Cleopatra

Alternative title: Antony and Cleopatra
Synopsis: Fiction short. `...as fine an example of the producer’s skill as we have seen. The management of the riotous crowds, the costly splendour of the costumes, and the perfectly artistic spirit in which the whole is carried out, are worthy of the finest productions of the "legitimate" stage’. Moving Picture World (March 26th).
Country: France
Medium: Film
Technical information: Black-and-white / Silent
Year of release: 1910
Duration: 13 mins; 1170 feet

Cast

Notes: The copy held by the BFI National Archive has German titles and is 819ft (9 mins).
General: The narrative owes much to Shakespeare but Shakespeare is not mentioned in contemporary reviews or Pathe’s publicity. There has been much debate on the provenance of the film, particularly as to whether the Pathe film of the same name released 1913 was a re-issue - details given in Ball, pp. 330-1.
History: Released May 11 1910 in the USA.
Reviews: Ball, Robert Hamilton. Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968 (pp112-4, 330-1).

SHAKESPEARE