia is available to the film researcher. Copies of the six-hour shooting script exist in private hands. Proof that all of the material in the script was actually filmed is confirmed by the hundreds of photos released by Twentieth Century-Fox's publicity department. Fox was releasing photos to the media long before the decision was made to edit Cleopatra down to four hours. Many of the photos depict the cut scenes. With all of this material, it is possible to visualize what a six-hour Cleopatra would have been like.
Some scenes were filmed, later rewritten, and then completely reshot. An excellent example of this is the opening scene. In the first filming, we see Caesar (Rex Harrison). General Rufio (Martin Landau), and Mark Anthony (Richard Burton), viewing the battlefield at Pharsalia. Caesar has just defeated Pompey in a civil war that has split the Roman world in two. He learns that the war is not yet over. Pompey has escaped to Egypt to raise another army. Caesar will have to follow him there and also settle a dispute between Cleopatra and her brother, who are fighting a civil war of their own. Caesar orders Anthony and two legions to return to Rome while he goes to Egypt to confront Pompey. After all filming on Cleopatra had been completed, a new version of the Pharsalia sequence was shot. Richard Burton's Anthony would not be seen. He would only be referred to. Some of Burton's lines would be rewritten and given to another actor. This delays Richard Burton's first appearance in the film. He is not seen until long after Caesar had begun his relationship with Cleopatra. This revised beginning firmly establishes Rex Harrison as the leading male actor in the first half of Cleopatra.
Elizabeth Taylor, who played the title role in Cleopatra, lost many of her early scenes in the drastically edited film. In the four-hour version, we don’t see Taylor until Cleopatra is smuggled into Caesar's presence, rolled up in a carpet. By that time in the film, Caesar has already met her corrupt brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy (Richard O'Sullivan) and Ptolemy's evil advisors. The six-hour version contains many important scenes that occur prior to these events.
Right after the Pharsalia sequence, there is a missing scene that takes place in Ptolemy's tent, his headquarters in his war against Cleopatra. This footage establishes Ptolemy as a puppet ruler, unfit for the Egyptian throne. This is followed by three of Elizabeth Taylor's missing scenes, all of them crucial to an understanding of Cleopatra’s motives throughout the film.
In the six-hour version, Elizabeth Taylor's first scene is at her military encampment. Cleopatra considers herself to be a living deity, the daughter of the goddess Isis. In an elaborate, portable temple, a high priestess (Pamela Brown) uses fire divination to predict the future. Cleopatra's destiny and Egypt's destiny are one and the same. What could be interpreted as Caesar's arrival by sea is predicted. Next, we are shown a sequence in Cleopatra's command tent. We meet her inner circle of advisors, who are key players in the story. Much of this early footage presents Cleopatra not only as a female intellectual in a male-dominated world, but as a power to be reckoned with. She is aware she is superior to anyone she has ever met. She is also aware that only Caesar can establish her as the sole ruler of Egypt. Finally, in a third, edited-out scene, Cleopatra is revealed to be a vulnerable woman. She leaves her command tent to be alone with her thoughts and insecurities. Cleopatra is joined by her scribe and major-domo, Apollodorus (Cesare Danova). He is also her occasional lover, a detail that was completely removed for the four-hour version. Cleopatra and Apollodorus later share another love scene just before Cleopatra begins spying on Caesar. This also was edited out.
Julius Caesar, as depicted by Joseph Mankiewicz and magnificently played by Rex Harrison, is a very complicated political and intellectual figure in the six-hour version. Among his many talents is a gift for long term military strategy. Caesar is regarded as "the master of the unexpected" by General Achillas (John Doucette), who is the only capable military leader in Ptolemy's court. In many. now-missing scenes Mankiewicz uses shots of Achillas plotting the war against Caesar, using his knowledge of the Roman to military advantage. Through Achillas, we gain insight into how Caesar thinks and plans.
In spite of his military conquests, Caesar remains a man of unrealized ambition. Three hundred years earlier, Alexander the Great had conquered the then-known world. Caesar hungers for world conquest, but it remains only a dream. Throughout all six hours of Cleopatra, Mankiewicz weaves the theme of Alexander's plan for a unified world. The quest for the realization of this ancient dream will ultimately affect the lives of all of the story principals. Caesar's admiration for Alexander is first mentioned in a short sequence aboard Caesar's galley. That sequence was edited out. Because of that edit, the Alexandrian theme of world conquest is not introduced until after Caesar has installed Cleopatra as the sole ruler of Egypt. In a key scene, they visit the tomb of Alexander the Great. Caesar and Cleopatra stand before Alexander’s gold armored body, lying within a stunning, crystal sarcophagus. As Cleopatra invokes the memory of Alexander's lost dream, she promises Caesar a son. This son is to inherit the world that she and Caesar leave behind. When the son, Caesarion, is born, Cleopatra has completed her conquest of Caesar. The four-hour version contains the tomb scene, but it is missing from the 194 minute, general release version.
Cleopatra is first attracted to Caesar by his political power and the belief he can assure her destiny. This attraction is reinforced when Cleopatra learns Caesar is an epileptic. The ancients believed that those who suffered from "the falling sickness" were favored by the gods. (Alexander the Great had also had the same disease.) Cleopatra believes that Caesar has been helped by the gods in his many conquests. Because of her own divinity as a goddess, she feels that her destiny is related to his. This use of epilepsy in the screenplay is a fascinating move by the writers. They have taken a condition modern society has placed a stigma upon and have made it work as a unifying plot device. They have turned Caesar's epilepsy into one of his assets.
Caesar soon believes he shares a destiny with Cleopatra. She has seduced him with the wealth of Egyptian invention and science. In an early sequence that was edited out, Caesar is shown a zoetrope and marvels at moving pictures. An astrolabe that will aid in navigating his galleys is demonstrated. Finally, a telescope that will enable him to identify his enemies at a great distance is shown to him. It is during these scenes that Mankiewicz makes it clear there is an emotional bond forming between Caesar and Cleopatra. Caesar takes the scientific devices that are of use to him back to Rome. The zoetrope, a toy of no military value, is left behind.
One of the delights of the six-hour version is that it gives Rex Harrison an opportunity to play Caesar as a consummate politician. When Caesar arrives in Alexandria, early in the film, he encounters a mob of merchants blocking his way to the palace. They have been placed there as a barrier by Ptolemy, who hopes that Caesar will use force against them and earn their wrath. Caesar, having ordered his men to carry moneybags, chooses to "shop his way" through the merchants. The release prints show this, but omit some warm shots of Caesar "working the crowd." In one missing sequence he buys flowers from an old woman as he flirts with her. In another he picks up a child and kisses it. When Caesar's own son is born, he takes the baby outside to show him to the cheering people. This footage was also edited out.
Joseph Mankiewicz makes much of the use of money buying political power and influence in his six-hour Cleopatra. Missing footage shows Cleopatra using Egyptian gold to bribe Roman senators into inviting her and her son to Rome. A Roman moneylender named Titus (Finlay Currie) had long ago been used by Cleopatra’s father to purchase political favors in Rome. Cleopatra employs Titus once more. His mission is to buy up outstanding debts of Roman senators, in order to control them. The biggest debtor is Mark Anthony. It is he who makes the proposal to invite Cleopatra to Rome. (When all of this footage was edited out, all of Finlay Currie's appearances in Cleopatra were eliminated. Although the dead body of Titus is shown in a surviving scene, he is played by an extra.)
Cleopatra enters Rome in a vast spectacle of pageantry. Dancers, archers, horsemen, trumpeters, and other wonderful sights parade past the populace. While the four-hour version contains this, it is missing the long speech Julius Caesar delivers to the senators in the reviewing stand. Cleopatra has had some gold medallions struck-off to commemorate her arrival. They are individually inscribed with the respective names of each senator receiving them. Given as gifts, they are actually bribes. The medallions are to be worn, but the senators hostile to Caesar and Cleopatra do not wear theirs. Caesar notes this and admonishes them. Mark Anthony is a vocal champion of Caesar's as he coerces the senators. He loudly tells Caesar that the names on the unclaimed medallions will identify those who bear allegiance neither to Caesar nor to Rome. The hostile senators pick up the medallions. They do not wear them, they merely hold them. Caesar's greatnephew, Octavian (Roddy McDowall), is ordered by Caesar to wear his medallion. (This is McDowall's only dialogue scene with Rex Harrison in all of Cleopatra.} These scenes involving the powerful Roman senators are missing from the release prints.
