tmpj This Hallmark TV version of the Cleopatra tragedy has all of the trappings of Egypt, and the technology to boot. But it falls short in its delivery, and it's just simply not convincing. It is tough to get actors to play "sword and sandal" flicks with credibility. "Gladiator" probably stands out as the best of the fairly recent vintage. Comparing this film to Liz Taylor and Dick Burton is not fair...there simply is NO comparison, and it does not approach the level of the 1963 movie. However, the sets and the cinematography are absolutely fantastic. If you can sit through a dreadful portrayal of Cleopatra, you may become engaged- if not completely entertained. I do not recommend that you watch this film...unless, of course, you are inclined to do so. It would be best to have the 1963 version on hand, so you can make comparisons.

David Perry This film is a good film for understanding Roman history, although like all movies it has errors such as that Octavian was not in Rome when Caesar was assassinated, it leaves out major figures like Cicero, etc. Marc Antony had twins with Cleopatra before marrying Octavia. Octavia actually seems to have loved Antony and supported him politically and by providing troops for his fight against her brother. Her and Marc Antony were together for five years before Antony went back to Cleopatra and had another child with her. Interestingly Octavia adopted Antony and Cleopatra's three children and seems to have done her best to raise them with Antony's daughter marrying the King of Numidia. Octavia seems to have been an interesting characted and was universally admired in Rome for her beauty (she was supposedly more beautiful than Cleopatra) and virtue. While Octavian probably had Caesarion murdered he did not kill these three, although only one lived to grow up probably due to normal childhood mortality. As long as you take it all with a grain of salt it is OK history compared to most "historical" movies and provided a pretty good understanding of the period.

FloatingOpera7 Cleopatra (1999): Leonor Varela, Timothy Dalton, Billy Zane, Rupert Graves, John Bowe, Nadim Sawalha, Art Malik, Owen Teale, Phillip Quast, Daragh O'Malley, Sean Pertwee, Bruce Payne, Kassandra Voyagis, Indra Ove, Josephine Amankwah, Elisabeth Dermot Walsh, James Saxon, Amina Annabi, Alexandar Francis Lynch...Director Franc Roddam Teleplay..Stephen Harrigan, Anton Diether.Based on the best-selling novel "Memoirs of Cleopatra" by Margaret George, this was a televised miniseries on ABC, released in May of 1999. It starred Leonor Varela as Cleopatra, Timothy Dalton as Julius Caesar and Billy Zane as Marc Antony. At the time it aired on TV, many epic made-for-TV films and series was all the rage. NBC had "The Odyssey" with Armand Asante and "Merlin" with Sam Neil. In following with the Cleopatra history/legend, this is a drama dealing with Cleopatra and her relationship with two powerful men in her attempt to empower Egypt as a force equal to that of the growing Roman Empire. While the 1963 Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor is far better known and more romanticized, this movie portrays Cleopatra as ambitious and power-hungry, sensual but tough and physically strong. Being the late 90's, she does not come off as a bitchy user of men as much as she does a liberated woman not afraid of confrontation and who uses not only her beauty but her brains. There's a scene late in the film in which Cleopatra, aboard one of Antony's ship in that final decisive sea battle, fights her way out of it. That's something that Elizabeth Taylor's more vulnerable Cleo would not have done on film. Leonor Varela is the first black actress to appear in the role of otherwise "white" Cleopatras and they cast her because she has a tan, Arabic/Mediterrenean look that historians believe is closer to the real Cleopatra. She is a wonderful actress and does the role justice. Timothy Dalton as Caesar is miscast in my opinion, yet another British actor in a role full of pomp. But Billy Zane as Antony is terrific. Shot in North Africa, the look of the film is gorgeous and epic. The screenplay is well-written and certainly a lot better than the 1963 film, but this owes to the fact that the script was drawn from a very well-written novel. This Cleopatra is for modern audiences with modern sensibility and with a feminist slant. Also, Varela's performance as Cleopatra is far more human and moving than Elizabeth Taylor's more wooden one. Varela's human touches of nuance and warmth makes her Cleopatra less cold and calculating than previous Cleopatras. In another scene, she feeds her starving people with wheat that had been stored for Roman occupants. Her Cleopatra is one we can feel sorry for and sympathize with, especially when her dreams of a unified Egypt and Rome alliance are thwarted and one by one her dreams are shattered. Her much talked about suicide is not an act of weakness or despair and in this film, it's made out to be a means of escape for her and a way for her to triumph over Octavian her enemy. Rather than being his new conquest and victimized as another Roman captive, she bravely takes her own life. A great movie with high production values, great sets and costumes and music by Trevor Jones who had done music for NBC's "Merlin" and at one time "Excalibur". So if you liked the novel and you are a fan of historical fiction in film, this one is definitely for you. Watch as the drama, passion and sensationalism unfolds as the triumphs and tragedies of Cleopatra Queen of the Nile comes to life.

michael_the_nermal I saw this in a history class of the Roman Republic, believe it or not. This film smacks of made-for-TV all over it, and it is simply hilarious. It looks like a cheap imitator of "Xena: Warrior Princess" rather than a genuine attempt at historic recreation. All the basic historic facts seem in order, but with overly-pretty actors and over-the-top violence and action scenes thrown in to lure the Xena fans. Marc Antony is the super-hunky Billy Zane, though he seems supremely whiny and wimpy in this movie. HE'S the great Roman General?! Master of the Horse?! Puh-lease! Hunkiness means nothing if you're such a scaredy-cat, you let the girly-looking Octavian (he looks like Napoleon Dynamite) beat you in battle. It's clear Cleo chose him only for his looks! Cleopatra is an over-the-top sexy babe, and a cheap imitation of Xena. She joins Antony in battle at Actium, kicking major butt and slicing and dicing with her sword. She is also a yappy, whiny shrew of a woman that, in spite of her great beauty, it is very unlikely any man would want to hook up with her. I adamantly refuse to believe that Antony and Cleopatra were uber-hot supermodels; but, for the purposes of this film, it works! It's lovely schlock, and connoisseurs of schlock and camp will love this film.