Caesar Must Die

2012 1h 16m IT

👍

7.3

SOLID

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 164🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes●77Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 7,055

DramaDocumentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Inmates at a prison in Rome rehearse for a performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Apple TV StoreRent

Apple TV StoreBuy

Cast

Giovanni Arcuri
Cesare
Cosimo Rega
Cassio
Salvatore Striano
Bruto
Antonio Frasca
Marcantonio
J. Dario Bonetti
Decio
Vincenzo Gallo
Lucio

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paolo Taviani
Writers: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani, William Shakespeare
Languages: Italian
Countries: Italy

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 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 76-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 14 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paolo Taviani, shot by Simone Zampagni. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Giovanni Arcuri and Cosimo Rega and Salvatore Striano carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2177511 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paolo Taviani directs. Simone Zampagni behind the camera. Roberto Perpignani cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Italy. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 76-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Released 14 years ago.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Paolo Taviani, shot by Simone Zampagni. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Roberto Perpignani shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Giovanni Arcuri and Cosimo Rega and Salvatore Striano carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt2177511 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Simone Zampagni
Editing: Roberto Perpignani
Runtime: 76 min · 1h 16m
Status: Released
Box office: $52,632
Original language: IT
IMDB: Caesar Must Die (2012)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 77/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 7,055 votes
MPAA: Unrated

Awards

16 wins & 21 nominations total

David di Donatello for Best Film
Golden Bear
David di Donatello for Best Director

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Paolo Taviani

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb280390232022-08-27
★ 6/10
The great irony of Cesare deve morire is that, while the conspirators who assassinated Julius Caesar ostensibly did so in hopes of freedom and found only death, the prisoners who stage a performance of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in this film are able to set themselves free through the liberating power of storytelling – at least until the curtain falls. The movie certainly takes its own liberties, shot documentary-style in a “high-security prison” where the guards are invariably conspicuous by their absence – though one of the best scenes has a trio of them materializing briefly to debate whether Antony is “obliging” or “a son of a bitch” –, and the inmates get along famously except for a quick quarrel which is resolved off-screen (once again without the guards’ intervention). And yet Cesare was filmed in Rome's Rebibbia prison – which at one time counted the guy who tried to kill Pope JP2 among its tenants –, and stars actual prisoners serving long sentences for murder, drug trafficking, and other offenses (the one who plays the title role actually looks like a real-life Tony Soprano); this is the soft underbelly of hardened criminals. The film’s secondary irony is that the black-and-white, ‘behind-the-scenes’ rehearsals provide a richer background setting – the highlight being the funeral oration scene delivered from the prison courtyard – than the mostly bare stage where the play proper takes place (although the Battle of Philippi – that is, what we see of it – is quite the spectacle); accordingly, the former is devoted the bulk of the economical 75-minute running time.

Production companies