Until Cleopatra arrives in Rome, Richard Burton's appearances in the film are few and of short duration. From this point on, Burton's Mark Anthony becomes a permanent presence. Mankiewicz chooses to depict Anthony as a likeable "man-child," who enjoys the pleasure of the moment. He is adored by the people, who take great delight in his errant behavior. Edited-out footage shows this aspect of Anthony. Elephants in Cleopatra's procession parade by slowly. They are ridden by young women, who are throwing gold coins to the crowd. (Again, Mankiewicz shows gold buying the favor of the people.) Anthony lifts one beauty from her elephant, kisses her, and places her upon the next elephant. He is also shown dallying with some ladies in the crowd of onlookers. All of this illustrates Anthony's irresistible appeal to women and his enjoyment of them.
The Roman people are dazzled by the spectacle of Cleopatra's procession. They have no thought of the political consequences of this event. Mankiewicz includes a shot of a political agitator in his six-hour version. The agitator questions all of this until he hears of gold coins being tossed to the crowd, then he joins in the rush for the gold.
The high point in this first half of Cleopatra is the arrival of Cleopatra, herself. She and her son ride atop an enormous. black sphinx. It is drawn into the forum by scores of slaves. At that moment, Cleopatra has conquered not only the Roman people, but Mark Anthony as well. As he gazes up at her, dressed in her gown of gold. he envies Caesar. This envy will be a central theme of the second half of the film. The Mankiewicz conception of Anthony will be that of a second-rate Caesar.
The first half of Cleopatra ends with the events surrounding Caesars assassination. It is interesting how one loses sympathy for Caesar as each version of Cleopatra grows longer. In the 194 minute version, the decision to kill Caesar seems rash and the motives of the conspirator simple. Caesar wants to become a benevolent dictator and the conspirators are reacting to Caesar s demand to be named Emperor. In the 246 minute version another element is added. Caesar declares himself Emperor and God." Both release versions lack many short sequences depicting the political intrigues taking place in Rome. All of the footage mentioning Caesar's declining health, his erratic behavior, and the growing fear of him by the people, is missing. In the six-hour version, the conspirators learn the full extent of Caesar's plan for total power and they are forced to kill him. (Nevertheless, Rex Harrison s performance as Caesar is such a 'gem" that one misses him during the remainder of the film.)
With Julius Caesar dead, the "Anthony and Cleopatra" half of the story is set in motion. Even though the first half of Cleopatra has not yet ended. Mankiewicz is already turning the film over to Richard Burton. Anthony eulogizes Caesar before an angry mob, whose repeated chanting of Caesar's name drowns out Anthony's words. Burton finishes the eulogy with a flourish of his arm, honed to perfection by his theatrical training. This cues the moment for Caesar s body to be carried to a funeral pyre. Drums and trumpets sound. The camera dollies back slowly as the crowd rushes in. Very pagan and spellbinding, the direction of this scene is Mankiewicz as his brilliant best.
Before the audience is granted the intermission that formally concludes the first half of Cleopatra, Mankiewicz gives us a scene that anticipates the impending events and conflicts of the second half of the film. Cleopatra is leaving Rome for Egypt. In this scene between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, it is revealed that Octavian. Caesar's greatnephew, has been named Caesar's heir. It is also made obvious that Anthony desires Cleopatra and that Cleopatra will plot to make Anthony another Caesar. But first, Anthony has to restore political order. As Cleopatra sails off, Anthony is obsessed with thoughts of her. She is clearly thinking of her future with Anthony. Mankiewicz ends the scene with an atmosphere of promised romance, one of the most famous in history. Underlying it is the threat of political and military conflict with Octavian. Cleopatra will continue to pursue Alexander's dream of a united world, with Alexandria as its center.
The second half of Cleopatra begins at Phillipi where Mark Anthony's legions have just defeated the last of the armies of Caesar s assassins. What follows is a struggle for control of the Roman Empire and, ultimately, control of the world.
Mark Anthony lives a hedonistic, extravagant life in Tarsus. The six-hour version of Cleopatra contains unseen footage in which Richard Burton aims a lengthy, verbal tirade against Marina Berti, who plays the queen of a territory under Anthony’s control. She has become Anthony’s lover in order to kill him. But she finds herself attracted to him and is unable to follow her plan through. Anthony has tired of her and is returning her to her husband. Once again, Mankiewicz is showing us Anthony's power over women. In the portion of this scene that is included in the release prints, Anthony is reminded that he needs Egyptian wealth to pay for his army, Therefore, Anthony needs Cleopatra, whom he cannot treat as he does other women. He sends General Rufio to meet with her.
The character Rufio performs several functions for the script. As he is superbly played by Martin Landau, Rufio acts as both confidant and conscience to Anthony. Through Rufio, the audience is able to see the real man, removed of glory and exulted position. Many of Richard Burton's most interesting scenes are shared with Martin Landau.
In diplomacy, the Egyptian point of view is often represented by Sosigenes, a scientist and statesman in Cleopatra's court. Hume Cronyn plays Sosigenes as an ascetic intellectual and a pacifist. Sosigenes is also a very perceptive man. He understands Mark Anthony's importance to Cleopatra's plan for a future world. In one of Hume Cronyn's missing scenes, Sosigenes speaks of Anthony as being too much the man and too little the god Cleopatra waits for. Whatever doubt he feels about Anthony's abilities, Sosigenes must handle diplomatic relations between Anthony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra's royal barge is the setting.
In the release prints we are shown Cleopatra’s barge, a fabulous Egyptian galley, sailing into Tarsus under its purple sails. Over 250 feet in length, this floating palace cost Twentieth Century-Fox $277,000 to build. Lavishly fitted with gilt ornamentation, it glides across the water propelled by golden oars. When berthed, its deck is converted into a reception hall. It is one of the many wonders of this incredible motion picture. Omitted from the final cut of the film are shots of handmaidens throwing gold coins to swimmers greeting the ship. Once more, Mankiewicz was showing Egyptian gold buying popular favor, as in Cleopatra's arrival in Rome in the first half of the film.
Anthony and other dignitaries are invited aboard for a fabulous, state dinner. The six-hour screenplay devotes a great deal of time to the soothing of Cleopatra's and Mark Anthony's egos. All of this is a lengthy prelude to Cleopatra's seduction of Anthony. Her teasing of Anthony brings her more than she bargained for. Anthony reveals the torment and rage within him, for he has lived too long in the shadow of Caesar. In writing this scene, Mankiewicz gave Richard Burton one of his finest moments in the film. Burton gives an electrifying delivery of his lines, speaking them in the form of an angry, anguished soliloquy.
From the moment that Anthony and Cleopatra begin living together in Egypt, Elizabeth Taylor has to play her role as a woman who has permitted love to come in the way of her ambitions. This is first seen in a now-missing sequence in which Anthony has a mock-duel with young Caesarion, Cleopatra's and Caesar's son. Played as an informal domestic moment in the lives of the powerful, Anthony is shown teaching Caesarion how to fight with wooden swords as Cleopatra watches. Her advisors also watch and are worried. The lovers have become blind to what is happening in the world. Some of Hume Cronyn's missing footage illustrates Sosigenes' concern for what Octavian is doing in Rome, as Cleopatra neglects all thought of the future.
As Roddy McDowall plays him, Octavian is a cold, clever politician. Like Caesar before him, he always manages to be one step ahead of the opposition. A skillful politician, he never attacks his opponents directly. Octavian is a master of words and the master of manipulating the talents and weaknesses of others.
