Pasinetti, Italian-American writer, scholar, and teacher at UCLA served as a technical advisor.īrando's casting was met with some skepticism when it was announced, as he had acquired the nickname of "The Mumbler" following his performance in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). ![]() By this time, however, Welles and Houseman had had a falling out, and Welles had nothing to do with the 1953 film. John Houseman, who had produced the famous 1937 Broadway version of the play starring Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre, also produced the MGM film. Gielgud later played the title role in the 1970 film with Charlton Heston, Jason Robards and Richard Johnson (as Cassius) and in a stage production directed by John Schlesinger at the Royal National Theatre. John Gielgud had played Mark Antony at the Old Vic Theatre in 1930 and Cassius at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1950, James Mason had played Brutus at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in the 1940s, and John Hoyt, who plays Decius Brutus, also played him in the Mercury Theatre's 1937 stage version. Many actors in this film had experience in the play. Houseman says they "decided to do it as a small production, not a spectacle to do it for what it really is-the drama of a political power play." Casting Marlon Brando in the film's trailer. Many of the sets and costumes were repurposed from Quo Vadis (1951), with several setpieces deconstructed, flown from Rome to California, and rebuilt on MGM's Culver City studio backlot. Though Houseman originally intended to shoot the film in Italy, production ultimately took place in Los Angeles instead. Houseman says MGM wanted to make the film in color but he and Mankiewicz refused, "partly because we wanted people to relate to the newsreels, to the Fascist movements in Europe, which were still relevant" and also because they would be "using a lot of the Quo Vadis sets, and it seemed idiotic to invite comparison with Quo Vadis." "If it was going to be cast all-English, it should be an English picture, made in England and we might as well forget about it." "I'd done a lot of Shakespeare in America," he said. Houseman did not want to use an all-British cast. Mankiewicz to direct because he thought he and William Wyler were "probably the two best dialogue directors in the business" and that Mankiewicz was "younger and more flexible." MGM's head of production Dore Schary offered the project to Houseman, who said he wanted Joseph L. in the end this movie was in terms of historical accuracy below even the HBO series Rome which was also fairly free in its interpretation of roman history but much more entertaining.Producer John Houseman says the film was made because Laurence Olivier's 1944 production of Henry V had been a success. if one would be interested in roman history i strongly suggest reading up on the harrowing tale of Caesar and the pirates. one of the early scenes in the movie involving the pirates is so ignorant of history as to make the viewer throw up their hands in disgust and say 'why was the primary text ignored?' the story of Caesar and the pirates is one of the best stories of his life and it was not given any justice. as a result the movie is careless in its regard for history. ![]() Sherman and Jefferson Davis from any story about the civil war. to omit these characters is akin to omitting w.t. also missing from the film is Crassus and Cicero. according to Plutarch, Sulla died after having relinquished the office of dictator and retired to the countryside to spend the end of his days in total debauchery. her original husband, Caepio father of Servillia, was killed in the east. she was the sister of Livius Drusus, the tribune of the plebeians who was assassinated around 108. ![]() ![]() he-Cato-shared a mother with Servillia, the mother of Brutus. also to clarify another reviewer's comments Cato was Brutus's uncle. as for Cato, he appears to be years older than Caesar in the film yet in reality was three years younger. also seems to be an unknown which was not the case. in 82 BC when the film opens Caesar (born 100 BC) was 18, yet they would have you believe that he had an eight year old daughter. More to entertain than to inform and, sadly it fails to do the former.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |