Name: Television Review: Cleopatra (1999)
Item: Cleopatra
Rating: 60
Author: @drax

(source: tmdb.org)

One of the great ironies of world history can be found in the fact that of all the rulers of Ancient Egypt the best known is the one the least deserving, at least on the account of that great country losing its independence on her watch and not regaining it for the most of next two millennia. This might be explained with the fact that winners write history, and in this particular case the winners were Romans, whose sources tried to justify cold, brutal and opportunistic conquest of Egypt with lack of virtue and other character qualities of its last ruler, Queen Cleopatra VII. Unlike them, some of the modern authors take revisionist approach and try to undone centuries of negative stereotypes that were entrenched in popular culture and found their way, among other things, into the works of William Shakespeare. One of those authors was Margaret George whose meticulously researched 1997 novel Memoirs of Cleopatra became bestseller. In 1999 it was adapted into two-part television miniseries Cleopatra, directed by Franc Roddam.

The plot begins in 47 BC when Roman general and statesman Gaius Julius Caesar (played by Timothy Dalton) arrives in Egyptian capital of Alexandria in order to collect the debts and secure important shipments of grain for hungry masses of Rome. His task isn’t easy because Egypt is the midst of civil war which pitted 12-year old King Ptolemy (played by Ashley L. Clark) and his older sister Arsinoe (played by Kassandra Voyagis) against their 17-year old sister Cleopatra (played by Leonor Varela). At first, Ptolemy and Arsinoe have the upper hand, but Cleopatra smuggles herself into Alexandria and present herself to Caesar. He is seduced by her and takes her side, ultimately using his legions to get rid of Ptolemy and Arsinoe. With Cleopatra as sole ruler of Egypt, Rome’s shipments of grain are secure and Caesar’s alliance with young queen solidified with the birth of son Ptolemy Caesar. Cleopatra believes that the boy would ultimately have all the power of Rome and Egypt at his disposal and conquer the world. Some people in Rome, however, have different ideas, namely Caesar’s nephew and designated heir Octavius (played by Rupert Graves), while Caesar’s best friend Brutus (played by Sean Pertwee) considers Ceasar’s cavorting with foreign monarch unacceptable to Roman republican values. Caesar is assassinated but it only starts another round of civil wars in Rome during which shrewd Octavius joins forces with Caesar’s loyal commander Mark Anthony (played by Billy Zane) and defeats assassins. Roman territories are divided between them, with Octavius getting the West and Anthony getting the East. The latter lacks Caesar’s governing skills and finds himself in difficult financial situation. Solution comes in form of Cleopatra who seduces him and offers riches of Egypt in exchange for his protection. This new alliance is obvious threat to Octavius who would launch another civil war.

This miniseries is bound to be compared with Cleopatra, spectacular but much-maligned 1963 Hollywood epic which covered the same subject. Television production, even after three decades, can’t compete with old Hollywood in terms of budget, but what it lacks in quantity it compensates with quality. Combination of Morrocan locations, elaborate sets, interesting costumes and CGI quite decent for late 1990s standards allows for ancient past to be recreated in satisfactory manner. British director Franc Roddam maintains fast tempo of the story and does what 1963 version failed to do – providing action scenes, including spectacular combat. Even the famous naval engagement at Actium, which 1963 Hollywood failed to cover properly, is portrayed briefly but efficiently. On the other hand, script by Stephen Harrigan and Anton Dieter, goes a little bit too far in simplifying story for the convenience sake; many historical personalities and events are simply left out. Chilean actress Leonor Varela with her exotic looks is more than passable Cleopatra, but the script doesn’t provide her with good dialogues. Billy Zane as Mark Anthony is also adequate, but his character doesn’t appear in the miniseries and the plot dealing with Anthony’s relationship with Cleopatra develops too fast. Chemistry between those two actors is good and they later started relationship in real life. The most impressive role, however, belongs to Timothy Dalton who plays Julius Caesar as intelligent, passionate and charismatic leader capable of bringing soldiers to the follow him to the ends of Earth, Roman masses to follow him and sophisticated queens to fall under his spell. Caesar’s character, however, disappears from the miniseries at half of its length and subsequent half looks predictably underwhelming. Despite those flaws, Cleopatra provides sufficient entertainment for audience that still yearns for old school historical epics.

RATING: 6/10 (++)