Octavian chooses to weaken Anthony in a piecemeal fashion, slowly destroying the love Rome feels for Anthony. Even the shortest prints of Cleopatra contain Octavian's first step in undermining Anthony's power. Anthony must meet with Octavian to negotiate a new treaty between Rome and Egypt. However, Octavian's chief concern is to keep Anthony from returning to Rome. He plans to meet Anthony before he can reach Rome and to offer his sister, Lady Octavia (Jean Marsh), in marriage to Anthony. He will have to agree to the marriage to keep the good will of the Roman people. Octavian is counting on Anthony deserting Octavia and returning to Cleopatra, thereby insulting the Roman citizens. This scheme is revealed in a scene with Roddy McDowall and Andrew Keir, who plays Admiral Agrippa. However, in the six-hour version this scene contains footage never seen by the public. There, Octavian mentions that this plan was inspired by a similar situation Julius Caesar was once in. Also, Octavian talks with Agrippa of Caesar's endless ambition.
The character Agrippa is an interesting one. As Andrew Keir plays him, Admiral Agrippa's most consistent emotion is his hatred of Cleopatra. In the first half of the film, Agrippa was with Julius Caesar in Egypt. The six-hour version contains a scene in which Agrippa falls from Caesar's favor when he objects to Caesar's obsession with Cleopatra. Agrippa's and Anthony’s hatred of each other is never given any motivation by Mankiewicz. This antagonism exists even before Anthony becomes involved with Cleopatra. Agrippa is comfortable being Octavian's confidante. He willingly assists Octavian in plotting against Anthony, serving Octavian unquestioningly.
Mark Anthony marries Octavian's sister to keep peace with Octavian. Anthony later deserts her, just as Octavian had planned. As a conciliation gift to Cleopatra, Anthony cedes to Egypt the Eastern Territories that are under his control. It is Anthony's greatest political mistake. In footage exclusive to the six-hour version, Octavian uses Anthony's divorce of Lady Octavia, his return to Cleopatra and the loss of the Eastern Territories to weaken Anthony both militarily and politically.
The inevitable war between Egypt and the Roman Empire finally comes. It brings with it the climax of this second half of Cleopatra: the battle of Actium. This confrontation, fought between the naval forces of Rome and Egypt, was a pivotal moment in history. Rome would defeat Egypt, ending for all time Egypt's position as a world power. Had this battle been fought on land, Egypt would in all likelihood have won. Cleopatra's insistence that it be a naval engagement is a mystery that occupies much footage in the six-hour release of Cleopatra. Mankiewicz's answer to his own mystery is revealed in one of Roddy McDowall's missing scenes. Octavian tells Agrippa that Cleopatra believes the battle will be won by her forces regardless of where it is fought. If it is won at sea, it will be her victory, not Anthony's. But let Anthony win on land and the glory goes to Anthony. Cleopatra will be merely another one of Anthony's royal conquests. The depth of Cleopatra's insecurity will ultimately doom both of them.
Cleopatra's activities on the eve of the battle of Actium are shown in scenes exclusive to the six-hour version. Aboard her royal barge, Cleopatra is told that the high priestess has been struck speechless after a terrifying sight has been revealed to her. Cleopatra enters the temple and calls upon the goddess Isis to reveal the future. The sacred fire burns unevenly, but it remains only a fire. However, from behind Cleopatra comes the sound of soft chuckling. The statues of the animal gods begin to laugh. The noise increases in intensity, terrifying Cleopatra. Suddenly the laughter stops and the flame goes out. The gods have abandoned her. This sequence is an incredibly risky move by Mankiewicz. He has presented the gods of Egypt as being real in a film that is, otherwise, historically accurate, it is hard to predict how this would have gone over with the public. True, Mankiewicz had used fire divination sequences in the first half of the film and much had been made of Cleopatra's belief in her own divinity, but the "laughing gods" sequence may have been too bold a concept to be successful.
Cleopatra is now stoic about her future and she is not alone. Mark Anthony knows that doom awaits him. In a missing Richard Burton scene, Anthony spends the eve of the battle getting drunk at a local tavern. There, he makes a public spectacle of himself. He is rescued from this situation by Cleopatra and officers loyal to them both. As an unconscious Anthony is put to bed, Rufio asks Cleopatra if she wants the battle plan changed. She shakes her head. It is too late for any changes. Cleopatra now knows the battle will be lost by Egypt. At dawn, Anthony is awakened by the sound of battle horns and puts on his armor. As he dresses, he tells Cleopatra there was a purpose in his harsh treatment of his officers. Should the battle go badly, he wants his best officers at her side.
The public never saw these scenes, as well as other short sequences that did much to explain Anthony's motives. The removal of these Burton and Taylor scenes leaves the audience with the impression that Anthony is deliberately causing his own destruction. No apparent motives are given for his actions. This is not the Mark Anthony Mankiewicz intended to depict in his six-hour epic. Rather, this is the Anthony mistakenly created by Darryl Zanuck when he gave the order to edit Cleopatra to a four-hour release.
Everything that has occurred in Cleopatra thus far as served to lead the audience up to the battle of Actium. Filmed off the island of Ischia, in Italy, this historic naval battle was superbly staged. Several full-size reconstructions of Roman and Egyptian warships were employed. Cleopatra’s fabulous royal barge is seen once more, now converted into her flagship. As could be expected of so lavish a production sequence, all of the prop weaponry was authentic and the action sequences were believably choreographed.
Even in the shortest American prints (194 minutes) the Actium sequence is reasonably intact. The battle goes badly for Anthony. The four-hour version adds the detail that the warship Anthony's galley rams is not commanded by Octavian, but by an imposter. In both released versions Cleopatra sails away from the battle area when she believes Anthony to be dead. Anthony deserts his men to follow her. His resulting disgrace is really emphasized in the six-hour version. It contains a shot of Anthony slapping Ramos (Martin Benson), the most loyal of Egyptian officers, when Ramos tries to prevent Anthony from leaving his men. Other additional material is a post battle scene set in a tavern. A sober Anthony has come for solitude, not drink. He leaves abruptly when the proprietor tells him that two of his nephews died for Anthony at Actium.
Martin Landau shares with Elizabeth Taylor a missing scene that reveals the extent of the Actium disaster. Rufio tells Cleopatra that all of Egypt's allies have deserted. Thousands of Anthony's men have gone over to Octavian, who has landed in Egypt. Cleopatra asks Rufio to take a token of peace, a bracelet, to Octavian.
The only footage, in all of Cleopatra, that Martin Landau and Roddy McDowall share is their conference which is played as a summit meeting between two worlds. As Octavian examines the beautiful bracelet given to him, Rutio tells him Cleopatra wishes to hear Octavian's terms. Octavian demands the head of Mark Anthony, a demand offensive to all sense of Roman honor. Rufio refuses to deliver the demand and insults Octavian. Although Rufio is allowed to leave unharmed, Octavian warns him, "When the time comes. Rufio, do not ask me for anything." Mankiewicz uses this edited-out scene to reinforce Octavian s keen analysis of people and events. From the conversation with Rufio, Octavian senses a separation between Anthony and Cleopatra.
Mark Anthony regains his self-confidence and ends his isolation from those formerly close to him. He, Rufio, and a handful of officers, leave Alexandria to join what remains of his legions. Anthony s outnumbered forces are to do battle with Octavian's armies.
The final confrontation between Anthony and Octavian was filmed two ways. In the released version, Anthony receives a cool reception at his encampment, but he makes plans for the next day's battle. When he awakens, he finds the camp deserted and his old friend, Rufio, dead. He, alone, is left to face Octavian and his legions as they ride into sight. In an earlier filmed, but discarded version of this sequence there are signs of desertion before Anthony reaches his camp. When he does arrive, he finds the camp deserted. As the sounds of Octavian's approaching legions are heard, Anthony watches one of his officers desert. A stunned Rufio dismounts from his horse and runs himself through with his own sword. He dies next to a battle standard that bears the insignia of Anthony’s Tenth Legion. The remaining officer is eager to desert, so Anthony lets him go. The rest of the sequence is very similar to the utilized version. Octavian denies Anthony an honorable death-by-combat. Anthony is let go by Octavian, who knows he will be able to capture Anthony and Cleopatra together in Alexandria. Cleopatra sends her son, Caesarion, into hiding. What audiences watching the shorter versions of Cleopatra do not see is Caesarion's death. Octavian's archers kill Caesarion and his entire escort as they make their escape from Alexandria.
