Cleopatra

Part 1.

How does the 1963 film present the relationship between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar? How does this compare to earlier depictions of their relationship in the ancient sources you have met in the module?

(All quotes, unless otherwise stated, are from the Cleopatra DVD or the Plutarch passage on p17 of the Cleopatra chapter.)

In the film, the relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar is presented as being very one sided. From studying the poster for the film it is apparent that it is Cleopatra who is in control. She is placed in a dominant position, front and centre and dressed resplendently, looking ‘coolly imperious’ with both Caesar and Anthony behind her. Whilst Anthony appears to be in a submissive pose and looking downwards, Caesar is clearly looking at Cleopatra with an admiring, almost infatuated stare. He appears totally captivated by her, and further evidence of her ability to captivate an audience can be seen in her stunningly extravagant arrival into Rome. In a scene that cost over one million dollars to shoot Cleopatra, dressed in gold and sitting between the paws of a sphinx, rides in on a chariot pulled by slaves surrounded by a cheering throng of people.

Within the film itself Cleopatra is depicted as being shrewd, well-educated and highly intelligent but possessing dubious morals and evidence of this can be found in one particular scene where the Roman soldier Rufio reads to Caesar from a scroll that ‘in attaining her objectives, Cleopatra has been known to employ torture, poison and even her own sexual talents which are said to be considerable.’ Cleopatra appears only too happy to play up to these notions, as seen at the end of a short speech to one of her attendants when she questioningly says ‘…and my morals?’ implying that if that’s what Caesar expects from me, then that’s what Caesar will get.

Comparing the film to earlier depictions of their relationship leads to a different conclusion. When Cleopatra first meets Caesar she...