Cleopatra is a 1963 American epic historical drama movie directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, with a screenplay by Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall, and Sidney Buchman derived from Carlo Maria Franzero’s 1957 book The Life and Times of Cleopatra, as well as histories by Plutarch, Suetonius, and Appian.
Elizabeth Taylor plays the title character in the film. In supporting roles, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, and Martin Landau appear. It tells the story of Cleopatra, Egypt’s teenage queen, as she fights Rome’s imperial ambitions.
Walter Wanger has been considering making a biographical film about Cleopatra for a long time. His production business teamed up with Twentieth Century Fox to make the picture in 1958. Following a lengthy casting process, Elizabeth Taylor agreed to play the titular role for a record-breaking $1 million fee.
Rouben Mamoulian was hired as the director, while Nigel Balchin, Dale Wasserman, Lawrence Durrell, and Nunnally Johnson all worked on the writing. On September 28, 1960, principal photography began at Pinewood Studios, however, due to Taylor’s health issues, filming was put on hold. After going over budget and only having ten minutes of acceptable material, production was halted in November.
On June 12, 1963, Cleopatra premiered at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City. It garnered generally positive reviews from critics and went on to become the highest-grossing film of 1963, grossing $57.7 million in the United States and Canada and ranking as one of the top-grossing films of the decade globally.
However, the picture initially lost money due to $44 million in production and marketing costs. It got nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won four: Best Art Direction (Color), Best Cinematography (Color), Best Visual Effects, and Best Costume Design at the 36th Academy Awards (Color).
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