Cleopatra tells Apollodorus that she intends to wait for Anthony in her mausoleum. Apollodorus is to tell Anthony of this. However, when Anthony returns to Alexandria. Apollodorus lets him think Cleopatra is already dead. Only after Anthony runs himself through with his own sword does Apollodorus tell him that Cleopatra is alive and waiting for him. The motive for Apollodorus's strange behavior is in the six-hour screen-play. Apollodorus has had a lifelong jealousy of Anthony because of his love for Cleopatra. He tells Anthony that he wanted him to die first. An understanding Anthony tells him, "In your place, I would have lied too, but I would have killed you with a smile."
Octavian is told that Cleopatra is in her tomb and that Anthony, now dead, is with her. Octavian objects to the casual manner in which news of Anthony's death is given to him. This scene is in the shorter versions, but the six-hour version offers more. In it, Octavian wonders why he did not sense the exact moment of Anthony's death, for at that precise moment Octavian had won the world. Here, Mankiewicz reprises his Alexandrian theme once more. When Alexander the Great conquered the world, he wept because there was nothing left to conquer. During Octavian's realization of what the victory over Anthony meant, Octavian says. 'So much of my life is over. I have won it all." The scene ends with Octavian burying his face in his hands.
Octavian's meeting with Cleopatra is far longer in the six-hour version than in any print available to the public. Audiences never see the footage of Agrippa pleading with Cleopatra to surrender and unlock the mausoleum door. Agrippa makes great promises on Octavian's behalf, hoping to distract Cleopatra. Agrippa's men are breaking into the mausoleum from above. Also unseen is footage showing Octavian "playing politics" to the end. Once inside the mausoleum, Agrippa asks Octavian if Anthony's body should be covered by a Roman cloak instead of the robe Cleopatra has covered him with. Solely for Cleopatra’s benefit, Octavian replies that "Rome must no longer intrude itself upon Anthony."
Joseph Mankiewicz's six-hour Cleopatra ends similarly to the four-hour version. If Cleopatra will return to Rome with Octavian, he will treat Egypt as an ally of Rome. The continuation of Cleopatra's dynasty, through her son, is promised. However, Octavian's secret intention is to use Cleopatra as a political trophy during his victory parade in Rome. As Octavian makes his promises, he forgets that he is wearing the signet ring of General Pompey, stolen from the body of Cleopatra's son. This ring is used as a plot device by Mankiewicz throughout his screenplay. In these final moments of the film it has its greatest significance. When Cleopatra sees the ring, she knows her son is dead and Octavian's words are lies. Cleopatra agrees to go to Rome with Octavian, but first she asks to be alone to prepare for the journey. Octavian agrees. Left unguarded, Cleopatra commits suicide. In a way, it is her triumph over Octavian. And so ends the Cleopatra that should have been, but never was.
In recent years, there has been considerable talk of restoring Cleopatra to a six-hour version. Unfortunately, this hoped-for restoration remains an unrealized dream.
If all of the edited-out footage were located, there would still be the tremendous difficulty of editing Cleopatra according to Mankiewicz's original conception of the film. Mankiewicz's Cleopatra is a motion picture that was never completed. There has never been a ready-to-be-released six-hour Cleopatra in existence. The six-hour version never made it beyond the stage of a rough cut. No post production work was completed. All of the lab work, music scoring, sound effects work, etc., remains incomplete. There are also financial problems. A restoration may not be cost effective for Twentieth Century-Fox.
Barring a reissue of the 246 minute version in 70 mm. (which would be a real eye opener for today's jaded audiences), all one can hope for is to see Cleopatra in 194 minute, 35 mm. revivals. This is because a 35 mm. negative was never made from the 246 minute, 70 mm. version. Twentieth Century-Fox should correct this matter while there is still time.
For all of the artists who participated in the filming of Cleopatra and who saw their finest work lost in the cutting room, there is still no vindication.
Special thanks are due Roger Marquette of North Tonawanda, New York, for making his extensive photo collection available for research for this article
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Feb 5, 2010 - 6:54 PM
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pp312
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He fought with Twentieth Century-Fox to attain the artistic integrity that marks Cleopatra as being the finest film of its kind. The picture remains Walter Wanger's greatest achievement.
The production itself is superb. Walter Wanger and the artists connected with the picture set a new standard for depicting history on the screen. This high standard was particularly apparent in Cleopatra's screenplay.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz shared the writing credits with Ranald MacDougall and Sidney Buchman. However, it was Mankiewicz who was the creative force behind the screenplay. He was also the film's director, a situation that had him shooting by day and writing by night. One of Mankiewicz's major contributions to the Cleopatra screenplay is his creation of an "intimate epic," a film in which the characters are not "lost" in the lavish spectacle. In achieving this, Mankiewicz created the first intelligent epic.
Even if the writer is referring to the 6 hour version, which of course no one has seen, I would suggest that his contentions are doubtful, particularly that Cleo was the first "intelligent epic" and "the finest film of its kind". I don't doubt the original was a better film, or films, but the faults of the current version are too great to support either of those statements. To justify them, we would need to discover not just additional footage but alternate takes of the current footage in which both dialogue and acting were much more convincing. Without that, a 6 hour version could not change my opinion.
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1D575E2B2F063F1E244A5B2C0926373D39575B, what else is there in the script that isn't in the finished movie?
This is an extremely long post. It reproduces the Films In Review article that describes the 6-hour version of Cleopatra, and gives the most complete explanation I've seen of how that version differs from the released 4-hour version. Obviously, spoilers abound.
Much appreciated. It is nice at least that he's been proved wrong about the original 245 minute version not likely to be available long term since that at least is certainly better than the idea of only being stuck with a shorter version.
Incomplete as it is, I still enjoy "Cleopatra" a lot more than I ever would "Spartacus."
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What's all this palaver about Liz Taylor in asses' milk? That wasn't Liz Taylor, that was Claudette Colbert, and it wasn't CLEOPATRA -- not even the one Colbert starred in -- that was THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. Thank you Mr. DeMille, wherever you are.
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Feb 5, 2010 - 10:56 PM
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pp312
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Incomplete as it is, I still enjoy "Cleopatra" a lot more than I ever would "Spartacus."
You're welcome to that, but it's interesting to consider that Spartacus too was conceived quite differently to the final product. In the original cut it began prior to the final battle with Crassus addressing his men and then, as he muses on what kind of man could rise to defy the might of Rome, goes into flashback. Footage from the original can be found in the trailer where Crassus says, "Nine Roman armies have been destroyed by Spartacus, and our defeat will mean the fall of Rome", dialogue not found in the finished film. There was also quite a bit of battle footage shot and intended to be used throughout the film to illustrate Spartacus' victories, all of which was dropped. This is of course appropo of nothing in this thread, but since the Spartacus threads have sunk someone has to keep up the flow. 
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This is of course appropo of nothing in this thread, but since the Spartacus threads have sunk someone has to keep up the flow.
And yet interesting to consider how films are still changing over the course of their post-production. They're almost alive, growing in unexpected directions. I wonder if that's why so many recuts of older films often seem less vibrant to me than the originals; the process was interrupted and a little bit of the "life" is gone.
I have to admit that narratively the newer version of Touch of Evil is better, but I still miss Hank's opening cue.
Anyway, back to Cleopatra!
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Part of my lockdown listening has been Alex North's superb score for Cleopatra. That made me come to this thread. Interesting to read in the James Beuselink article that the script for the 6 hour version exists in private hands. Surely there would be a a lot of interest in this screenplay if published? Not just fans of the released movie but, also Taylor/Burton fans, film students, people just interested in Cleopatra as a historical figure.
I'm not holding my breath but perhaps someday it'll see the light of day.
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Apr 9, 2020 - 5:26 AM
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OnyaBirri
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1D575E2B2F063F1E244A5B2C0926373D39575B, what else is there in the script that isn't in the finished movie?
