Caesar and Cleopatra

"The most lavish picture ever on the screen!"

1945 2h 18m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🍅

80%

FRESH

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 59🍅80%Rotten Tomatoes★6.2IMDB · 3,218

DramaHistoryComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

At the height of the Roman Civil War, an aging Julius Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen Cleopatra, whom he teaches how to rule Egypt.

“The most lavish picture ever on the screen!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Claude Rains
Julius Caesar
Vivien Leigh
Cleopatra
Stewart Granger
Apollodorus
Flora Robson
Ftatateeta
Francis L. Sullivan
Pothinus
Basil Sydney
Rufio
Cecil Parker
Britannus
Raymond Lovell
Lucius Septimus

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gabriel Pascal
Writers: George Bernard Shaw
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

81 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gabriel Pascal, shot by Jack Cardiff. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Georges Auric. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frederick Wilson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh and Stewart Granger carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The most lavish picture ever on the screen!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0038390 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gabriel Pascal directs. Jack Cardiff behind the camera. Georges Auric scores. Frederick Wilson cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Gabriel Pascal, shot by Jack Cardiff. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Georges Auric. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Frederick Wilson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh and Stewart Granger carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The most lavish picture ever on the screen!".
7IMDB entry: tt0038390 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "egypt", "roman empire", "based on play or musical", "cleopatra".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Original score: Georges Auric
Editing: Frederick Wilson
Costume design: Oliver Messel
Runtime: 138 min · 2h 18m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 3,218 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 nominations total

Also by

Gabriel Pascal

Major Barbara
1941 · ★ 6.8

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-01
★ 6/10
A gloriously spectacular but rather soulless adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's telling of the relationship between Julius Caesar - an engagingly mischievous effort from Claude Rains and the young and ostensibly inexperienced Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh). The story depicts the games he plays with her, and then she - more successfully - with him as their unlikely romance blossoms and an intricate power play takes shape. Cecil Parker and and on-form Flora Robson bring some vitality to the project, but otherwise this features a really rather stilted screenplay and whilst Stewart Granger does his best to inject some action into this verbose theatrical enterprise, it never really exceeds the sum of it's parts. Great to look at though. The costumes and sets are first class but it's not quite got the vigour to carry it all off.

Production companies