Cleopatra was released in 1963 to much acclaim. It is an absolutely gorgeous film and, while epic in its pacing, is a wonderful example of the big budget large format dramas that studios in the 1960s were producing alongside the moderate budget films in case the gambles on these big budget sagas failed. With Cleopatra specifically, there was no holding back. Intended to be released as two films, studio executives ended this dream and insisted that one four hour epic be released instead. The production came in at a whopping $33 million, and while its initial gross mildly surpassed this, with extended costs of promotion and distribution, the film lost money in the end.
Similar to many other films of this time, there was a premiere release at 251 minutes, followed by a general release of 192 minutes. A whole hour was trimmed from the film! The edits are worth noting because the artistic choices are all over the place. In some cases, one wonders if the longer cut of the film was padded with scenes that the team knew they'd have to take out. Others are crucial to the storyline. Some edits are a line of dialogue here and there, whereas others are chunks of five minutes or longer that were excised. There is an epic dramatic scene missing between Cleopatra and Antony where Cleopatra melts down in front of him. A portion of almost nine minutes toward the end that was removed takes away a subplot of Octavian confronting Cleopatra before her suicide-- a dramatic scene that sadly takes the light away from actor Roddy MacDowell in one of his best roles.
I have written a number of these comparison papers now between longer and shorter versions of films, and what strikes me the most is the creative effort that goes into reediting a film so that it can have more showtimes in theaters. I can appreciate that a 35mm or 70mm print costs money to create and ship, but with the amount of labor needed to delicately re-edit a film at union salaries, is there money being saved in the long run by doing this? An important question I will look into on a later date. When I wrote my article on The Diary of Anne Frank I noted that there was very meticulous re-editing done, with sound cues moved around, shots rearranged for overlapping dialogue, and other sorcery to keep the pace going. In the case of Cleopatra, it appears that chunks of the film were just lopped off to trim it. Less of an effort was made, making me speculate if this had to do with Zanuck's disdain for the project's budget, the character of Cleopatra being a feminist (he is quoted as saying that if he was married to a woman like Cleopatra he'd chop her balls off), and of course, the Burton/Taylor scandal that went along with the production.
Before we dive in with the differences, I want to also note how I happened to come across a copy of the general release version. Two years ago in Los Angeles, I was at a used bookstore and came across a 1980 VHS from the Magnetic Video Corporation. This was released only a few years before a restoration project was done and as a result the runtime is only 192 minutes. The colors on the VHS are quite yellow from the transfer, but the print was pristine, which was helpful in knowing that the comparison would be accurate.
A special thanks to my friend, who when I at first didn't buy the double-tape and kicked myself for not doing so, went to the store after I had flown back to Wisconsin and sent them to me. I'm proud of this essay, and I dedicate it to her.
So with that, here is a list of scenes missing from the general release version of Cleopatra. The timecodes are based off of the 2013 DVD release's timecodes, and the screenshots are also taken from that DVD. I do not own the copyright to any of the images, and they are being used for educational/reference purposes only.
Roadshow version opens with overture, and music extends over the Twentieth Century Fox title cards, whereas the general release version omits the overture and is silent over these two cards.
00:18:27-00:18:46
00:22:29-00:22:45
00:38:10-00:38:19
01:07:57-01:09:10
01:17:01-01:20:28
01:29:47-01:29:51
01:56:50-01:59:27
00:06:29-00:07:03
00:11:36-00:12:00
00:12:32-00:13:16
00:26:46-00:28:06
The scene after Antony and Cleopatra first make love has more dialogue. Antony tells her the first time he saw her he was envious of Caesar. She admits she had feelings for him too the first time she saw him when she was 12 years old. He doesn't believe her, and thinks she was probably more terrified of him.
00:39:09-00:39:47
01:09:39-01:09:47
After the short montage of Antony shown as being distant and ignoring everyone, there is another scene where Cleopatra comes to Antony at night and informs him that Octavian has invaded Egypt and that the legions are waiting for him to command them. She pleads for him to speak to Rufio if he doesn't want to speak to her to give the next order of what is to be done. She confronts him on how hateful he is being, pleading with him to understand she left because she thought he was dead and she wanted to save Egypt from Octavian. He comments that he is dead, and walks away from her.
01:33:31-01:36:33
00:05:48-00:06:25
Caesar reprimands his soldiers for not fighting harder during the battle against Pompey. Flavius warns Caesar of Canidius approaching in the same shot. In the general release version, because the part of Caesar reprimanding his soldiers is cut, two shots that originally followed this announcement are now put before Flavius comes up to Caesar to give him the news. The music cues that follow are also slightly different now that the shots have changed.
