Julius Caesar (1953)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Release Date:

4 June 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

The assassination of the would be ruler of Rome at the hands of Brutus and company has tragic consequences for the idealist and the republic.

Plot Keywords:

Tragedy | Political Corruption | Political Unrest | Tense | Rome

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Mark Antony
James Mason	...	Brutus
John Gielgud	...	Cassius
Louis Calhern	...	Julius Caesar
Edmond O'Brien	...	Casca
Greer Garson	...	Calpurnia
Deborah Kerr	...	Portia
George Macready	...	Marullus
Michael Pate	...	Flavius
Richard Hale	...	Soothsayer
Alan Napier	...	Cicero
John Hoyt	...	Decius Brutus
Tom Powers	...	Metellus Cimber
William Cottrell	...	Cinna
Jack Raine	...	Trebonius

Also Known As:

William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Black and White (tinted) (1969 UK re-release)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (1969 UK re-release) | Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (original release)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16281)

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The film's soundtrack was actually recorded in four-track stereo, although it had not been filmed in Cinemascope, but the film was eventually released in mono. If it had been released in four-track stereo, this film, and not The Robe (1953), would have been the first motion picture released using that method of recording. The film was eventually released that way on laserdisc.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the soothsayer walks in the middle of the crowd to the right of the screen, we see from above when he is passing by Brutus. In the next shot he is walking towards the camera and Brutus, now behind him, grabs his arm to turn him.

Quotes:

Marc Antony: [to Caesar's dead body] O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Peter Boyle/Al Jarreau (#1.13)" (1976)

An excellent film

This production stands as a shining example of how a big Hollywood studio, in this case M-G-M, can make a great Shakespeare film, cast it intelligently, and still end up with box-office names. No less than five Hollywood stars - Marlon Brando, James Mason, Deborah Kerr, Greer Garson, and Edmond O'Brien, are in this film (although two of them have barely five minutes of screen time) and the entire cast gives fine performances.

James Mason, who actually has the leading role of Brutus (despite the fact that Brando gets top billing) is excellent, giving a conscience-stricken, restrained performance--he even LOOKS the way one likes to imagine that Brutus must have looked. Marlon Brando reminds us of what a brilliant actor he once was--for an actor who deliberately stayed away from Shakespeare, his performance is remarkable--and every word he says is understandable. This film was the great John Gielgud's first chance to immortalize one of his great roles on film and to show movie audiences what made him such a renowned Shakespearean actor---his Cassius is full of envy that seems about to boil over any minute. Louis Calhern, a rather hammy villain in other films, is subtly unsympathetic, yet vulnerable as Julius Caesar. The photography is fine and completely unobtrusive---as is the music; director Mankiewicz has filmed the play without resorting to any gimmicks or cheap "Hollywoody" stunts,and the adaptation is so faithful that no one gets on screen credit for it.

Who cares about historical inaccuracies when you can see a great play as well acted as this one?