How Does the 1963 Film Present the Relationship Between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar
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- Category: History: People
- Date Submitted: 05/27/2016 03:57 AM
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Assignment 01
Part 01 – Cleopatra
How does the 1963 film present the relationship between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar?
How does this compare to earlier depictions of their relationship in the ancient sources you have met in your module?
When the words Julius Caesar and Cleopatra come up what do we think? A fearful leader of one of the greatest army’s history has ever seen and a young beauty who had Egypt in the palm of her hands. When these two great names in history crossed paths between 47 and 48 BC what would follow was a power struggle where ultimately neither would win.
In this essay I will be discussing the romanticised Hollywood version of Cleopatra and Julius Cesar’s relationship compared to the ancient texts and sources that I have discovered. I will be addressing the visual behaviour as seen in the film compared to the imaginative one that I have visualised through reading.
Our first image of Cleopatra and Caesar together comes at perhaps the most iconic of their relationship. Cleopatra is unveiled as a gift wrapped in a carpet and presented to Caesar. (Reputations 2008, Warner, 1958, p.290) has it as a sleeping bag rather than a carpet but Hollywood and the massive film budget preferred the style of a carpet over a non-glorified sleeping bag. As she is unveiled he is instantly taken aback by her beauty but from here on a power struggle ensues. They fight like children; he takes the approach of a dominant father telling off his disobedient daughter. She is not the sexually motivated whore as Caesar would of heard but in fact she is a powerful, driven intellect who knows what she wants for her and her people and seemingly knows what is good for Caesar.
(Reputations 2008, Warner, 1958, p.290) claims Caesar arranged Cleopatra and her brother to share the throne after being overcome by her charm. In the film Caesars main intention before laying eyes on Cleopatra is to unite the waring siblings and unify the throne. The film is filled with lavish...
Part 01 – Cleopatra
How does the 1963 film present the relationship between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar?
How does this compare to earlier depictions of their relationship in the ancient sources you have met in your module?
When the words Julius Caesar and Cleopatra come up what do we think? A fearful leader of one of the greatest army’s history has ever seen and a young beauty who had Egypt in the palm of her hands. When these two great names in history crossed paths between 47 and 48 BC what would follow was a power struggle where ultimately neither would win.
In this essay I will be discussing the romanticised Hollywood version of Cleopatra and Julius Cesar’s relationship compared to the ancient texts and sources that I have discovered. I will be addressing the visual behaviour as seen in the film compared to the imaginative one that I have visualised through reading.
Our first image of Cleopatra and Caesar together comes at perhaps the most iconic of their relationship. Cleopatra is unveiled as a gift wrapped in a carpet and presented to Caesar. (Reputations 2008, Warner, 1958, p.290) has it as a sleeping bag rather than a carpet but Hollywood and the massive film budget preferred the style of a carpet over a non-glorified sleeping bag. As she is unveiled he is instantly taken aback by her beauty but from here on a power struggle ensues. They fight like children; he takes the approach of a dominant father telling off his disobedient daughter. She is not the sexually motivated whore as Caesar would of heard but in fact she is a powerful, driven intellect who knows what she wants for her and her people and seemingly knows what is good for Caesar.
(Reputations 2008, Warner, 1958, p.290) claims Caesar arranged Cleopatra and her brother to share the throne after being overcome by her charm. In the film Caesars main intention before laying eyes on Cleopatra is to unite the waring siblings and unify the throne. The film is filled with lavish...