This is an extremely long post. It reproduces the Films In Review article that describes the 6-hour version of Cleopatra, and gives the most complete explanation I've seen of how that version differs from the released 4-hour version. Obviously, spoilers abound.
Mankiewicz’s Cleopatra
By James Beuselink
Films In Review, January 1988
It was the most talked about, most written about, and the most anticipated motion picture of the nineteen sixties. Cleopatra, Twentieth Century-Fox's massive production, was the ultimate movie of its era. A quarter of a century later Cleopatra still remains the most spectacular film of all time.
Walter Wanger (1894-1968) had long dreamed of filming Cleopatra. A long-time independent producer and not one to compromise on quality in his productions, Wanger was able to produce Cleopatra his way. He fought with Twentieth Century-Fox to attain the artistic integrity that marks Cleopatra as being the finest film of its kind. The picture remains Walter Wanger's greatest achievement.
The production itself is superb. Tremendous attention was given to the art direction of the film in order to accurately depict Rome and Egypt. Thousands of props, many of them works of art, were created by craftsmen. Among the acres of sets constructed was the largest ever created for a motion picture: the palace complex at Alexandria. Over 26.000 costumes were worn by the cast and the thousands of extras. The film's principal star, Elizabeth Taylor, wore over four dozen costumes in her role as Cleopatra. Over forty-four million dollars was spent on the production alone and the results show on the screen. Walter Wanger and the artists connected with the picture set a new standard for depicting history on the screen. This high standard was particularly apparent in Cleopatra's screenplay.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz shared the writing credits with Ranald MacDougall and Sidney Buchman. However, it was Mankiewicz who was the creative force behind the screenplay. He was also the film's director, a situation that had him shooting by day and writing by night. One of Mankiewicz's major contributions to the Cleopatra screenplay is his creation of an "intimate epic," a film in which the characters are not "lost" in the lavish spectacle. In achieving this, Mankiewicz created the first intelligent epic. He also created an intensely political work of art that unfortunately has remained unseen by the public. Cleopatra has never been viewed in the form that Mankiewicz intended it to be shown.
In Joseph Mankiewicz's original conception of Cleopatra, the film was to be a six-hour production, released in 70 mm. In essence, Mankiewicz filmed two three-hour movies. The first three hours covered Cleopatra's relationship with Julius Caesar. The second three hours dealt with Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. It was Mankiewicz's plan to release the two halves simultaneously, having them play on alternate nights. There was also another plan that would release the "Caesar" half first, followed by a later release of the "Anthony" half. Both plans were rejected by Darryl Zanuck, who had recently become head of Twentieth Century-Fox after a long power struggle. Before any post-production work on the six-hour version could begin. Zanuck ordered Cleopatra edited to a four-hour, 70 mm. release.
Cleopatra premiered on June 12, 1963, as a four-hour event. Including the intermission between the "Caesar" and "Anthony" halves, the film ran 4 hours and 6 minutes. A few months after the premiere an even shorter print appeared. That version of Cleopatra ran only 194 minutes in 35 mm. Unfortunately, the butchered, 194-minute general release version has become the syndicated television print. (The four-hour version can still be seen as a CBS/Fox pre-recorded videotape.)
What was in the two additional hours of footage in the six-hour Cleopatra? A great deal of Cleopatra memorabilia is available to the film researcher. Copies of the six-hour shooting script exist in private hands. Proof that all of the material in the script was actually filmed is confirmed by the hundreds of photos released by Twentieth Century-Fox's publicity department. Fox was releasing photos to the media long before the decision was made to edit Cleopatra down to four hours. Many of the photos depict the cut scenes. With all of this material, it is possible to visualize what a six-hour Cleopatra would have been like.
Some scenes were filmed, later rewritten, and then completely reshot. An excellent example of this is the opening scene. In the first filming, we see Caesar (Rex Harrison). General Rufio (Martin Landau), and Mark Anthony (Richard Burton), viewing the battlefield at Pharsalia. Caesar has just defeated Pompey in a civil war that has split the Roman world in two. He learns that the war is not yet over. Pompey has escaped to Egypt to raise another army. Caesar will have to follow him there and also settle a dispute between Cleopatra and her brother, who are fighting a civil war of their own. Caesar orders Anthony and two legions to return to Rome while he goes to Egypt to confront Pompey. After all filming on Cleopatra had been completed, a new version of the Pharsalia sequence was shot. Richard Burton's Anthony would not be seen. He would only be referred to. Some of Burton's lines would be rewritten and given to another actor. This delays Richard Burton's first appearance in the film. He is not seen until long after Caesar had begun his relationship with Cleopatra. This revised beginning firmly establishes Rex Harrison as the leading male actor in the first half of Cleopatra.
Elizabeth Taylor, who played the title role in Cleopatra, lost many of her early scenes in the drastically edited film. In the four-hour version, we don’t see Taylor until Cleopatra is smuggled into Caesar's presence, rolled up in a carpet. By that time in the film, Caesar has already met her corrupt brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy (Richard O'Sullivan) and Ptolemy's evil advisors. The six-hour version contains many important scenes that occur prior to these events.
Right after the Pharsalia sequence, there is a missing scene that takes place in Ptolemy's tent, his headquarters in his war against Cleopatra. This footage establishes Ptolemy as a puppet ruler, unfit for the Egyptian throne. This is followed by three of Elizabeth Taylor's missing scenes, all of them crucial to an understanding of Cleopatra’s motives throughout the film.
In the six-hour version, Elizabeth Taylor's first scene is at her military encampment. Cleopatra considers herself to be a living deity, the daughter of the goddess Isis. In an elaborate, portable temple, a high priestess (Pamela Brown) uses fire divination to predict the future. Cleopatra's destiny and Egypt's destiny are one and the same. What could be interpreted as Caesar's arrival by sea is predicted. Next, we are shown a sequence in Cleopatra's command tent. We meet her inner circle of advisors, who are key players in the story. Much of this early footage presents Cleopatra not only as a female intellectual in a male-dominated world, but as a power to be reckoned with. She is aware she is superior to anyone she has ever met. She is also aware that only Caesar can establish her as the sole ruler of Egypt. Finally, in a third, edited-out scene, Cleopatra is revealed to be a vulnerable woman. She leaves her command tent to be alone with her thoughts and insecurities. Cleopatra is joined by her scribe and major-domo, Apollodorus (Cesare Danova). He is also her occasional lover, a detail that was completely removed for the four-hour version. Cleopatra and Apollodorus later share another love scene just before Cleopatra begins spying on Caesar. This also was edited out.
Julius Caesar, as depicted by Joseph Mankiewicz and magnificently played by Rex Harrison, is a very complicated political and intellectual figure in the six-hour version. Among his many talents is a gift for long term military strategy. Caesar is regarded as "the master of the unexpected" by General Achillas (John Doucette), who is the only capable military leader in Ptolemy's court. In many. now-missing scenes Mankiewicz uses shots of Achillas plotting the war against Caesar, using his knowledge of the Roman to military advantage. Through Achillas, we gain insight into how Caesar thinks and plans.
In spite of his military conquests, Caesar remains a man of unrealized ambition. Three hundred years earlier, Alexander the Great had conquered the then-known world. Caesar hungers for world conquest, but it remains only a dream. Throughout all six hours of Cleopatra, Mankiewicz weaves the theme of Alexander's plan for a unified world. The quest for the realization of this ancient dream will ultimately affect the lives of all of the story principals. Caesar's admiration for Alexander is first mentioned in a short sequence aboard Caesar's galley. That sequence was edited out. Because of that edit, the Alexandrian theme of world conquest is not introduced until after Caesar has installed Cleopatra as the sole ruler of Egypt. In a key scene, they visit the tomb of Alexander the Great. Caesar and Cleopatra stand before Alexander’s gold armored body, lying within a stunning, crystal sarcophagus. As Cleopatra invokes the memory of Alexander's lost dream, she promises Caesar a son. This son is to inherit the world that she and Caesar leave behind. When the son, Caesarion, is born, Cleopatra has completed her conquest of Caesar. The four-hour version contains the tomb scene, but it is missing from the 194 minute, general release version.
