ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

bkoganbing Prominent stage actress of the day Helen Gardner never became part of the Hollywood scene. This production of Cleopatra was done at her eastern based studio and the supporting cast is made up of players from the Broadway stage. As such the film is a curiosity for those who want a glimpse of people on the stage in those years before World War I.Ms. Gardner makes one buxom Cleopatra, one like you will not likely see again. But that Lillian Russell type figure was considered the standard of beauty back then. Wonder what Lillian Russell might have thought had she seen this film?For 1912 it's a bit risqué. In addition to the standard story of Mark Antony and Cleopatra there's also a story line here about a humble fisherman who has the hots for his Queen and Cleo takes him on as a boy toy.I really was not impressed with the added music soundtrack and singing of modern type music, jarringly out of place for the time. This really cries for a theater organ.It's a museum this Cleopatra, nothing more.

rudy-46 ...nor custom stale her infinite variety. - Wm. Shakespeare How fortunate we are that this early first feature epic survives in near entirety. It stands as a testimonial to one of the greatest and overlooked actresses of early cinema, the divine Helen Gardner. Miss Gardner was a prolific actress of the stage and early screen. She taught pantomine and was possibly the first star to form her own production company, the Helen Gardner Picture Corporation, of which this film was produced. Now granted this film seems stagey and it lacks some of Griffith's techniques but it boasts some fine performances and is important for its historical value. In my opinion Miss Gardner is the finest Cleopatra the screen has ever had. She is every inch the Queen of the Nile, beautiful, majestic, sexy. She had a strong screen presence and talent that is almost forgotten due to the fact that so many of her films are gone, which is why this film is of great importance. This film is based on the play by Victorien Sardou and was directed by Miss Gardner's husband Charles L. Gaskill. Miss Gardner also designed her costumes for this as she did for many of her roles. I had always wanted to see the 1917 Theda Bara version but as long as that film remains lost, Helen Gardner is the quintessential Cleopatra of the screen. Long live the Queen!

lugonian "Cleopatra" (1912), directed by Charles Gaskill, which premiered on Turner Classic Movies in August 2000, stars stage actress Helen Gardner in the title role. In spite of when it was made (1912), I was prepared to witness a prestigious production handicapped by some overacting and bad camera shots. However, what makes the movie unbearable for me to watch is the really bad sound track that accompanies it: bongo drums, off screen chanting, etc. An organ score would have been sufficient. Presented in correct silent film speed, "Cleopatra" plays at 90 minutes, but again, complaining about the score, made it seem like it runs at 190 minutes. "Cleopatra" was obviously filmed in a studio sound stage, with backdrops moving about like a painted curtain. Had it been done a few years later under the direction of DW Griffith, then possibly it would have become a masterpiece as his 1916 production of INTOLERANCE. But because of that new underscoring (there I go again), maybe "Cleopatra" would have been somewhat bearable. I recommend the present version for insomniacs only.

FISHCAKE Despite some added fictional characters, this is still essentially the legendary and historical Cleopatra and Antony story. It is only cinematic in making use of quick scene changes, otherwise it is very much a photographed play, more choreographed than directed. Acting is highly mannered and stylized in a way that will likely send modern viewers into gales of laughter sometimes. Compare this film to D.W.Griffith's BIRTH OF A NATION only three years to see what a revolution occurred in cinematic technique. Fortunately Griffith's style prevailed, while Gardner's film remains a quaint curiosity.Among the many curiosities, viewers will note that "Cleopatra" and all her attendant ladies are definitely of the matronly and well-fed type. Maybe in 1912 this was what the menfolk liked!