Antony and Cleopatra

Starring:Richard Johnson, Janet Suzman, Rosemary McHale, Mavis Taylor Blake, Darien Angadi, Sydney Livingstone, Geoffrey Hutchings, Loftus Burton, Lennard Pearce, Joseph Charles, Tony Osoba, Douglas Anderson, Michael Egan (II), Paul Gaymon, Wendy Bailey (II), Madelaine Bellamy, Edwina Ford, Amanda Knott (II), Joe Rock, Gito Santana
Director: Jon Scoffield
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Product Description
He was a man among men, one of the triumvirate who ruled the Roman world. She was a woman without equal, a mighty queen in a man's world. He was the warrior; she, the temptress. And neither could serve Caesar with the allegiance he demanded...because their ultimate devotion was to each other. Shakespeare's towering romantic tragedy - filled with alliances, rumors, battles, betrayals and death comes to the screen in a strikingly dramatic staging. Among the production's skilled ensemble of players are Richard Johnson (Khartoum) as Antony, a conqueror of armies but not of his own heart; Janet Suzman (Nicolas and Alexandra) as Cleopatra, the bewitching "Serpent of the Nile"; and Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next generation) as Antony's crafty aide Enobarbus, who provides a running commentary on Antony's plunge from the heights. They and the entire cast from London's celebrated Royal Shakespeare Company fuel the Bard's remarkable work with the power and passion befitting its two legendary icons of love and war: Antony and Cleopatra.

System Requirements:

Running Time 161 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Average customer rating:

Good performance
Too Close
Great performances!
hang the naysayers! this is the best A&C you will ever see
When Nunn Was Still Green

Antony and Cleopatra
Starring: Richard Johnson , Janet Suzman , Rosemary McHale , Mavis Taylor Blake , and Darien Angadi
Director: Jon Scoffield
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002235QM
Release Date: 2004-06-22

Product Description

He was a man among men, one of the triumvirate who ruled the Roman world. She was a woman without equal, a mighty queen in a man's world. He was the warrior; she, the temptress. And neither could serve Caesar with the allegiance he demanded...because their ultimate devotion was to each other. Shakespeare's towering romantic tragedy - filled with alliances, rumors, battles, betrayals and death comes to the screen in a strikingly dramatic staging. Among the production's skilled ensemble of players are Richard Johnson (Khartoum) as Antony, a conqueror of armies but not of his own heart; Janet Suzman (Nicolas and Alexandra) as Cleopatra, the bewitching "Serpent of the Nile"; and Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next generation) as Antony's crafty aide Enobarbus, who provides a running commentary on Antony's plunge from the heights. They and the entire cast from London's celebrated Royal Shakespeare Company fuel the Bard's remarkable work with the power and passion befitting its two legendary icons of love and war: Antony and Cleopatra.

System Requirements:

Running Time 161 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Good performance.......2006-03-29

"Antony and Cleopatra" is one of Shakespeare's greatest plays where Marc Antony and Cleopatra, both with glorious pasts, have to cope with their dwindling fortunes. Janet Suzman plays Cleopatra and Richard Johnson plays Marc Antony and both handle their roles very well, faithfully potraying their respective characters.

The director, Jon Scoffield did a good job of producing a good film particularly in view of the fact that Shakespeare's plays are essentially theatrical and are a challenge to bring on film. However, he managed to produce a good film on a low budget by focusing on the characters and verse rather than producing a spectacle.

In summary, a good movie well worth viewing.

Too Close.......2006-02-07

The acting is beyond superb. Ms. Suzman IS Cleopata. My only complaint is the directing. This DVD consists of 90% talking heads. The close up lens for the camera was obviously the only one available. The play is done on a stage, but it is almost never seen. Way too too much facial.

Great performances!.......2002-03-12

I've seen this play on film and on stage, but this British television version is by far the best version I've seen. Richard Johnson seems to be EXACTLY the embodiment of Marc Antony that Shakespeare must have envisioned - pure poetry and agony. And Janet Suzman channels Cleopatra in a way that is almost spooky (Cleo lives!). I also personally love the set design, which is solely used to create the mood of the characters and plot. This is like a stage play, in that it allows the viewer to focus on the characters, not on locations (I'll leave that to the deeply inferior movie version that plays the story out like an over-produced historical document). Trevor Nunn proves that one doesn't need lavish productions in order to recreate great Shakespeare. Just get some great actors on an open set and let the magic happen!

hang the naysayers! this is the best A&C you will ever see.......2001-11-15

I'm not sure what the above reviewers were looking for, but I have had an English bootleg of this production for years, and have never seen a better one. Suzman and Johnson wowed all of the English critics when this RSC production was onstage. And Stewart won every supporting actor award that season. I'm glad to get a new copy of this production.

