Julius Caesar (1953) [VHS]

Julius Caesar (1953) [VHS]
by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Julius Caesar (1953) [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Edmond O'Brien, James Mason, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern, Marlon Brando
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Black & White, NTSC, Original recording reissued
Running Time: 120 minutes
Release Date: 2000-04-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video

VHS Movie Reviews of Julius Caesar (1953) [VHS]

Movie Review: Improvements
Summary: 3 Stars

I read the book, and then watched the movie. The movie was good, with a good portrayal of the book. Older movies often do, more so than more modern ones. In some cases this movie gave a more realistic portrayal than the book - an improvement. This was by not having anachronisms, like a clock striking, and wearing not hats but hoods. So, the movie gives one a good visual of the book's contents.

This movie has been colorized. There has been dislike and controversy about that. With broadmindedness and not being conservative about it, I don't see what's wrong with that. It's also an improvement on the old movies. (Just not of silent movies.) That's like the improvements on e.g. the 3 original Star Wars movies. I'd prefer to watch the colorized version of a movie. I did actually watch that version of this movie, which I have. It also looked like it was originally filmed in color. This DVD should also contain that version of the movie. The individual viewers could then decide for themselves which they want to watch. It's the same with other colorized movies like 'Scrooge' (1951), Casablanca (1942), etc.

I also read the book in modern English. These have been done by 'Shakespeare made easy' and 'Shakespeare 2000', of some of his plays. This is also an improvement, so that the plays e.g. can be enjoyed just as much today. The modern English is next to the original. The readers can again decide for themselves which to read. There could be this movie in modern English, if it was filmed recently. The original English makes me lose concerntration very easily.

Movie Review: Stagey and poorly-paced
Summary: 3 Stars

The Bottom Line:

This 1953 version of Julius Caesar can boast a terrific rendering of Marc Antony's famous speech (and Brutus is an honorable man!) but that's the natural high point of the film which unfortunately continues on for another 40 minutes or so; it's tempting to recommend the film on the basis of that one speech alone but I can't, what with the lacking performance by James Mason as Brutus (who, despite the title, is the main character of the film) and pitiful sets which seem like they were put together an hour before shooting.

2.5/4

Movie Review: Julius Caesar (Mason,Gilgud, Brando etc)
Summary: 5 Stars

As a 20th century classic it is excellent, in the 21st century ... more so !!

Movie Review: NOT for Deborah Kerr Fans
Summary: 3 Stars

I'm posting this as a cautionary note for Deborah Kerr fans. She only has a bit part in this film. Less than 10 min total; maybe only 5. In fact, all women have only bit parts here. If you want to see Deborah in a classic Roman drama, I highly recommend Quo Vadis.

Movie Review: Better than the Charlton Heston Version
Summary: 4 Stars

I watched the 1953 Marlon Brando version last weekend, and I just finished watching the 1970 Charlton Heston version today. Even though the 1970 version is in color with better production quality, the black and white 1953 Marlon Brando version with antiquated scenery is a better movie. The 1953 version also had much better casting. This includes the roles of Mark Antony, Brutus, and Cassius. The only actor in the 1970 version that was better than the 1953 version was Sir John Gielgud's Caesar. Ironically, John Gielgud played Cassius in the 1953 version and Caesar in the 1970 version. He was superb in both roles. I was disappointed with Lewis Calhern's Caesar in the 1953 version. The 1953 version of Julius Caesar was superior in almost every way that matters.

There is a reason the Brando version costs $13.99 and the Heston version costs $8.99. If you have to choose between the two, buy the $13.99 version.

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Summary of Julius Caesar (1953) [VHS]

An examination of the relationship between political power and personal conscience, Joseph Mankiewicz's traditional Julius Caesar (1953) is a veritable master class for aspiring thespians. As the opportunistic Marc Antony, Marlon Brando delivers the famous funeral speech with pure conviction, elsewhere casting an intense physicality that recalls his work in A Streetcar Named Desire. James Mason suggests a latent Hamlet in his turn as the honorable Brutus, while John Gielgud is positively serpentine as the lean, hungry Cassius. Louis Calhern invests Caesar with intelligence and edgy noir echoes, and director Mankiewicz astutely balances the Renaissance view of Caesar as a power-obsessed, corrupt tyrant destined for punishment with modern suggestions that his murder may have been ill advised. The director's scrupulous pacing is supported in no small measure by Mikl?s R?sza's stunning score. At film's end, power itself is without a master, and the spirit of Caesar has been left unrevived: and to Mankiewicz's credit, the latter is revealed to be the true tragedy of Julius Caesar. --Kevin Mulhall

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Genres > Documentary > Military & War > Military Legends
Drama > Classics

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