00:07:15-07:18:
While discussing Pompey, a soldier points out he's left his merchandise behind and Caesar asks where he's gone.
00:07:52-00:07:59
Caesar elaborates more on the war between King Ptolemy and Cleopatra in Egypt and how it will give Rome more wheat.
00:12:48-00:12:50
While Ptolemy and his men are commenting on how Caesar isn't making people angry and "does the unexpected", the roadshow version has an extra line where Theodotus commends Caesar for doing so with so few men.
00:15:07-00:15:29
After Caesar explains his purpose in coming to Egypt, Ptolemy protests that Caesar is trying to bring Cleopatra back to Egypt. Pothinus asks if he wishes to retire but Ptolemy refuses saying he wants to witness Caesar be given the Pompey's head.
00:18:27-00:18:46
Caesar has a longer discussion of his holding positions with his men and the condition of the water wells.
00:19:55-00:20:08
When the gifted carpet from Cleopatra is delivered, Agrippa pretends to be Caesar and the deliverer points out that neither he nor any of Caesar's other men (which he identifies all by name) is Caesar and that the gift is for Caesar alone.
00:21:56-00:22:17
Cleopatra points out that her chief handmaiden has brought the others hiding from Ptolemy out of hiding. Caesar says this is impossible because of the heavy guarded doors, but Cleopatra suggests they used hidden doors. Caesar shows interest in a tour of the palace.
When Caesar and Cleopatra are left alone, he says he is pleased Cleopatra received his summons, she says she didn't receive one and is surprised he thinks she'd answer one.
00:23:41-00:23:53
After Cleopatra has criticized Caesar's maps, and Caesar remarks she should meet his mapmaker, there is an extra few lines of Cleopatra recognizing she's rubbed Caesar the wrong way and Caesar responding he doesn't want to be rubbed by her at all.
00:24:54-00:25:40
Caesar makes fun of Cleopatra trying to negotiate with him when her entrance to him was in a rolled up carpet and she responds that she now has him, as well as her armies, and mortal hands can't destroy her. He mocks her claims about her divinity as "Isis" and she warns him about making fun of her beliefs, while mocking the beliefs of Romans.
00:31:45-00:37:30
In the montage sequence of Cleopatra contemplating her meeting with Caesars, Cleopatra's massage is a few seconds longer, dissolving into a shot of Caesar sleeping, followed by a pan shot of Cleopatra's bedroom as she lays restless, and another as she sips tea with her servants as they taste her food for her to see if it's poisoned. Phoebus stops the music, and he and Cleopatra have a conversation about Caesar about to enter the room. She tells her servants they must not disappoint Caesar based on her reputation. Caesar enters but is informed by Apollodorus he can't meet her because she is bathing. Caesar has Apollodorus seized by his men. Caesar enters and Cleopatra scolds him for being a day late from when she summoned him and barring her from meeting him in a specific room. Caesar explains that the room was too close to her brother and his men who are trying to destroy her. She protests at this but compliments his armor, and says she knows his reason for wearing it (to visit the Tomb of Alexander) and reveals she has been spying on him. She and Caesar discuss why he hasn't killed Catullus, and Achillas' plan to move his army to Alexandria and how this will outnumber Caesar. Cleopatra doesn't believe he will survive.
00:38:10-00:38:19
After Germanicus asks Agrippa why Caesar wants the Egyptian war galleys burned that night but not before, Agrippa's answer that he can't give that information extends to him saying 'for the time being.' This extends into an extra shot of Caesar entering Flavius' quarters.
00:39:58-00:40:17
While witnessing the burning of the Great Library, there is a shot of Sosigenus uttering "Aristotle's manuscripts". While a shot of Cleopatra turning toward him is included in both versions, in the roadshow version there is more footage of Sosigenus continuing about the other materials being burned in the fire.
00:41:38-00:42:06
When Cleopatra storms in and yells at Caesar for burning the city, after Agrippa asks if he should remove Cleopatra, she goes on a longer tirade. Her line "How dare you...." is shown on a close-up of Caesar in the general release version, which was used for the longer line in the roadshow version.
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00:56:48-00:57:13
When Cleopatra is being crowned as Queen of Egypt, Caesar comments on how beautiful she looks. She reminds him that neither he, nor anyone else, is supposed to be looking at her and that he should be kneeling. He comments that all the visiting kings are watching them.
00:58:06-00:59:25
After the crowning ceremony, while the general release shows Caesar pacing in the palace, it immediately cuts to Cleopatra entering her quarters and replaces the music cue from the roadshow version with the one from that scene. The roadshow version contains a scene between Caesar and Cleopatra where she meets him as he paces and they discuss their plans for the next day. She tries to convince him to stay in Egypt but he wants to go back to Rome.
