Marc Antony and Cleopatra
About Marc Antony and Cleopatra
Antony arrives in Egypt to arrest Cleopatra and instead falls in love with her. His wife Octavia, Octavian's sister, arrives and accuses Cleopatra. Egyptian nobles plot against Rome, and the Senate denounces Antony. Octavian's legions come. The film stages the naval battle, which it places on the Nile, and Octavian wins. Antony and Cleopatra flee to Alexandria. Antony kills himself. Cleopatra hopes to win Octavian, but he says she will be taken to Rome as a prisoner. She kills herself with an asp.
Cast & crew
More about Marc Antony and Cleopatra
Enrico Guazzoni directed for Cines. Gianna Terribili-Gonzales plays Cleopatra, Amleto Novelli plays Antony, Ignazio Lupi plays Octavian, and Elsa Lenard plays Octavia. The script draws on Shakespeare, Plutarch's life of Antony, Pietro Cossa's 1879 poem Cleopatra, and Georg Ebers's 1893 novel. Germany opened the film on 14 August 1913 as Die Herrin des Nils—Cleopatra. The original length is given as 11 reels.
Themes
Look
Alessandro Bona photographed the Cines production, including a Battle of Actium staged on the Nile.
Preservation
The film survives. Silent Era is the listing Wikipedia cites.
Notes
- George Kleine released the film in the United States on 5 January 1914.
- The American cut is listed as 8 reels and 73 minutes. Wikidata lists 72 minutes.
- The battle is moved from the Ionian Sea to the Nile.
- Silent Era lists the film as extant.
- The Italian title is Marc'Antonio e Cleopatra.
Scenes
- Octavia faces Cleopatra and accuses her.
- The naval battle is fought on the Nile.
- Cleopatra takes the asp after Octavian orders her to Rome in chains.
Influenced by
- Antony and Cleopatra (play)
- Plutarch, Life of Antony
- Cleopatra (poem by Pietro Cossa)
- Cleopatra (novel by Georg Ebers)
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-antony-and-cleopatra)
