I found Antony and Cleopatra at a used DVD store 4 months ago. I had never heard of it, but I was attracted to it when I saw that my favorite actor- Charlton Heston, was the star, writer, and director. (He's mostly my favorite actor due to his work in Biblical epics- see my "Reverse Recommendation" section.)
I delayed watching it because I found out that the script is straight from a Shakespeare play. I admire bits of Shakespeare ("Wherefore art thou Romeo?", "To be or not to be?"), but his use of Old English is a bit too sophisticated for me to comprehend- and this is coming from a Christian who prefers the King James Bible.
Anyways, I just sat down and watched the movie, and I was conflicted throughout. The plot follows an affair between Mark Antony (whom Heston plays) and Cleopatra.
The acting is well done, not just from Heston, but his co-star Hildegarde Neil. In fact, even though Charlton Heston is my favorite actor, I admired Neil's performance more in the movie.
Her filmography mostly consists of other Shakespeare adaptations and some other movies unfamiliar to me. There are other good actors as well, such as Fernado Rey, who played a wiseman in Jesus of Nazareth.
I also must respect Heston's faithfulness to Shakespeare's play (it's quoted verbatim) and the skill of the production. Other aspects impressed me as well, such as stabbings through stomachs and armors looking very realistic.
There were also some funny lines, although they sadly have escaped my memory. Also, the movie went by fairly decently for a runtime of 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Despite what I admire about Antony and Cleopatra, I don't think it is a movie I'd see again. The biggest issue for me is, as I mentioned, the Old English. This made it hard at times for me to understand what was going on. I got the overall gist, but there were times, especially in the first third, where I wavered between "I get this" and "What's going on?"
Apparently, this had bad reviews when this was released 50 years ago. Heston wrote in his autobiography that "the film I cared more about than any I've ever made was a failure." Posthumously to Heston I'd like to say that while I can't quite recommend the movie, it's not a "failure."
Despite the great acting, sets, and some good moments throughout, the movie was too complex for someone not well versed into Shakespeare. I would have enjoyed this much better had Heston stayed true to the play AND updated the dialogue to modern day English.
If you are a Shakespeare buff, I recommend this most to you. For those interested in Heston's performance and work as a director, this would be worth a watch. For anyone else though, I am very disappointed to say I can't recommend it. I respect Heston's effort and admire his ambition, but I must say that I admired his work here more than I enjoyed it.
Reverse Recommendations: For better movies with Charlton Heston- I would recommend his religious epics, like The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Agony and the Ecstasy. The Greatest Story Ever Told is my personal favorite out of all of these.
I delayed watching it because I found out that the script is straight from a Shakespeare play. I admire bits of Shakespeare ("Wherefore art thou Romeo?", "To be or not to be?"), but his use of Old English is a bit too sophisticated for me to comprehend- and this is coming from a Christian who prefers the King James Bible.
Anyways, I just sat down and watched the movie, and I was conflicted throughout. The plot follows an affair between Mark Antony (whom Heston plays) and Cleopatra.
The acting is well done, not just from Heston, but his co-star Hildegarde Neil. In fact, even though Charlton Heston is my favorite actor, I admired Neil's performance more in the movie.
Her filmography mostly consists of other Shakespeare adaptations and some other movies unfamiliar to me. There are other good actors as well, such as Fernado Rey, who played a wiseman in Jesus of Nazareth.
I also must respect Heston's faithfulness to Shakespeare's play (it's quoted verbatim) and the skill of the production. Other aspects impressed me as well, such as stabbings through stomachs and armors looking very realistic.
There were also some funny lines, although they sadly have escaped my memory. Also, the movie went by fairly decently for a runtime of 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Despite what I admire about Antony and Cleopatra, I don't think it is a movie I'd see again. The biggest issue for me is, as I mentioned, the Old English. This made it hard at times for me to understand what was going on. I got the overall gist, but there were times, especially in the first third, where I wavered between "I get this" and "What's going on?"
Apparently, this had bad reviews when this was released 50 years ago. Heston wrote in his autobiography that "the film I cared more about than any I've ever made was a failure." Posthumously to Heston I'd like to say that while I can't quite recommend the movie, it's not a "failure."
Despite the great acting, sets, and some good moments throughout, the movie was too complex for someone not well versed into Shakespeare. I would have enjoyed this much better had Heston stayed true to the play AND updated the dialogue to modern day English.
If you are a Shakespeare buff, I recommend this most to you. For those interested in Heston's performance and work as a director, this would be worth a watch. For anyone else though, I am very disappointed to say I can't recommend it. I respect Heston's effort and admire his ambition, but I must say that I admired his work here more than I enjoyed it.
Reverse Recommendations: For better movies with Charlton Heston- I would recommend his religious epics, like The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Agony and the Ecstasy. The Greatest Story Ever Told is my personal favorite out of all of these.