When Nunn Was Still Green.......2001-08-16

If you have seen Trevor Nunn's work in Twelfth Night, you may be curious about his screen version of Antony and Cleopatra; however, there is no comparison. Nunn's A & C, while competently vocally performed by all the actors, did not appear to combine Method acting with Cicely Berry's voice direction which resulted in a tedious and disappointing filmed version of a stage production. Neither Janet Suzman nor Richard Johnson are able to evoke the passion expected from these characters. However, Nunn's casting and direction were much improved by the time he produced the filmed stage production of Othello with Ian McKellan, Willard White, and Imogen Stubbs which is available through Amazon UK (but only in PAL format).

The Plays of William Shakespeare, Vol. 1 - Antony and Cleopatra

Average customer rating:

Ready for my Closeup, Mr. Shakespeare
Dalton talent lost in terrible production
Lynn Redgrave and Timothy Dalton shine.
Another horrible Shakespeare production!

The Plays of William Shakespeare, Vol. 1 - Antony and Cleopatra
Starring: Timothy Dalton , Lynn Redgrave , John Carradine , Anthony Geary , and Walter Koenig
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

The Plays of William Shakespeare, Vol. 9 - The Tempest
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Antony and Cleopatra
The Plays of William Shakespeare - King Lear
The Plays of William Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet

ASIN: B000059XTP
Release Date: 2001-01-30

Amazon.com

Part of a nine-play series produced in England, this production of Antony and Cleopatra was meant to offer a more conversational and less intimidating version of Shakespeare, to be used in classrooms where it would make Shakespeare more accessible to students. Still, it's hard to imagine students sitting still for this stiff, three-hour version. Using relatively bare-bones production values for the sets, this video offers Timothy Dalton as the lovestruck Mark Antony, smitten with the temptress Cleopatra (Lynn Redgrave). He's so caught up in his affair with the Queen of the Nile that he loses track of politics at home and winds up fighting for his life against former comrades. The acting is serviceable at best. Shot in 1981, the kicky cast for this play includes Anthony Geary (General Hospital), Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek fame, and even the late John Carradine. --Marshall Fine

Description

The clearest and most understandable Shakespeare productions ever made. Staged as seen in the 16th Century with award-winning performers. The popular tale of two of history's most famous lovers. Starring Timothy Dalton, Lynn Redgrave, John Carradine and Anthony Geary. 183 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

Ready for my Closeup, Mr. Shakespeare.......2003-12-30

Search Amazon DVD & VHS for "Antony and Cleopatra," and you come up with two titles: the 1975 Paul Scofield production, listed as out of stock, and the dreadfully misconceived 1981 number by Lawrence Carra (I pass in silenceover the "Cleopatras" of Elizabeth Taylor and Claudet Colbert). It is a pity because it means that Amazon is not offering the 1981 version by Jonathan Miller for BBC, and so you miss the chance to see my own favorite Cleopatra, Jane LaPotaire. The puzzle is that I know it is out in DVD - I have a copy - and Amazon does seem to be offering a couple of boxed sets comprising other entries from the same series.

LaPotaire certainly puts her own stamp on this role, and it certainly won't be for everyone. If your idea of Cleopatra is along the lines of Tuesday Weld or Teri Garr, you won't be happy with this (we will not speak about Elizabeth Taylor a second time). But for my money, Lapotaire has the one essential requisite of a great Cleopatra: she's long in the tooth. No doubt she was dazzling in her day and she's not quite over the hill yet, but it has been a long time since the first Caesar swaggered through her bedchamber and this old queen is beginning to think about stretch marks. She's in love with Antony but more than that, she is love with herself and in love with love and she knows that this is her last big spin. She whines and she wheedles. She puts on all of her fading but still considerable charm. But then, when it comes time to die, it is she, the Egyptian, who knows how to "do it after the high Roman fashion, /And make death proud to take us."