Cleopatra is first attracted to Caesar by his political power and the belief he can assure her destiny. This attraction is reinforced when Cleopatra learns Caesar is an epileptic. The ancients believed that those who suffered from "the falling sickness" were favored by the gods. (Alexander the Great had also had the same disease.) Cleopatra believes that Caesar has been helped by the gods in his many conquests. Because of her own divinity as a goddess, she feels that her destiny is related to his. This use of epilepsy in the screenplay is a fascinating move by the writers. They have taken a condition modern society has placed a stigma upon and have made it work as a unifying plot device. They have turned Caesar's epilepsy into one of his assets.
Caesar soon believes he shares a destiny with Cleopatra. She has seduced him with the wealth of Egyptian invention and science. In an early sequence that was edited out, Caesar is shown a zoetrope and marvels at moving pictures. An astrolabe that will aid in navigating his galleys is demonstrated. Finally, a telescope that will enable him to identify his enemies at a great distance is shown to him. It is during these scenes that Mankiewicz makes it clear there is an emotional bond forming between Caesar and Cleopatra. Caesar takes the scientific devices that are of use to him back to Rome. The zoetrope, a toy of no military value, is left behind.
One of the delights of the six-hour version is that it gives Rex Harrison an opportunity to play Caesar as a consummate politician. When Caesar arrives in Alexandria, early in the film, he encounters a mob of merchants blocking his way to the palace. They have been placed there as a barrier by Ptolemy, who hopes that Caesar will use force against them and earn their wrath. Caesar, having ordered his men to carry moneybags, chooses to "shop his way" through the merchants. The release prints show this, but omit some warm shots of Caesar "working the crowd." In one missing sequence he buys flowers from an old woman as he flirts with her. In another he picks up a child and kisses it. When Caesar's own son is born, he takes the baby outside to show him to the cheering people. This footage was also edited out.
Joseph Mankiewicz makes much of the use of money buying political power and influence in his six-hour Cleopatra. Missing footage shows Cleopatra using Egyptian gold to bribe Roman senators into inviting her and her son to Rome. A Roman moneylender named Titus (Finlay Currie) had long ago been used by Cleopatra’s father to purchase political favors in Rome. Cleopatra employs Titus once more. His mission is to buy up outstanding debts of Roman senators, in order to control them. The biggest debtor is Mark Anthony. It is he who makes the proposal to invite Cleopatra to Rome. (When all of this footage was edited out, all of Finlay Currie's appearances in Cleopatra were eliminated. Although the dead body of Titus is shown in a surviving scene, he is played by an extra.)
Cleopatra enters Rome in a vast spectacle of pageantry. Dancers, archers, horsemen, trumpeters, and other wonderful sights parade past the populace. While the four-hour version contains this, it is missing the long speech Julius Caesar delivers to the senators in the reviewing stand. Cleopatra has had some gold medallions struck-off to commemorate her arrival. They are individually inscribed with the respective names of each senator receiving them. Given as gifts, they are actually bribes. The medallions are to be worn, but the senators hostile to Caesar and Cleopatra do not wear theirs. Caesar notes this and admonishes them. Mark Anthony is a vocal champion of Caesar's as he coerces the senators. He loudly tells Caesar that the names on the unclaimed medallions will identify those who bear allegiance neither to Caesar nor to Rome. The hostile senators pick up the medallions. They do not wear them, they merely hold them. Caesar's greatnephew, Octavian (Roddy McDowall), is ordered by Caesar to wear his medallion. (This is McDowall's only dialogue scene with Rex Harrison in all of Cleopatra.} These scenes involving the powerful Roman senators are missing from the release prints.
Until Cleopatra arrives in Rome, Richard Burton's appearances in the film are few and of short duration. From this point on, Burton's Mark Anthony becomes a permanent presence. Mankiewicz chooses to depict Anthony as a likeable "man-child," who enjoys the pleasure of the moment. He is adored by the people, who take great delight in his errant behavior. Edited-out footage shows this aspect of Anthony. Elephants in Cleopatra's procession parade by slowly. They are ridden by young women, who are throwing gold coins to the crowd. (Again, Mankiewicz shows gold buying the favor of the people.) Anthony lifts one beauty from her elephant, kisses her, and places her upon the next elephant. He is also shown dallying with some ladies in the crowd of onlookers. All of this illustrates Anthony's irresistible appeal to women and his enjoyment of them.
The Roman people are dazzled by the spectacle of Cleopatra's procession. They have no thought of the political consequences of this event. Mankiewicz includes a shot of a political agitator in his six-hour version. The agitator questions all of this until he hears of gold coins being tossed to the crowd, then he joins in the rush for the gold.
The high point in this first half of Cleopatra is the arrival of Cleopatra, herself. She and her son ride atop an enormous. black sphinx. It is drawn into the forum by scores of slaves. At that moment, Cleopatra has conquered not only the Roman people, but Mark Anthony as well. As he gazes up at her, dressed in her gown of gold. he envies Caesar. This envy will be a central theme of the second half of the film. The Mankiewicz conception of Anthony will be that of a second-rate Caesar.
The first half of Cleopatra ends with the events surrounding Caesars assassination. It is interesting how one loses sympathy for Caesar as each version of Cleopatra grows longer. In the 194 minute version, the decision to kill Caesar seems rash and the motives of the conspirator simple. Caesar wants to become a benevolent dictator and the conspirators are reacting to Caesar s demand to be named Emperor. In the 246 minute version another element is added. Caesar declares himself Emperor and God." Both release versions lack many short sequences depicting the political intrigues taking place in Rome. All of the footage mentioning Caesar's declining health, his erratic behavior, and the growing fear of him by the people, is missing. In the six-hour version, the conspirators learn the full extent of Caesar's plan for total power and they are forced to kill him. (Nevertheless, Rex Harrison s performance as Caesar is such a 'gem" that one misses him during the remainder of the film.)
With Julius Caesar dead, the "Anthony and Cleopatra" half of the story is set in motion. Even though the first half of Cleopatra has not yet ended. Mankiewicz is already turning the film over to Richard Burton. Anthony eulogizes Caesar before an angry mob, whose repeated chanting of Caesar's name drowns out Anthony's words. Burton finishes the eulogy with a flourish of his arm, honed to perfection by his theatrical training. This cues the moment for Caesar s body to be carried to a funeral pyre. Drums and trumpets sound. The camera dollies back slowly as the crowd rushes in. Very pagan and spellbinding, the direction of this scene is Mankiewicz as his brilliant best.
Before the audience is granted the intermission that formally concludes the first half of Cleopatra, Mankiewicz gives us a scene that anticipates the impending events and conflicts of the second half of the film. Cleopatra is leaving Rome for Egypt. In this scene between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, it is revealed that Octavian. Caesar's greatnephew, has been named Caesar's heir. It is also made obvious that Anthony desires Cleopatra and that Cleopatra will plot to make Anthony another Caesar. But first, Anthony has to restore political order. As Cleopatra sails off, Anthony is obsessed with thoughts of her. She is clearly thinking of her future with Anthony. Mankiewicz ends the scene with an atmosphere of promised romance, one of the most famous in history. Underlying it is the threat of political and military conflict with Octavian. Cleopatra will continue to pursue Alexander's dream of a united world, with Alexandria as its center.
The second half of Cleopatra begins at Phillipi where Mark Anthony's legions have just defeated the last of the armies of Caesar s assassins. What follows is a struggle for control of the Roman Empire and, ultimately, control of the world.
Mark Anthony lives a hedonistic, extravagant life in Tarsus. The six-hour version of Cleopatra contains unseen footage in which Richard Burton aims a lengthy, verbal tirade against Marina Berti, who plays the queen of a territory under Anthony’s control. She has become Anthony’s lover in order to kill him. But she finds herself attracted to him and is unable to follow her plan through. Anthony has tired of her and is returning her to her husband. Once again, Mankiewicz is showing us Anthony's power over women. In the portion of this scene that is included in the release prints, Anthony is reminded that he needs Egyptian wealth to pay for his army, Therefore, Anthony needs Cleopatra, whom he cannot treat as he does other women. He sends General Rufio to meet with her.
