Cleopatra

UPC: 025195051002

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Questionable for Children]

Summary: Film historian William K. Everson once observed that the secret to the success of Cecil B. DeMille's 1934 Cleopatra is that DeMille subtly reshaped the known historical events into a contemporary "gold-digger makes good" scenario. Exhibiting the same determination with which Barbara Stanwyck sleeps her way to the top in 1933's Baby Face, Queen Cleopatra (Claudette Colbert) uses her feminine wiles to become sole ruler of Egypt. By turns kittenish and cold-blooded, Cleopatra wraps such otherwise responsible Roman worthies as Julius Caesar (Warren William, who wittily plays his role like one of his standard ruthless business executives) and Marc Antony (Henry Wilcoxon) around her well-manicured little finger. To emphasize the "contemporary" nature of the film, DeMille adds little modernistic touches throughout: The architecture of Egypt and Rome has a distinctly art-deco look; a matron at a social gathering clucks "Poor Calpurnia...well, the wife is always the last to know"; and, after Caesar's funeral, Mark Anthony is chided by an associate for "all that 'Friends, Romans, Countrymen' business!" Cleopatra's barge scene and her suicide from the bite of a snake marked two of the most memorable sequences in DeMille's career. Remarkably, for all the enormous sets and elaborate costumes, Cleopatra came in at a budget of $750,000 -- almost $40 million less than the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor remake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Epic

Awards: Best Assistant Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: Claudette Colbert: Queen of the Silver Screen
Cecil B. DeMille: Hollywood's Epic Director
Forbidden Film: The Production Code Era
Feature commentary with filmmaker F.X. Feeney

Cleopatra

Format: DVD

Release Date: 04/07/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DDM2.0 Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono

Runtime: 112 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Cleopatra
1. Main Titles [2:47]
2. Exiled From Egypt [4:00]
3. A Gift for Caesar [8:28]
4. Intimate Plans [5:16]
5. Sole Ruler [5:53]
6. Blasphemous Rumors [3:13]
7. Day of Evil [3:46]
8. New Found Treasures [4:36]
9. Caesar Is Dead! [3:40]
10. Roman & Egyptian Affairs [2:48]
11. Dazzling Antony [11:32]
12. A Case of the Hiccups [6:47]
13. Roman Revolution [8:24]
14. Pretty Toast [12:06]
15. At War [3:59]
16. Courageous Request [6:15]
17. Undying Love [5:00]
18. Abdicating the Throne [2:36]

Cast and Crew: Edgar Dearing  Actor 
Wilfred Lucas  Actor 
Jack Mulhall  Actor 
George Walsh  Actor 
Grace Durkin  Actor 
Robert Manning  Actor 
Eleanor Phelps  Actor 
Dorothy White  Actor 
John Carradine  Actor 
Charles Morris  Actor 
Lionel Belmore  Actor 
Kenneth Gibson  Actor 
Jayne Regan  Actor 
Richard Alexander  Actor 
William Farnum  Actor 
Edwin Maxwell  Actor 
Hal Price  Actor 
Harry Beresford  Actor 
Ferdinand Gottschalk  Actor 
William V. Mong  Actor 
Jack Rutherford  Actor 
Robert Warwick  Actor 
Claudia Dell  Actor 
Wedgewood Nowell  Actor 
Bruce Warren  Actor 
Florence Roberts  Actor 
Bartlett Cormack  Screenwriter 
Cecil B. DeMille  Director 
Cecil B. DeMille  Producer 
Rudolph G. Kopp  Composer (Music Score) 
Vincent Lawrence  Screenwriter 
Waldemar Young  Screenwriter 
Claudette Colbert  Actor 
Warren William  Actor 
Henry Wilcoxon  Actor 
Gertrude Michael  Actor 
Joseph Schildkraut  Actor 
Ian Keith  Actor 
C. Aubrey Smith  Actor 
Ian MacLaren  Actor 
Arthur Hohl  Actor 
Leonard Mudie  Actor 
Irving Pichel  Actor 

Country: USA