--- title: "Cleopatra: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/cleopatra/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/cleopatra" critics_score: 62 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Cleopatra (1963): what the critics said Critics' score 62 from 10 reviews: 5 positive, 2 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics lean warm, and the praise clusters in one place: the spectacle. Cleopatra’s entry into Rome comes up repeatedly, as do the sea battle at Actium and the barge, and several reviewers credit the thousands of real extras and the scale of the sets with a sense of the ancient world that studios no longer attempt. Elizabeth Taylor is the other point of agreement; even reviewers cool on the film grant that her presence carries it, and the earliest notices credit Mankiewicz’s script with unusual literacy for a costume epic. The reservations gather around the drama beneath the pageantry. Several find the screenplay wordy and the story rambling, and Empire argues that Taylor and Burton never convince as lovers. The spread is wide, from outright admiration to Slant Magazine’s view that it is neither a triumph nor an interesting disaster but simply dull. The New Yorker splits the difference, finding the dialogue absurd and recommending it anyway for the look of the thing. ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 11 July 2013. The restored big-screen version of the four-hour 1963 spectacle should not be missed as a colossus of the analogue-epic era and the high point of Elizabeth Taylor's global celebrity. It is a stately but sometimes mindboggling spectacle that breaks into two halves as Cleopatra bewitches and unmans two Roman alpha-males, with the jawdropping entry into Rome singled out as a sensational Busby Berkeley fantasy. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jul/11/cleopatra-rerelease-review) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 June 1963. The critic calls the film a stunning and entertaining achievement that confounds skeptics, crediting Mankiewicz's sophisticated script for bringing literate life and historical sweep to the epic tale of ambition, love, and power. The production delivers spectacle in the finest tradition despite its length. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1963/06/16/archives/cleopatra-arrives-much-talkedof-film-proves-a-big-hit-what-next.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — James Powers Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 June 1963. The critic finds it not a great movie but a vast popular entertainment with outstanding performances, especially Elizabeth Taylor's, and spectacular production values. Praises the opulence and acting while noting it prioritizes broad appeal over artistic greatness. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/cleopatra-1963-movie-review-754694/) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1963. The review praises the film as a supercolossal yet remarkably literate recreation of history, highlighting Mankiewicz's achievement in managing scope and complexity, strong big scenes like the Roman entry and Battle of Actium, and overall sense of time and place despite weaker love scenes. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1962/film/reviews/cleopatra-2-1200420431/) ## Evening Standard — Derek Malcolm Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 12 July 2013. The film is no masterpiece but its lavish splendour compensates for a wordy screenplay and uneven acting; it became one of the biggest commercial successes despite its troubled production. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/derek-malcolm-recommends-cleopatra-8705046.html) ## Time Out — Trevor Johnston Rating 3/5. 8 July 2013. The critic finds the film lacks much substance as drama but excels as unmatched Hollywood spectacle thanks to its thousands of real extras and recreation of the ancient world. Elizabeth Taylor's larger-than-life star presence is singled out for praise amid complaints of a rambling, purposeless narrative. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/cleopatra) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film lacks human drama amid its giant sets and elaborate stars, with Mankiewicz opting for splendour over action; Taylor and Burton fail to convey a torrid affair. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/cleopatra-review/) ## The New Yorker — Brendan Gill Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 15 June 1963. The review deems the film preposterous due to its false, overblown dialogue and pseudo-literary tone but recommends seeing it anyway for the thrilling visual spectacle, including Cleopatra's barge and Roman pageantry, which outweigh the flaws. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1963/06/22/the-impossible-takes-longer) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2013. The critic calls the film disappointingly banal rather than a masterpiece or fascinating catastrophe, an unusually intimate epic that falls very flat as a kitschy fashion show centered on Taylor's celebrity. Singles out the ravishing visuals and decadent presentation for praise in the Blu-ray edition. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/cleopatra/) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 29 April 2013. The critic praises Elizabeth Taylor's powerful embodiment of the historical figure and the film's intelligent interweaving of personal and political elements, along with its striking visual contrast between decadent Egypt and austere Rome. Story issues, meandering pace, and historical inaccuracies are noted, but the strong characters and glamour make it engaging and enduring. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/cleopatra-1963-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/cleopatra.md