Opposite LaPotaire, Colin Blakely's Antony is a creature of appetitites, a bit clueless in the way men are clueless, and not quite certain that he is as, ahem, manly as his distinguished predecessor (one way that you know that Cleopatra has still got it is that Antony goes so squiggly giggly in her presence). It's easy to see his magnetism and his capacity for reckless bravery; you don't doubt that he "didst drink /The stale of horses, and the gilded puddle /Which beasts would cough at." But in the end, you can't quite believe that he could ever get to the top of the greasy pole. This is, after all, a contender who botches his own suicide.

Jonathan Miller's production is eccentric in a way that one comes to expect from Jonathan Miller. The faux Renaissance style carries a certain kind of conviction but it does sacrifice the spaciousness that is so distinctive a feature of the play. The cast is a mixed bag, but good enough not to bog down the principals.

Is LaPotaire the greates Cleopatra ever? Oh, I doubt that. There have been hundreds - three by Helen Mirren alone, and I'd give more than a nickel to see any one of those three. I believe there is even a Judith Dench; if I live long enough, maybe I will live to see a Cleopatra from Kevin Kline. But for the moment LaPotaire is my Cleopatra, and I hope Amazon finds a way to show her to the world. Meanwhile, steer clear of Lawrence Carra; it's a mess.

Dalton talent lost in terrible production.......2003-11-05

I love Timothy Dalton. His performance offers what few enjoyable moments there are to be found in this version of Antony and Cleopatra, but it unfortunately cannot salvage this atrocious production. Seeing it is enough to turn someone off Shakespeare. (Should that happen, I highly recommend viewing Al Pacino's delightful LOOKING FOR RICHARD -- it is the perfect antidote to restore passion for the Bard). But I digress. I want to issue a warning to all who might assume this DVD would be superior to its VHS counterpart. In this instance, tape was simply transferred unto disk with no remastering or enhancements, and there are no extra features. The visual and audio quality is appalling. I regret buying this DVD when I already owned the VHS (..like I said, I love Timothy Dalton...) The only advantage is being able to skip the boring parts to get to the monologues. But that isn't saying much.

Lynn Redgrave and Timothy Dalton shine........2003-08-11

I give this a B, well worth seeing. Lynn Redgrave as Cleopatra, Timothy Dalton as Antony, and Barrie Ingram as Enobarbus are all excellent. The rest of the cast ranges from good to barely adequate. Redgrave and Dalton both bring excellent diction to their roles and convey their characters' impetuousness and charisma.

Another horrible Shakespeare production!.......2001-06-12

This DVD was so bad that I really can't believe it's been unleashed on the general public (and for $.....). I have bought this production company's Shakespearean videos before, and every time I am disappointed. I just keep hoping one of them will be decent. This was the worst Antony and Cleopatra I have ever seen. The acting is so terrible that in places where a good actor would have you weeping, these actors make you laugh. Although Tomothy Dalton gives an okay performance, the rest of the cast stinks. This is wooden acting at its best. If these actors actually got paid for thier performances, someone should take their money back. To abuse the Shakespearean language as they did should be a crime! This is the kind of productions that make kids hate Shakespeare. Do not buy this video if you have any sense.

Charlie Rose with Harold J. Rothwax; Vanessa Redgrave, Corin Redgrave & Donald G. Stein (February 12, 1996)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Harold J. Rothwax; Vanessa Redgrave, Corin Redgrave & Donald G. Stein (February 12, 1996)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Vanessa Redgrave:: An Autobiography

ASIN: B000JCF3HE
Release Date: 2006-10-05

Description

First, Charlie talks with Judge Harold Rothwax, who during his 25 years on the bench, concluded that the criminal justice needs to be fixed. His book is Guilty: The Collapse of Criminal Justice. Then, Vaness Redgrave is making her American directoral debut and starring in Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra, while Corin, her brother, made his American directoral and acting debut in Julius Caesar. These two plays are part of an international collaboration between the Redgraves' Moving Theatre Company and Houston's Alley Theater. Finally, on to discuss the latest discoveries in neurology and the brain's ability to adapt, as detailed in his new book, Brain Repair, is Donald Stein, a neuroscientist at Emory University.

Average customer rating:

Antony and Cleopatra [Region 2]
Starring: Alvah Stanley , Paul Bowman (II) , Stuart Larson , John Devlin , and Tom Rosqui
Director: Lawrence Carra
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004D359

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