| Julius Caesar | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
| Produced by | John Houseman |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg, A.S.C. |
| Edited by | John Dunning, A.C.E. |
| Music by | Miklos Rozsa |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's, Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million[1] |
| Box office | $3.9 million |
Julius Caesar (billed on-screen asWilliam Shakespeare's Julius Caesar) is a 1953 Americanfilm adaptation ofWilliam Shakespeare's playJulius Caesar, directed byJoseph L. Mankiewicz and produced byJohn Houseman forMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It starsMarlon Brando asMark Antony,James Mason asBrutus,John Gielgud asCassius,Louis Calhern asJulius Caesar,Edmond O'Brien asCasca,Greer Garson asCalpurnia, andDeborah Kerr asPortia.
It opened to positive reviews, and was nominated in five categories at the26th Academy Awards (includingBest Picture andBest Actor for Brando), winningBest Art Direction – Black-and-White. Brando and Gielgud both wonBAFTA Awards, Brando forBest Foreign Actor and Gielgud forBest British Actor.
Upon Caesar's return to Rome, after defeatingPompey in the civil war, his countrymen chose him a fourth time consul and then dictator for life. . . thus he became odious to moderate men through the extravagance of the titles and powers that were heaped upon him.
"Rome - - 44 B.C." It is a largely-faithful adaptation of Shakespeare's play, with no significant cuts or alterations to the original text. The only notable exception is the Messenger's text recounting theBattle of Philippi, which is substituted with a visual depiction of the battle.
in the order of their appearance
and as citizens of Rome
John Houseman says the film was made becauseLaurence Olivier's 1944 production ofHenry V had been a success. MGM's head of production,Dore Schary, offered the project to Houseman, who said he wantedJoseph L. Mankiewicz to direct because he thought he andWilliam Wyler were "probably the two best dialogue directors in the business" and that Mankiewicz was "younger and more flexible."[2]
Houseman did not want to use an all-British cast. "I'd done a lot of Shakespeare in America," he said. "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."[2]
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 theQuo Vadis sets, and it seemed idiotic to invite comparison withQuo Vadis."[2]
Though Houseman originally intended to shoot the film in Italy, production ultimately took place in Los Angeles. Many of the sets and costumes were repurposed from 1951'sQuo Vadis, with several setpieces deconstructed, flown from Rome to California, and rebuilt on MGM'sCulver City studio backlot. One historian has noted that, in the scenes set at Brutus's house, a bust ofEmperor Hadrian — who was not born for another 120 years — gazes down at the proceedings.[3]
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."[2]
Many actors in this film had experience in the play.John Gielgud had played Mark Antony at theOld Vic Theatre in 1930 and Cassius at theShakespeare Memorial Theatre inStratford-upon-Avon in 1950,James Mason had played Brutus at theAbbey Theatre inDublin in the 1940s, andJohn Hoyt, who plays Decius Brutus, also played him in theMercury Theatre's1937 stage version. Gielgud later played the title role in the1970 film withCharlton Heston,Jason Robards andRichard Johnson (as Cassius) and in a stage production directed byJohn Schlesinger at theRoyal National Theatre.John Houseman, who had produced the famous 1937Broadway version of the play starringOrson Welles and theMercury Theatre, also produced the MGM film. By this time, however, Welles and Houseman had had a falling out, and Welles had nothing to do with the 1953 film.P. M. Pasinetti, an Italian writer, scholar, and teacher at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, served as a technical advisor.
Brando's casting was met with some skepticism when it was announced, as he had acquired the nickname of "The Mumbler" following his performance inA Streetcar Named Desire (1951).[4] The director,Joseph L. Mankiewicz, even consideredPaul Scofield for the role of Mark Antony if Brando's screen test was unsuccessful.[5] Brando asked John Gielgud for advice in declaiming Shakespeare, and adopted all of Gielgud's recommendations.[6] Brando's performance turned out so well that theNew York Times'Bosley Crowther stated in his review of the film: “Happily, Mr. Brando's diction, which has been guttural and slurred in previous films, is clear and precise in this instance. In him a major talent has emerged.”[7] Brando was so dedicated in his performance during shooting that Gielgud offered to direct him in theLondon stage production ofHamlet, a proposition that Brando seriously considered but ultimately turned down.[8] During filming, James Mason became concerned that Brando was stealing the audience's sympathy away from him and his character, Brutus, so Mason appealed to Mankiewicz, with whom he had bonded earlier while making the film5 Fingers, requesting that the director stop Brando from dominating the film and "put the focus back where it belongs. Namely on me!"[9] The subsequent shift in directorial attention didn't escape Brando, who threatened to walk off the film if Mankiewicz "threw one more scene to Mason", alleging aménage à trois among Mankiewicz, Mason and his wifePamela Mason.[9] Despite the feuding, production continued with only minimal disruption, thanks to what Gielgud called, "Mankiewicz's consummate tact that kept us together as a working unit."[10]
O. Z. Whitehead is listed on theInternet Movie Database as having playedCinna the Poet in the film and not receiving screen credit, but his one scene was deleted before release, and it is not included in any DVD or video releases of the film. (However,Cinna the Conspirator does appear — he is played by William Cottrell.)