01:02:19-01:06:07
When Caesar and Cleopatra embrace, the general release version fades to black and fades back into Antony's introduction whereas the roadshow version shows them kissing longer. This dissolves into a sequence cut where they visit the Tomb of Alexander and discuss Caesar's regrets at not being more like him. She offers him Alexander's sword and mantle but he turns them down. She tells Caesar to finish Alexander's dreams of conquest. He hesitates to join forces with her on this, but she is persistent. She also informs him that their future child will carry his legacy.
A sequence where Cleopatra kneels in front of a fire for a ritual, with Caesar standing near, as her slaves add powders to a fire and make it grow. A fortune teller predicts their futures for them, including a mistress who will "raise" Cleopatra "from Earth to heaven" so the "world will know a golden age of justice and love". She also predicts Cleopatra will have a son.
01:16:46-01:17:01
The narrator's voiceover varies between the roadshow and general release version. It's a completely different recording. The roadshow version ends with "to celebrate his trumphs and see to his affairs" whereas in the general release version, he ends with "and welcome to Rome his son, and Queen Cleopatra". They both illustrate different drawings, which then fade in to live action of different scenes (the general release one from where it picks up after the next cut segment in this essay).
01:17:01-01:20:28
There is a short sequence showing Caesar's return to Rome, followed by Cleopatra happy as she learns Caesar has been given the title of Rome's Dictator. She prepares for him to send for her and their son for Rome. She expresses disdain for the Senate taking so long to recognize him as their leader. Rufio explains that as dictator, he does not have supreme power, and that all decisions must be approved by the Senate. She then watches her son play with her slaves, pretending that he is a Roman soldier on a toy horse. This is followed by a conversation between Caesar and Antony where Antony explains to Caesar he is proposing an invitation to Cleopatra because Rome and Egypt are official allies. Sosigenus thanks them for allowing him to attend, and Cicero approaches saying he is impressed with how wealthy Egypt is. Antony and Caesar talk about how they don't trust his intentions.
01:21:43-01:22:00
During Cleopatra's entrance ceremony into Rome, there is footage of dancers, the lead dancer wearing pasties and a bikini bottom. The Roman Senate looks at her intriguingly.
01:26:22-01:26:28
At the same ceremony scene, there is an extra shot where Antony leans into Caesar and exclaims "Nothing like this has come into Rome since Romulus and Remus".
01:29:47-01:29:51
After rising from bowing to Caesar, Cleopatra slowly winks at him.
01:35:45-01:41:37
After the scene where Caesar declares he wants full power instead of giving his Senate power come a number of scenes cut from the general release version. First is a scene where senators speak to Brutus, expressing their distaste for a new statue of Cleopatra put in the temple, as well as Caesar's efforts to gain more power. They ask Brutus to "save Rome from Caesar" by destroying him. This is followed by a scene where Caesar, accompanied by Antony, tells Cleopatra he will be made king and emperor the next day in the Senate. She is confused but he informs her that he now controls the Senate as he's appointed many of the senators. She is pleased by this news. Antony informs Caesar that the offer is for king of the Roman empire, not of Rome. Caesar and Cleopatra are angered by this but she convinces Caesar to accept the title in a passionate speech. Antony expresses a wish to serve with him. He is hesitant. They are interrupted when they hear screaming by a slave and find the body of Titus thrown over the wall. Cleopatra interprets this as a warning to her. Caesar tells Antony that the two of them should dine with Lepidus that evening.
01:50:46-01:50:59
The shot of the Romans throwing items to burn on Caesar's body is one long zoom shot in the roadshow version, but there is a jump in the general release version to make it seem like two separate shots.
01:56:50-01:59:27
Entr'acte music is cut from the general release (although it does feature an intermission card).
ACT TWO
00:00:00-00:00:21
The opening shot of Part Two has a longer fade in and longer music cue.
00:02:10-00:02:21
After Antony is crowned, Antony throws the pillow that held the crown into the crowd and the crowd fights over it.
After Antony throws his crown into the crowd, a soldier crowns a young man with it. Antony tells his guard Philippi that the young man won it. A soldier directs Antony away from his tent to see Octavian, but Antony says he will see him later because Octavian "depresses" him. The guard reminds Antony he had promised to see Octavian. The next scene shows Antony visiting Octavian who is in bed. Octavian is angry he was not allowed to fight on the field. He reminds Antony that he has the title of Caesar. Antony informs him he'll never be confused with his predecessor. Antony questions Agrippa why he was at the battle. Octavia wishes to speak to Antony about matters, and asks if Agrippa can stay, but Antony objects. Agrippa leaves, and Antony and Octavian talk about who between the two of them and Lepidus should rule different lands of the Roman empire and work out the logistics.
