- Cleopatra (1934 film)
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Cleopatra 
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille Produced by Cecil B. DeMille Written by Waldemar Young
Vincent Lawrence
Bartlett Cormack (adaptation: historical material)Starring Claudette Colbert
Warren William
Henry Wilcoxon
Joseph SchildkrautMusic by Rudolph G. Kopp
Milan Roder (uncredited)Cinematography Victor Milner Editing by Anne Bauchens (uncredited) Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date(s) October 5, 1934 Running time 100 minutes Country United States Language English Cleopatra is a 1934 epic film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and distributed by Paramount Pictures, which retells the story of Cleopatra VII of Egypt.
It was written by Waldemar Young, Vincent Lawrence and Bartlett Cormack, and was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Claudette Colbert stars as Cleopatra, Warren William as Julius Caesar, Henry Wilcoxon as Marc Antony, Joseph Schildkraut as King Herod, and Ian Keith as Octavian.
Contents
Production
In 1934 the Hays code had just taken effect, so DeMille got away with using more risque imagery than he would be able to in his later productions. He opens the film with a naked, strategically lit slavegirl holding up incense burners as the title appears on screen.
Claudette Colbert
The film is also memorable for the sumptuous art deco look of its sets (by Hans Dreier) and costumes (by Travis Banton), the atmospheric music by Rudolph Kopp, and for DeMille's legendary set piece of Cleopatra's seduction of Antony, which takes place on Cleopatra's barge.
The film won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Victor Milner), and was nominated Best Picture, Best Assistant Director (Cullen Tate), Best Film Editing (Anne Bauchens), and Best Sound, Recording (Franklin Hansen).[1]
It has been released for home viewing several times, most recently as a 75th anniversary DVD edition in 2009 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.[2]
Cast
- Claudette Colbert as Cleopatra
- Warren William as Julius Caesar
- Henry Wilcoxon as Marc Antony
- Joseph Schildkraut as King Herod
- Ian Keith as Octavian
- Gertrude Michael as Calpurnia
- C. Aubrey Smith as Enobarbus
- Irving Pichel as Apollodorus
- Arthur Hohl as Brutus
- Edwin Maxwell as Casca
- Ian Maclaren as Cassius
- Eleanor Phelps as Charmion
- Leonard Mudie as Pothinos
- Grace Durkin as Iras
- Ferdinand Gottschalk as Glabrio (scenes deleted)
References
- ^ "The 7th Academy Awards (1935) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/7th-winners.html. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ Chaney, Jen (2009-04-09). "A Pair of DVDs From a 'Loose' Era". Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/06/AR2009040602212.html. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
External links
- Cleopatra (1934 film) at the Internet Movie Database
- Cleopatra at AllRovi
- Cleopatra at the TCM Movie Database
- Cleopatra at Rotten Tomatoes
- Greatest Films- Cleopatra Critique and plot description.
- CinemaGraphe | Cleopatra 1934 Images and the Story of the making of the film
Categories:- 1934 films
- American films
- English-language films
- Black-and-white films
- Epic films
- Films set in the 1st century BC
- Paramount Pictures films
- Depictions of Cleopatra VII on film
- Depictions of Mark Antony on film
- Depictions of Julius Caesar on film
- Depictions of Augustus on film
- Films set in ancient Egypt
- Films set in Rome
- Films set in Alexandria
- Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille
- Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
- Depictions of Herod the Great on film
- Films set in ancient Rome
- Biographical films
- Final War of the Roman Republic films
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