It premiered at theBooth Theatre in New York City on June 3, 1953.[11][12]
It received highly favorable reviews.[13]Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times called it "a stirring and memorable film,"[14] whileVariety wrote: "A triumphant achievement in film-making, it will be rated one of the great pictures of Hollywood."[15]Harrison's Reports raved, "Excellent! Sumptuously produced, expertly directed and brilliantly acted, 'Julius Caesar' is an artistic triumph that ranks with the best of the Shakespearean plays that have been put on film."[16]John McCarten ofThe New Yorker called the film "a very chilly exercise" and opined that Brando "plainly shows he needs a bit of speech training before he can graduate into an acting league where the spoken word is a trifle more significant than the flexed biceps and the fixed eye," but praised Mason and Gielgud as "a pleasure to watch and listen to."[17]The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "an excellent film, excellent cinema, excellent entertainment, and pretty respectable art."[18]
In the second volume of his bookThe Story of Cinema,David Shipman pointed to Gielgud "negotiating the verse as in no other Shakespeare film to date except Olivier's".[19] OnRotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 96% based on reviews from 25 critics.[20]
The film is recognized byAmerican Film Institute in these lists:
According to MGM records, the film earned $2,021,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,899,000 in other markets, resulting in a profit of $116,000.[1]
In 1976, Houseman said "It's still shown a lot—in theaters and schools and on TV. I suspect it finally made more money than any other picture I made."[2]
The film won theAcademy Award forBest Art Direction (Cedric Gibbons,Edward Carfagno,Edwin B. Willis,Hugh Hunt), and was nominated forBest Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando),Best Cinematography, Black-and-White,Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture andBest Picture.[22] Brando's nomination was his third consecutive forBest Actor, following 1951'sA Streetcar Named Desire and 1952'sViva Zapata!. He would win the following year forOn the Waterfront.
Julius Caesar wonBAFTA Awards forBest British Actor (John Gielgud) andBest Foreign Actor (Marlon Brando), and was also nominated forBest Film. It was Brando's second of three consecutiveBAFTA Best Actor awards, forViva Zapata! (1952),Julius Caesar (1953), andOn the Waterfront (1954).
TheNational Board of Review awardedJulius Caesar Best Film and Best Actor (James Mason), and it also won theGolden Leopard at theLocarno International Film Festival.[23]
Intrada Records released an album featuring a 1995 re-recording ofMiklos Rozsa’s film score. The re-recording was performed by theSinfonia of London and conducted byBruce Broughton.[24]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Julius Caesar Overture" | 3:15 |
| 2. | "Praeludium" | 3:38 |
| 3. | "Caesar's Procession" | 2:45 |
| 4. | "Flavius Arrested" | 0:18 |
| 5. | "Feast of Lupercal" | 0:44 |
| 6. | "Caesar and His Train" | 0:51 |
| 7. | "The Scolding Winds" | 2:42 |
| 8. | "Brutus' Soliloquy" | 6:34 |
| 9. | "Brutus' Secret" | 2:11 |
| 10. | "They Murder Caesar" | 1:08 |
| 11. | "The Ides of March" | 4:36 |
| 12. | "Black Sentence" | 3:55 |
| 13. | "Brutus' Camp" | 1:31 |
| 14. | "Heavy Eyes" | 1:47 |
| 15. | "Gentle Knave" | 2:07 |
| 16. | "Ghost of Caesar" | 1:42 |
| 17. | "Most Noble Brutus" | 1:10 |
| 18. | "Battle at Philippi" | 1:28 |
| 19. | "Titinius Enclosed" | 0:40 |
| 20. | "Caesar Now Be Still!" | 8:54 |
| 21. | "Finale" | 1:10 |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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