Arthur Hohl, C. Aubrey Smith, Claudette Colbert

The man-hungry Queen of Egypt leads Julius Caesar and Marc Antony astray, amid scenes of DeMillean splendor.

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70% liked it

620 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

8 critics

Unrated, 100 min.

Directed by: Cecil B. DeMille

Release Date: October 5, 1934

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DVD Release Date: May 23, 2006

Stats: 44 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (44)


  • January 18, 2008
    the 30s "cleopatra" is cecil b. demille's epic piece as well as claudette colbert's ultimate height of shimmering glamour in lavish period costumes by the 30s fashion genius travis banton.

    the triangle between cleopatra, caesar and marc antony is grandeurly reputed and celebr...( read more)ated with the rosiness of feministic romance to the seductress blessed with beauty, intelligence, wealth and supreme power, wholeheartedly in love with elite studs. it's simply too surreally divine to befall on earth.

    compared with the 60s cleopatra made with elizabeth taylor, demile's aware of the art of conciseness, and his cuts of cleopatra's affair with caesar is transient but sharp to the crucial point: caesar doesn't love cleopatra but infatuated with the inquisiton of her gold as well as the deliciously prosperous egypt.

    then the scenery shifts to the romance with marc antony who contempts love and deems women as the play things of the warriors that makes it tastefully witty to witness how cleopatra conquers the steel-hearted antony by disarming him level by level with sly humor. and the showcast of those egyptian vaudevilles are tour de farce which could only be presented by demille's wheeling camera, such as the she-leopard circular flame-diving sequence. and henry wilcoxon as antony delivers enough virility to dignify this grandly masculine man melted by the lure of a siren. the scene he reacts to roman's defying duel with reckless bravado to fight with his last breath is the exemplification of primitive manhood while cleopatra kneels beside him to surrender as a woman in love, a conquest of his enormous machoness then she nullifies the fickle scheme to poison him into death.

    the prestigious suicide to declare cleopatra's sacred love is written with mighty aloofness "be careful when you seek love, if you cannot find love, don't give a thing...if you're rich as cleopatra, give everything!"...then the camera looms over her statuesque dead posture as she demises by the snake bite, permeated with her egoistically lofty pride which prevents her from consdescending at last moment, even defeated by backfires.
  • July 14, 2007
    makes me wanna take a milk bath just thinking about this sand n sandal drum thumper...man, was ms. colbert hottt in this...
  • June 20, 2009
    This would have been much better in color.

    Liz Taylor is still the hottest Cleopatra.
  • April 1, 2009
    Very sexy for it's time. For anytime really
  • November 23, 2008
    honestly, who knows what happened back then. how much of de mille's film is actually true is still a matter of argument. but colbert is a spicy delight as the queen, and william and wilcoxon are admirable leads. the highlight of the film is the sudection of antony. where the ...( read more)taylor-burton version is leaden, this one isn't. it is light, comic and tastefully erotic, but not to the point where cleo's purpose is obscured.
  • August 23, 2008
    Leave it to a woman to get men in trouble. For it's time good.
  • August 4, 2008
    not bad but Liz does it better
  • July 20, 2008
    One of the best movies about Cleopatra I ever seen...
  • July 6, 2008
    nominated for best picture at oscars
  • September 17, 2007
    I can never get into this movie.

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