The character Rufio performs several functions for the script. As he is superbly played by Martin Landau, Rufio acts as both confidant and conscience to Anthony. Through Rufio, the audience is able to see the real man, removed of glory and exulted position. Many of Richard Burton's most interesting scenes are shared with Martin Landau.
In diplomacy, the Egyptian point of view is often represented by Sosigenes, a scientist and statesman in Cleopatra's court. Hume Cronyn plays Sosigenes as an ascetic intellectual and a pacifist. Sosigenes is also a very perceptive man. He understands Mark Anthony's importance to Cleopatra's plan for a future world. In one of Hume Cronyn's missing scenes, Sosigenes speaks of Anthony as being too much the man and too little the god Cleopatra waits for. Whatever doubt he feels about Anthony's abilities, Sosigenes must handle diplomatic relations between Anthony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra's royal barge is the setting.
In the release prints we are shown Cleopatra’s barge, a fabulous Egyptian galley, sailing into Tarsus under its purple sails. Over 250 feet in length, this floating palace cost Twentieth Century-Fox $277,000 to build. Lavishly fitted with gilt ornamentation, it glides across the water propelled by golden oars. When berthed, its deck is converted into a reception hall. It is one of the many wonders of this incredible motion picture. Omitted from the final cut of the film are shots of handmaidens throwing gold coins to swimmers greeting the ship. Once more, Mankiewicz was showing Egyptian gold buying popular favor, as in Cleopatra's arrival in Rome in the first half of the film.
Anthony and other dignitaries are invited aboard for a fabulous, state dinner. The six-hour screenplay devotes a great deal of time to the soothing of Cleopatra's and Mark Anthony's egos. All of this is a lengthy prelude to Cleopatra's seduction of Anthony. Her teasing of Anthony brings her more than she bargained for. Anthony reveals the torment and rage within him, for he has lived too long in the shadow of Caesar. In writing this scene, Mankiewicz gave Richard Burton one of his finest moments in the film. Burton gives an electrifying delivery of his lines, speaking them in the form of an angry, anguished soliloquy.
From the moment that Anthony and Cleopatra begin living together in Egypt, Elizabeth Taylor has to play her role as a woman who has permitted love to come in the way of her ambitions. This is first seen in a now-missing sequence in which Anthony has a mock-duel with young Caesarion, Cleopatra's and Caesar's son. Played as an informal domestic moment in the lives of the powerful, Anthony is shown teaching Caesarion how to fight with wooden swords as Cleopatra watches. Her advisors also watch and are worried. The lovers have become blind to what is happening in the world. Some of Hume Cronyn's missing footage illustrates Sosigenes' concern for what Octavian is doing in Rome, as Cleopatra neglects all thought of the future.
As Roddy McDowall plays him, Octavian is a cold, clever politician. Like Caesar before him, he always manages to be one step ahead of the opposition. A skillful politician, he never attacks his opponents directly. Octavian is a master of words and the master of manipulating the talents and weaknesses of others.
Octavian chooses to weaken Anthony in a piecemeal fashion, slowly destroying the love Rome feels for Anthony. Even the shortest prints of Cleopatra contain Octavian's first step in undermining Anthony's power. Anthony must meet with Octavian to negotiate a new treaty between Rome and Egypt. However, Octavian's chief concern is to keep Anthony from returning to Rome. He plans to meet Anthony before he can reach Rome and to offer his sister, Lady Octavia (Jean Marsh), in marriage to Anthony. He will have to agree to the marriage to keep the good will of the Roman people. Octavian is counting on Anthony deserting Octavia and returning to Cleopatra, thereby insulting the Roman citizens. This scheme is revealed in a scene with Roddy McDowall and Andrew Keir, who plays Admiral Agrippa. However, in the six-hour version this scene contains footage never seen by the public. There, Octavian mentions that this plan was inspired by a similar situation Julius Caesar was once in. Also, Octavian talks with Agrippa of Caesar's endless ambition.
The character Agrippa is an interesting one. As Andrew Keir plays him, Admiral Agrippa's most consistent emotion is his hatred of Cleopatra. In the first half of the film, Agrippa was with Julius Caesar in Egypt. The six-hour version contains a scene in which Agrippa falls from Caesar's favor when he objects to Caesar's obsession with Cleopatra. Agrippa's and Anthony’s hatred of each other is never given any motivation by Mankiewicz. This antagonism exists even before Anthony becomes involved with Cleopatra. Agrippa is comfortable being Octavian's confidante. He willingly assists Octavian in plotting against Anthony, serving Octavian unquestioningly.
Mark Anthony marries Octavian's sister to keep peace with Octavian. Anthony later deserts her, just as Octavian had planned. As a conciliation gift to Cleopatra, Anthony cedes to Egypt the Eastern Territories that are under his control. It is Anthony's greatest political mistake. In footage exclusive to the six-hour version, Octavian uses Anthony's divorce of Lady Octavia, his return to Cleopatra and the loss of the Eastern Territories to weaken Anthony both militarily and politically.
The inevitable war between Egypt and the Roman Empire finally comes. It brings with it the climax of this second half of Cleopatra: the battle of Actium. This confrontation, fought between the naval forces of Rome and Egypt, was a pivotal moment in history. Rome would defeat Egypt, ending for all time Egypt's position as a world power. Had this battle been fought on land, Egypt would in all likelihood have won. Cleopatra's insistence that it be a naval engagement is a mystery that occupies much footage in the six-hour release of Cleopatra. Mankiewicz's answer to his own mystery is revealed in one of Roddy McDowall's missing scenes. Octavian tells Agrippa that Cleopatra believes the battle will be won by her forces regardless of where it is fought. If it is won at sea, it will be her victory, not Anthony's. But let Anthony win on land and the glory goes to Anthony. Cleopatra will be merely another one of Anthony's royal conquests. The depth of Cleopatra's insecurity will ultimately doom both of them.
Cleopatra's activities on the eve of the battle of Actium are shown in scenes exclusive to the six-hour version. Aboard her royal barge, Cleopatra is told that the high priestess has been struck speechless after a terrifying sight has been revealed to her. Cleopatra enters the temple and calls upon the goddess Isis to reveal the future. The sacred fire burns unevenly, but it remains only a fire. However, from behind Cleopatra comes the sound of soft chuckling. The statues of the animal gods begin to laugh. The noise increases in intensity, terrifying Cleopatra. Suddenly the laughter stops and the flame goes out. The gods have abandoned her. This sequence is an incredibly risky move by Mankiewicz. He has presented the gods of Egypt as being real in a film that is, otherwise, historically accurate, it is hard to predict how this would have gone over with the public. True, Mankiewicz had used fire divination sequences in the first half of the film and much had been made of Cleopatra's belief in her own divinity, but the "laughing gods" sequence may have been too bold a concept to be successful.
Cleopatra is now stoic about her future and she is not alone. Mark Anthony knows that doom awaits him. In a missing Richard Burton scene, Anthony spends the eve of the battle getting drunk at a local tavern. There, he makes a public spectacle of himself. He is rescued from this situation by Cleopatra and officers loyal to them both. As an unconscious Anthony is put to bed, Rufio asks Cleopatra if she wants the battle plan changed. She shakes her head. It is too late for any changes. Cleopatra now knows the battle will be lost by Egypt. At dawn, Anthony is awakened by the sound of battle horns and puts on his armor. As he dresses, he tells Cleopatra there was a purpose in his harsh treatment of his officers. Should the battle go badly, he wants his best officers at her side. The public never saw these scenes, as well as other short sequences that did much to explain Anthony's motives. The removal of these Burton and Taylor scenes leaves the audience with the impression that Anthony is deliberately causing his own destruction. No apparent motives are given for his actions. This is not the Mark Anthony Mankiewicz intended to depict in his six-hour epic. Rather, this is the Anthony mistakenly
created by Darryl Zanuck when he gave the order to edit Cleopatra to a four-hour release.
