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poster of Cleopatra
Rating: 3.5/10 by 21 users

Cleopatra (1912)

The fabled queen of Egypt's affair with Roman general Marc Antony is ultimately disastrous for both of them.

Directing:
  • Charles L. Gaskill
Writing:
  • Victorien Sardou
  • Charles L. Gaskill
Stars:
Release Date: Wed, Nov 13, 1912

Rating: 3.5/10 by 21 users

Alternative Title:

Country:
United States of America
Language:
No Language
Runtime: 01 hour 28 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: roman empire, queen, cleopatra, slave, silent film, ancient egypt
Subtitle   Wallpaper   Watch Trailer    

Helen Gardner
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt
Charles Sindelar
Marc Antony, a Triumvir and General
Pearl Sindelar
Iras, Attendant to the Queen
Miss Fielding
Charmian, Attendant to the Queen
Harry Knowles
Kephren, Captain of the Guards to the Queen
Miss Robson
Octavia - Wife of Antony
Helene Costello
Nicola - a Child

CinemaSerf

I think this was quite a clever topic for Charles Gaskill to pick. It has all the ingredients for a sumptuous photoplay with costumes, grand sets and most importantly - a story that everyone is already going to be familiar with. The helps enormously as the rest of this all but 110 year old film is truly experimental. From any critical perspective, no - it's not very good. Helen Gardner in the title role lacks any sort of passion in her delivery, her eyes rarely engage with the camera and her gestures frequently reminded me of something almost pantomime in their nature. The camerawork is almost totally static - no panning or tracking, close ups - indeed anything to visualise the emotions that this story can engender. Sadly, that performance renders it at times quite tedious. It is ambitious, however - and the techniques used demonstrate creative attempts by cinematographer Lucien Tainguy to try to innovate - just not very successfully on this occasion. Anyone interested in the development of cinema ought to watch this - it is fine example of basic lighting and editing methods with decently spaced inter-titles, that I think you'll appreciate for what it is.... very, very young!


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