Julius Caesar (1953)

Julius Caesar triumphant return to Rome after his army's latest victory over Pompey is warned by a foolish looking blind sooth-slayer that trouble abounds and is to strike him the very next day on the Ides-or middle-of March. Thinking him being mad Caesar attends a Senate meeting the next day that with also despite his wife Portia in having a strange vision sensing something terrible is going to happen to him and warning him not to go. Caesar in the Senate chambers ends up being murdered by members of the Roman Senate body with his good friend Cassius-the one with that lean and hungry look-striking the first and his good friend and second in command Brutus the fatal blow! Feeling that Caesar was getting a bit too big for his own good and soon to become declared by the people of Rome King or Emperor, which he in fact doesn't want,it was decided by to do him in- JFK assessing style-and frame some poor pasty-who is to be named later-in doing the evil deed. That's before a live and power hungry Caesar liquidated the Roman Senate together with Brutus & co. along with it.

At Caesar's funeral or grand end off Mark Antony who was aware of the treachery done to his friend Julius Caesar instead of praising his dead friend exposed those that murdered him Brutus Cassius and their fellow conspirators causing them to check out of town before they end up getting lynched by the outraged populace! With Mark Anthony taking command of the Roman legions and the late Caesar's adopted son Octavius-the original Mister October-as his #2 Man they defeat Brutus' rebel army by ambushing it at the battle of Titinius leaving it's leaders Brutus & Cassius in paying, for their crimes against the Roman Empire, with their lives. Which they in cowardly fashion instead of dying in battle or combat having their aides, instead of their enemies, run them through!

The best film version of William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" with the late Marlon Brando's performance of Mark Anthony completely blowing away the entire Academy Award caliber cast. Brando's performance was so electrifying that his co-star in the film James Mason as Brutus asked the films director Joseph L. Mankiewicz to tone it down in the fear it would overshadow his own as well as everyone else in the cast! It was the first time that Brando unlike in his previous bringing down the roof performance in "Streetcar named Desire" showed he can speak perfect English and not mumble-as if he forgot his words or lines-his way through which he was known for back then in the 1950's as well as even now.

Fmovies: William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer of all time... His plays, written in the 16th and early 17th centuries for a small repertory theater, are today performed more often and in more countries than ever before...

"Julius Caesar" is rich in its insights, the struggle for political power, the embellishment of the mind, and the characters of men...

Joseph L. Mankiewicz captures Shakespeare's characters in elegant visuals projecting the beauty of the language, producing civilized entertainment... Its message fills the screen with vitality on the plains of Shakespeare's imagination...

The film is set in Rome 44 B.C. The city is rich with the privileges of its empire, much of it caused by the pretentious Caesar (Louis Calhern) appointing himself dictator... Caesar's greater character flaw, thinking that he is far above others and somehow invincible...

Loyal to Caesar is Mark Antony (Marlon Brando), a brave, intelligent, pleasure-loving cunning man - a character with many hidden traits, misunderstood by all...

Mark Anthony looks at life as a game in which he had a signified part to play... He seems slow to emerge, until he is forced to show his true potential... He is devoted and prefers to be dependent upon Caesar... He wants the crown of emperor to be given to him, so all conflicts could be avoided...

But Brutus (James Mason), an old friend of Caesar, is torn between his personal feelings and his integrity and idealism where the Romans would possess peace, liberty and freedom...

The scrupulous, unselfish Brutus resents Caesar's ambition as absolute ruler... Being very honorable, but very naive, he underestimates Mark Antony, perceiving him as a person who didn't always take life seriously and therefore - he is not a cautious thinker...

The story begins on a festival day as Caesar and his entourage make their way to the stadium... On the way, a blind beggar warns Caesar of 'The Ides of March' (On the middle of the month, the daggers came from every side...) but he is ignored...

In the stadium, the sarcastic Cassius (John Gielgud) sees Brutus as the influential Roman able to unite the nobles in the conspiracy... He implores him to join his cause... For him, Caesar has become too powerful and too popular... He must be removed from power...

Cassius is the most significant character for his ability to perceive the true motives of the characters... He thinks the nobility of Rome is responsible for the government of Rome... Brutus, the back-bone of the plan, agrees to the plot, but refuses Cassius's proposal to slain Mark Antony...

After the conspirators have left, Brutus' wife Portia (Deborah Kerr) asks to know what it is that worries him...

Caesar's wife, Calpurnia (Greer Garson) begs her husband to stay home and not to go to the Senate, for fear of danger... As a superstitious woman she was convinced that some falling meteors are warnings of her husband's death... But Caesar believes his friends have assembled to offer him the crown of emperor... So he moves forward, leaving unopened letter which lists the conspirators...

If you know about Shakespeare, then I strongly suggest you rent/buy this movie. Many people, as well as I, think it's the best version of 'Julius Caesarfor many reasons. It goes along with the events very accurately, and if you've read Shakespeare's book, you'll see it's like having the very thing acted out on screen. I also might add that the acting is excellent, especially Gielgud, who was my personal favorite. However, all the actors were wonderful, from Ceasar to Lucius. Even the battle scene reminded me a bit of some of the scenes in Spartacus...

There's just something about this movie that is very appealing. The powerful (and sometimes funny) Cassius is the most captivating character. A lot of the times I could just feel his anger- Brutus, of course, is a very melancholy character, but for him I didn't feel as much as I did for some of the others. Marc Antony was superb, and his presentation of near insanity (Okay, so he's crazy!) that builds up throughout the movie is breathtaking.

