Cleopatra

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4:37

Cleopatra

G

1963

4h 3m

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

61%

Tomatometer

95 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

"Cleopatra" is a lengthy, sprawling, spectacular love story, helmed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, depicting Cleopatra's manipulation of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony in her ill-fated attempt to save the Egyptian empire. This threesome in one of the most famous and gloriously powerful love triangles ever to be captured on film.

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Critics Consensus

Cleopatra is a lush, ostentatious, endlessly eye-popping epic that sags collapses from a (and how could it not?) four-hour runtime.

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Ben Kern

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Jul 10, 2026

There gaucheries of dialog, but the faults are few and the virtues many, not the least of which is restraint in the orgies and gore department. The pageantry is obvious theatrics, but I really don't mind being over-pelted with optical delights.

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Wanda Hale

New York Daily News

Jun 29, 2026

If you go to leer, you will stay to cheer a magnificent spectacle that gratifies our desire for perfection, enriches our love of beauty and art, fulfills our admiration of brilliant acting and satisfies our demand for historical accuracy...

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David Cobb

Toronto Star

Jun 29, 2026

...the movie lacks any unity of design save by and through the character of Cleopatra; two, Elizabeth Taylor, capable in her range but strictly a 20th-century vixen, falls far short of what is needed as the serpent of the Nile.

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W. Ward Marsh

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Jun 29, 2026

"Cleopatra" has all the appearances of 24-carat gold, which of course is appropriate because it cost so much money.

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Hope Pantell

Baltimore Sun

Jun 29, 2026

"Cleopatra" isn't just a movie; it's a phenomenon, a state of mind, an epic of our time as well as of ancient times.

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Donald Zec

Daily Mirror (UK)

Jun 29, 2026

There is no denying that for production quality...this massive picture must be seen. But not necessarily to be believed. For it must stand or fall on the performance of Liz Taylor as "Cleo." And big as it is - it falls..

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Misspink T

@RT07787332 2 days ago

What the difference between Gal and Clown? No difference both are a joke

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 6, 2026

A lot of things do not make this movie above a three star rating, like the plants they used were not present in this era!

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Ian W

@RT40919311 Aug 20, 2026

Who cast this dull boring film...Rex Harrison as Caesar - enough said. Burton and Taylor egos over egg it...give it a big miss Harrison thinking he's in a posh part of London teaching speech is terrible.

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Max G

@JohnPaul1086 Mar 16, 2026

Meh. Burton looked like he was inebriated most of the time; far too drawn out, of course; and endless dialog. Great sets.

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Eli H

@EliHendricks Oct 22, 2025

Its a gorgeous looking film, but it is excruciatingly long at four hours. It has a natural endpoint in the middle and probably is an example of a movie that could have been two films. Richard Burton is very good as Marc Antony, everyone else give middling performances. This movie needed to be cut, but Mank couldn't bare to have audiences miss a speck of gold of his immaculate set. You can skip this one unless you've got serious patience.

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John R

@RT91501528 Oct 22, 2025

This movie is a gorgeous mess. I recently saw it in lovely 70 mm. It really is two movies inartfully smushed together. The casting of the spectacular and talented Elizabeth Taylor as the Middle Eastern Cleopatra does not work very well, although she does well given the script and circumstances. Roddy McDowall's character has a good arc. Rex Harrison and Richard Burton are good but not great. The movie also has too little action for its subject matter.

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Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Elizabeth Taylor

Cleopatra

Richard Burton

Marc Antony

Rex Harrison

Julius Caesar

Pamela Brown

High Priestess

George Cole

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Cleopatra: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

"Cleopatra" is a lengthy, sprawling, spectacular love story, helmed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, depicting Cleopatra's manipulation of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony in her ill-fated attempt to save the Egyptian empire. This threesome in one of the most famous and gloriously powerful love triangles ever to be captured on film.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Producer: Walter Wanger
Screenwriter: Sidney Buchman, Carlo Mario Franzero, Ranald MacDougall, Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: G
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 12, 1963, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 18, 2012
Runtime: 4h 3m
Sound Mix: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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