00:06:29-00:07:03
The scene between Antony and Rufio is longer, as they discuss finances and the feud between Octavian and Lepidus is longer, where they discuss Antony being drunk.
00:11:36-00:12:00
When Cleopatra comes by boat to visit Antony, Rufio and Antony discuss how Cleopatra said she'd only visit on Egyptian soil. Antony orders him to invite her to a banquet in her honor at the palace that night as he protests. After Rufio leaves, Antony looks on at the ship as it sails toward him.
00:12:32-00:13:16
A scene with Sosigenus on Cleopatra's boat, and Rufus on land as Sosigenus is explaining to Rufus that Cleopatra is technically on Egyptian territory because the Nile River is part of Egypt, and that if Antony wants to meet with Cleopatra, he needs to come to "Egypt", aka the boat.
00:13:22-00:13:44
When Antony is escorted to Cleopatra's boat, the sequence is a little longer in the roadshow version. There is more footage of Antony waving to the crowd. Sisogenus comes to the dock to see him arrive, and then goes back into the boat.
00:16:18-00:16:24
The shot of the slaves bringing in food for the feast is longer and features a different music cue than the general release version, which continues the music cue over the shortened shot overlapping into the next one.
00:16:29-00:16:41
More shots of the food being brought in.
The scene after Antony and Cleopatra first make love has more dialogue. Antony tells her the first time he saw her he was envious of Caesar. She admits she had feelings for him too the first time she saw him when she was 12 years old. He doesn't believe her, and thinks she was probably more terrified of him.
00:30:25-00:32:19
In the senate scene where Octavian and Germanicus make fun of each other while the Senate laughs, there is more footage after Germanicus leaves. The shot continues a little longer and fades to a scene where Germanicus reports Octavian's tyrannical reign over the Senate and how he regards himself as Caesar, but that Antony has not been interested in hearing these reports and not return to Rome because he does not want to leave Cleopatra. Following is a scene where Antony is bathing. Cleopatra interrupts him and asks why he hasn't seen Germanicus since he has arrived from Rome. They come to terms that he must return to Rome. The general release picks up at the second half of this scene where they discuss him leaving.
After learning of Antony's marriage to Octavia, after Cleopatra dismisses her entire staff to be alone, she wanders around for a longer period of time. She then screams his name loudly before a music cue comes on. In the general release, the music cue begins earlier with the shot of her closeup leading to shorter version of her wandering after the excised portion.
00:42:47-00:42:59
During their awkward dinner together, after Octavia asks Antony if the view pleases him, Octavia signals a slave to serve Antony more food. Antony does not respond and the slave puts the plate back down as Octavia looks concerned. She asks if the dinner doesn't please him, but he says he's not hungry. When she asks if he wants anything else to 'please him' he gets annoyed at first and then acknowledges she does nothing but to please him in every way. This makes her happy.
00:54:58-00:57:21
While preparing for war against Rome, Cleopatra starts organizing her officers. She and Antony quarrel about whether to move her armies into Greece but stop when they see that the officers are watching them. Cleopatra tells the men that Antony will make the final word. After the men are dismissed Cleopatra tells Antony they shouldn't disagree in front of the officers. They quarrel more about why the armies shouldn't be sent to Greece. She insists Rome will not declare war against him. Sosigenous enters as she is speaking and tells her that he disagrees and alerts her of actions of overpreparing for a war that is not currently taking place. He pleads for her to listen, and tells her that strings are being pulled by highly revered men of Rome to insinuate that Antony has rejected Rome to the Roman people. Antony and Cleopatra take responsibility for this rejection.
01:03:00-01:05:45
After war is declared by Octavian, there is an extra scene where Euphranor argues with Antony about how Antony's battle plan won't work on the sea. Antony fires Euphranor for questioning him. Rufio, annoyed, asks Antony when he decided this should be a sea war as Rufio and Canidius worked hard at planning the battle. Antony fires back that it is because Antony decided it should be so. Ramos says it would be an honor to fight alongside Antony and Antony commends him for it and says he will replace Rufio. He instructs Canidius to stay on land. After Antony dismisses the officers, and he and Cleopatra are alone, she asks him what has happened. He responds "You have happened to me." The scene fades to two guards looking at the ships in the sea before cutting to where the general release version of the film picked up.
