Cleopatra (1963)
If there ever is a movie that is worth watching just for set designs and costumes this would be it. Cleopatra has other qualities thankfully, mostly from Elizabeth Taylor who simply is Cleopatra and Rex Harrison doing a wonderful Caesar. The movie also has plenty of problems which I think lies mostly in the script. We are not given enough reason to really be interested in all the politics and wars. Maybe someone with more interest in the history of things would appreciate it more, but I never became particularly interested in the actual plot. The movie is also called Cleopatra so it is of course more about her as a ruler and woman, though her portrayal is mostly done by proxy with how she affects everyone around her - Caesar and Antony especially. We never get really close to how her line of thinking is, but it is a joy to behold her dynamics with Caesar.
As a 4 hour epic it doesn’t actually feel that epic. It holds nothing against something like Ben Hur for example. The set pieces look good, but most of the movie is spent indoors with people talking. The highlights is whenever Cleopatra enters a city on her massive throne accompanied with plenty of spectacle. Everything about Cleopatra really conveys her almost godlike demeanor and it is all just turned up to 11 with her wardrobe, rooms and servants. It is worth watching for that, but this movie could really have been so much more with a more interesting script.
Rating: 3