You must read the book, or else you probably won't be able to follow this movie. Really all you need to do is go through it with someone who knows how to translate it into easier terms, and then it's like learning a language, and you'll know exactly what the people are talking about, and feel very smart! Lol, this is a classic. A must see!

[And may Cassius, Brutus, Caesar, Calpurnia, Casca, and all the other actors who portrayed these characters, rest in peace!]

Julius Caesar fmovies. Of course the most talked about actor of this movie is Marlon Brando but what about James Mason? He deserves just as much recognition and appreciation for his role in this movie and in my opinion he's also being the actor in the movie and perhaps also plays the biggest role in it.

This is a very old fashioned movie and I'm not talking 1953 old but Shakespeare kind of old. The movie is filled with long and difficult to follow dialog, like only Shakespeare could had wrote it. You obviously need to be able to appreciate Shakespeare in order to enjoy this movie, otherwise you'll probably have difficulties finish watching it.

Best things about a Shakespeare movie, next to its writing, are always the acting performances. A good Shakespeare-performance can make or break a movie. No risks were taking with this movie, as the movie its cast is being filled with some big name actors. Besides Brando and Mason the movie also stars the likes of John Gielgud, Edmond O'Brien, Deborah Kerr and many other actors that had already made name at the time of this production, both in theater and in movies.

The movie is one about betrayal, loyalty and idealistic motives. It focuses on the assassination of Julius Caesar and its conspirators who committed it. One the one side we have the senators who are afraid of Ceasar's growing power and idealistic motives, while on the other we have Mark Antony, loyal to his leader and friend Caesar. After the assassination both become opponents. The movie and its story are mostly being based on historical facts, as they got documented during and after the first Caesar's reign.

Of course the movie foremost is being a stage-play, brought to the silver-screen. This means that the acting is very stagy and also the movie its sets often look like they come straight out of the theater. This however very rarely matters for a Shakespeare movie, fore the movies are all about its writing and acting performances from the leading actors.

Simply a great Shakespeare adaptation, with a first rate cast.

8/10

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1953's JULIUS CAESAR was a milestone in it's time, and still is, perhaps, the finest American production of a Shakespeare play ever recorded on film. Until Joseph L. Mankiewicz's production, only Laurence Olivier's British versions of HAMLET and HENRY V had truly displayed the power and poetry of the Bard's work. Hollywood seemed content to either truncate it in miscast all-star extravaganzas (A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, and ROMEO AND JULIET) or turn it into a weird kind of carnival sideshow (Orson Welles' MACBETH, performed with incomprehensible Scottish accents). Perhaps American film makers were afraid audiences would be put off by Shakespeare's text, with its archaic words, or felt that a British cast and the confines of a stage were 'required' to do a 'proper' rendition. For whatever reason, the British seemed to have a 'lock' on filmed versions of the Bard.

But Mankiewicz understood that Shakespeare was both universal and timeless, and in his capacity of director and (uncredited) screenwriter, he 'opened up' JULIUS CAESAR, eliminating the 'studio' feel of key scenes, and, with producer John Houseman, gathered together an impressive array of talent, with British actors John Gielgud as Cassius, James Mason as Brutus, Greer Garson as Calpurnia, and Deborah Kerr as Portia, and stage-trained American actors such as Oscar winner Edmond O'Brien in supporting roles.

Where the greatest gamble, and payoff, came was in the casting of Marlon Brando as Marc Antony. While Brando was already being hailed as the finest American actor of his generation, there were critics, prior to the film's release, who called his acceptance of the role an ego trip, and expected him to fall on his face. Were they ever WRONG! Brando gave the role a power, a physicality, and charisma that stunned critics and audiences alike. With a flawless British accent, he easily held his own with the veteran cast, and displayed a magnetism that is still enthralling, over 50 years later. His performance became the keystone of the film's success.

Not that JULIUS CAESAR is without faults; it is, occasionally, stagy and artificial, the pacing is a bit too slow and deliberate at times, and, as the title character, Louis Calhern is woefully miscast (he looks and sounds more like a jaded grandfather than the charismatic despot who both enthralled and frightened the Roman world). Still, the film is so strong and dynamic that subsequent versions (such as Charlton Heston's ambitious 1970 production) pale in comparison.

Hollywood finally got it 'right', and we can be grateful that a truly unforgettable presentation of JULIUS CAESAR is available for us, and future generations, to enjoy!

Watching Julius Caesar in 2007, I still think it is a work of art. Being a Shakespeare student myself, I know that his plays are very demanding and on that Joseph L. Mankiewicz has stood up to my expectations.

While reading , we form a picture in our mind of the setting ,the dialog, the expressions,how the characters would look and how they would move on stage and I found that the same were portrayed on screen. The director truly made his vision come to life!

All the actors were great, again kudos to the director. Marlon Brando was just superb as Antony. His funeral oration was an indescribable masterpiece. I didn't expect it to be that good! Among the others,James Mason did quite a good job as Brutus. Louis Calhern, though had a small bit, didn't fail to leave an impact as the great and mighty (and ambitious) Julius Caesar. I also liked Greer Garson as Calpurnia.

Coming to the actors Octavius Caesar was a disappointment, I blame the editor of the script for this. Octavius was supposed to be brought out as the heir of Ceasar. The prevalence of Caesarism, which was not properly brought out in the movie.

The dialog is picked up directly from the play, but quite a bit has been cut off.....which was the only other disappointing thing in the movie. Shakespearean language is not all that difficult to understand in the movie mainly because we can see it being enacted out. All that you simply fail to understand is simply not all that important.

Overall the movie was great and I will not forget to watch it a day before my tests! Julius Caesar was a great feat in the history of cinema.