There is extra footage of Canidius watching the battle from land and questioning Agrippa's battle plan.
01:11:38-01:12:31
The battle scene is longer. During a swordfight, Antony calls out for Octavian and tells him now is his time to be a Caesar, challenging him to a duel. A man in a mask emerges and they swordfight but when Antony pins him and pulls the mask off, it turns out to be a servant who informs Antony that Octavian is not onboard. Antony angrily throws the mask away, before the film cuts to where the general release picks up. The music cue seaming the two scenes together is also slightly different.
01:16:05-01:17:01
After Cleopatra gives the decree that she and her party will sail back to Egypt, the montage of the post-battle debris is longer, showing burning and sinking ships as survivors take smaller boats away from the debris. A soldier calls to Canidius, who walks to the shore and comments on how after Octavian and Antony died, the victor, Cleopatra, "sailed away on her golden barge." This is followed by a quick shot of Antony, who is revealed as alive still alive, looking out. In the general release version, this reveal comes as a piece of dialogue in the next scene instead.
01:19:22-01:20:03
After Antony climbs aboard Cleopatra's ship, a soldier appears, bows to him, and walks away. Antony wanders the ship before Rufio appears and is stunned to see him and then quickly goes back into the ship's chambers.
01:22:08-01:24:55
After the short montage of Antony shown as being distant and ignoring everyone, there is another scene where Cleopatra comes to Antony at night and informs him that Octavian has invaded Egypt and that the legions are waiting for him to command them. She pleads for him to speak to Rufio if he doesn't want to speak to her to give the next order of what is to be done. She confronts him on how hateful he is being, pleading with him to understand she left because she thought he was dead and she wanted to save Egypt from Octavian. He comments that he is dead, and walks away from her.
After seeing Antony off to battle, Cleopatra goes back into her chambers and is informed by Apollodorus that people are evacuating the city out of fear. When he informs her of notices that have been put up in the city, she informs him she knows about them. Apollodorus says he has had them all removed, as well as a death penalty for people who spread the rumor. She is apprehensive that this will work and admits she let Antony go to battle knowing he may lose because it made him happy to go. She is informed her attendants have all left as well. She asks for the captain of the guards and his men to report to her disguised as merchants to escort Caesarian out of Egypt. She chooses to remain in Alexandria. He asks to stay with her but she insists he doesn't so he can inform Antony where she is. He then admits he's always loved her and she admits she's always known.
01:37:19-01:38:43
Cleopatra gives Caesarian a ring from his father. When he expresses fear and guilt of being afraid, she reassures him that "all kings and especially queens are afraid" and sees him off before the scene fades into a longer shot before the general release picks up of Lord Antony riding into battle.
01:48:58-01:49:28
Octavian and his men are seeing riding, while Octavian holds Caesarian's ring. Caesarian's dead body in a cart is then shown following him with the army. Octavian removes the ring from the chain and places it on his finger as the army continues to ride. All references to Caesarian being killed are removed from the general release version (here and in the following scene of this essay).
01:56:21-02:03:40
Following Antony's death, as Octavian's army comes into Alexandria, comes a long section cut from the general release before the finale.
There is footage of the army coming into the palace. They search for Cleopatra and Antony and find Apollodorus' body and the poison he took. Octavian asks them to find more poison to analyze and test on the badly wounded. A soldier informs Octavian that Cleopatra has been found and is locked in a building. Octavian is also informed that Antony is with him and dead. He becomes angry that the guard who broke the news is calm about doing so. Footage follows of Antony's corpse being taken away while Cleopatra sadly looks away. Octavian approaches her, teasing her for her devotion. He informs her that she and Egypt are now his by right of conquest. He will allow her to continue ruling Egypt if he comes to Rome. She informs him that when she is ready to die, she will die, suggesting suicide. She sees him wearing her son's ring and becomes ill. He guarantees her safety. She tells him her son is safe and asks if he and his heirs can rule Egypt. When he says he will do everything he can, she knows he is lying because he wears Caesarian's ring. He says he wants her to go as soon as possible but she says she'd like to rest and asks him to leave. He asks her to promise she won't harm herself, and she swears it on the life of her son (knowing he is dead). She asks the guards to leave with him. She asks her servant Charmian to bring her some fruit to sustain her and Charmian hesitates to follow the order. Cleopatra then asks Eiras to do it instead. Eiras says that Cleopatra cannot leave them behind. Cleopatra says that there "may be enough for us all." She also asks for a tablet to write a message for Octavian for her last request.
02:09:11-02:11:53
Exit music is on roadshow version only. The general release, however, does contain an extra title card about filming locations not featured on the roadshow version.