Everything that has occurred in Cleopatra thus far as served to lead the audience up to the battle of Actium. Filmed off the island of Ischia, in Italy, this historic naval battle was superbly staged. Several full-size reconstructions of Roman and Egyptian warships were employed. Cleopatra’s fabulous royal barge is seen once more, now converted into her flagship. As could be expected of so lavish a production sequence, all of the prop weaponry was authentic and the action sequences were believably choreographed.
Even in the shortest American prints (194 minutes) the Actium sequence is reasonably intact. The battle goes badly for Anthony. The four-hour version adds the detail that the warship Anthony's galley rams is not commanded by Octavian, but by an imposter. In both released versions Cleopatra sails away from the battle area when she believes Anthony to be dead. Anthony deserts his men to follow her. His resulting disgrace is really emphasized in the six-hour version. It contains a shot of Anthony slapping Ramos (Martin Benson), the most loyal of Egyptian officers, when Ramos tries to prevent Anthony from leaving his men. Other additional material is a post battle scene set in a tavern. A sober Anthony has come for solitude, not drink. He leaves abruptly when the proprietor tells him that two of his nephews died for Anthony at Actium.
Martin Landau shares with Elizabeth Taylor a missing scene that reveals the extent of the Actium disaster. Rufio tells Cleopatra that all of Egypt's allies have deserted. Thousands of Anthony's men have gone over to Octavian, who has landed in Egypt. Cleopatra asks Rufio to take a token of peace, a bracelet, to Octavian.
The only footage, in all of Cleopatra, that Martin Landau and Roddy McDowall share is their conference which is played as a summit meeting between two worlds. As Octavian examines the beautiful bracelet given to him, Rutio tells him Cleopatra wishes to hear Octavian's terms. Octavian demands the head of Mark Anthony, a demand offensive to all sense of Roman honor. Rufio refuses to deliver the demand and insults Octavian. Although Rufio is allowed to leave unharmed, Octavian warns him, "When the time comes. Rufio, do not ask me for anything." Mankiewicz uses this edited-out scene to reinforce Octavian s keen analysis of people and events. From the conversation with Rufio, Octavian senses a separation between Anthony and Cleopatra.
Mark Anthony regains his self-confidence and ends his isolation from those formerly close to him. He, Rufio, and a handful of officers, leave Alexandria to join what remains of his legions. Anthony s outnumbered forces are to do battle with Octavian's armies.
The final confrontation between Anthony and Octavian was filmed two ways. In the released version, Anthony receives a cool reception at his encampment, but he makes plans for the next day's battle. When he awakens, he finds the camp deserted and his old friend, Rufio, dead. He, alone, is left to face Octavian and his legions as they ride into sight. In an earlier filmed, but discarded version of this sequence there are signs of desertion before Anthony reaches his camp. When he does arrive, he finds the camp deserted. As the sounds of Octavian's approaching legions are heard, Anthony watches one of his officers desert. A stunned Rufio dismounts from his horse and runs himself through with his own sword. He dies next to a battle standard that bears the insignia of Anthony’s Tenth Legion. The remaining officer is eager to desert, so Anthony lets him go. The rest of the sequence is very similar to the utilized version. Octavian denies Anthony an honorable death-by-combat. Anthony is let go by Octavian, who knows he will be able to capture Anthony and Cleopatra together in Alexandria. Cleopatra sends her son, Caesarion, into hiding. What audiences watching the shorter versions of Cleopatra do not see is Caesarion's death. Octavian's archers kill Caesarion and his entire escort as they make their escape from Alexandria.
Cleopatra tells Apollodorus that she intends to wait for Anthony in her mausoleum. Apollodorus is to tell Anthony of this. However, when Anthony returns to Alexandria. Apollodorus lets him think Cleopatra is already dead. Only after Anthony runs himself through with his own sword does Apollodorus tell him that Cleopatra is alive and waiting for him. The motive for Apollodorus's strange behavior is in the six-hour screen-play. Apollodorus has had a lifelong jealousy of Anthony because of his love for Cleopatra. He tells Anthony that he wanted him to die first. An understanding Anthony tells him, "In your place, I would have lied too, but I would have killed you with a smile."
Octavian is told that Cleopatra is in her tomb and that Anthony, now dead, is with her. Octavian objects to the casual manner in which news of Anthony's death is given to him. This scene is in the shorter versions, but the six-hour version offers more. In it, Octavian wonders why he did not sense the exact moment of Anthony's death, for at that precise moment Octavian had won the world. Here, Mankiewicz reprises his Alexandrian theme once more. When Alexander the Great conquered the world, he wept because there was nothing left to conquer. During Octavian's realization of what the victory over Anthony meant, Octavian says. 'So much of my life is over. I have won it all." The scene ends with Octavian burying his face in his hands.
Octavian's meeting with Cleopatra is far longer in the six-hour version than in any print available to the public. Audiences never see the footage of Agrippa pleading with Cleopatra to surrender and unlock the mausoleum door. Agrippa makes great promises on Octavian's behalf, hoping to distract Cleopatra. Agrippa's men are breaking into the mausoleum from above. Also unseen is footage showing Octavian "playing politics" to the end. Once inside the mausoleum, Agrippa asks Octavian if Anthony's body should be covered by a Roman cloak instead of the robe Cleopatra has covered him with. Solely for Cleopatra’s benefit, Octavian replies that "Rome must no longer intrude itself upon Anthony."
Joseph Mankiewicz's six-hour Cleopatra ends similarly to the four-hour version. If Cleopatra will return to Rome with Octavian, he will treat Egypt as an ally of Rome. The continuation of Cleopatra's dynasty, through her son, is promised. However, Octavian's secret intention is to use Cleopatra as a political trophy during his victory parade in Rome. As Octavian makes his promises, he forgets that he is wearing the signet ring of General Pompey, stolen from the body of Cleopatra's son. This ring is used as a plot device by Mankiewicz throughout his screenplay. In these final moments of the film it has its greatest significance. When Cleopatra sees the ring, she knows her son is dead and Octavian's words are lies. Cleopatra agrees to go to Rome with Octavian, but first she asks to be alone to prepare for the journey. Octavian agrees. Left unguarded, Cleopatra commits suicide. In a way, it is her triumph over Octavian. And so ends the Cleopatra that should have been, but never was.
In recent years, there has been considerable talk of restoring Cleopatra to a six-hour version. Unfortunately, this hoped-for restoration remains an unrealized dream.
If all of the edited-out footage were located, there would still be the tremendous difficulty of editing Cleopatra according to Mankiewicz's original conception of the film. Mankiewicz's Cleopatra is a motion picture that was never completed. There has never been a ready-to-be-released six-hour Cleopatra in existence. The six-hour version never made it beyond the stage of a rough cut. No post production work was completed. All of the lab work, music scoring, sound effects work, etc., remains incomplete. There are also financial problems. A restoration may not be cost effective for Twentieth Century-Fox.
Barring a reissue of the 246 minute version in 70 mm. (which would be a real eye opener for today's jaded audiences), all one can hope for is to see Cleopatra in 194 minute, 35 mm. revivals. This is because a 35 mm. negative was never made from the 246 minute, 70 mm. version. Twentieth Century-Fox should correct this matter while there is still time.
For all of the artists who participated in the filming of Cleopatra and who saw their finest work lost in the cutting room, there is still no vindication.
Special thanks are due Roger Marquette of North Tonawanda, New York, for making his extensive photo collection available for research for this article
Paragraphs. Please.
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The Films in Review article contains some errors. The DVD and Blu-ray releases included supplemental documentaries which explained much about the production background. For instance, the opening Pharsalia scene was refilmed because it looked cheaply done compared with the rest of the film. Burton never took part in that sequence, although the script included his character - he was still performing in Camelot on Broadway.
Some years ago I was able to buy a xerocopy of the 6 hour script from scriptshop.com, which seems to no longer be in business. The script runs over 300 pages, so it would be a big job to digitize it.
There was a website which included the parts of the script that were deleted. The site no longer exists but it was archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20110822201503/http://www.taylortribute.com/Elizabeth%20Taylor%20-%20Restored%20Cleopatra%20page%2001.html
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