''Julius Caesar'' is a 1970

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play of the same name, directed by

Stuart Burge Stuart Burge (15 January 1918 – 24 January 2002) was an English stage and film director, actor and producer. The son of H. O. Burge, by his marriage to K. M. Haig, Burge was educated at Eagle House School, Sandhurst, and Felsted School, Esse ...

. It stars

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film '' The Ten ...

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the auto ...

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

as Cassius,

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor noted for his stage, film and television work. His television roles include the spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.''; th ...

as Casca,

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show ''Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shōg ...

as Octavius, and

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On He ...

as Portia. It was an independent production of

Commonwealth United Entertainment Commonwealth United Entertainment, formerly known as ''Television Enterprises Corporation'' and was also known as Commonwealth United Corporation after its parent corporation, was an American film production and distribution company active to 197 ...

, filmed in England and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is the first film version of the play made in colour.

Plot

Cast

Production

The film was shot primarily at

MGM-British Studios MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established (as MGM London Films Denham) at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquired ...

and

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

in England. The battle sequences were filmed on-location in

Manzanares el Real Manzanares el Real is a 8,936 inhabitant town (2020 statistics fro in the northern area of the autonomous Community of Madrid. It is located at the foot of The Pedriza, a part of the Sierra de Guadarrama, and next to the ''embalse de Santillana'' ...

, Spain.

Casting

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

was the first choice to portray Brutus, but was passed over for

, who had considerable difficulties during production: frequently missing rehearsals, refusing to appear on horseback, and holding up the proceedings due to illness.

and

had both appeared in previous film adaptations of Shakespeare's play; Gielgud played Cassius in the 1953 film directed by

Joseph L. Mankiewicz Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best A ...

, and Heston also played Mark Antony in a low-budget 1950 version. He would do so yet again, in a 1972 film version of Shakespeare's ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

'', which Heston also directed.

Peter Eyre Peter Gervaise Joseph Eyre (born 11 March 1942) is an American-born English actor. Eyre was born in New York City, the son of Dorothy Pelline (née Acton) and Edward Joseph Eyre, a banker. He was sent to a public school in England at the age o ...

is credited as playing Cinna the poet, but his role was cut from the final film.

Max Adrian Max Adrian (born Guy Thornton Bor; 1 November 1903 – 19 January 1973) was an Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. In addition to his succ ...

was cast in a featured role, but dropped out before filming.

Release

''Julius Caesar'' had its world premiere in Tokyo on 20 February 1970 and was released in the UK on 4 June 1970. The film failed at the box office.

Reception

Critical response

The reviews for this version upon its theatrical release were mostly negative, with Robards especially being criticized for his wooden performance as Brutus. Howard Thompson wrote in his review: Critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gives it only one star. In his review, he wrote:

later expressed dissatisfaction with the film, which had been a passion project, claiming it had a poor director, an unsuitable cameraman, and the wrong actor as Brutus. He called

’ performance “the worst performance by a really good actor.”

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on 11 May 2004 initially and then 1 February 2005, 25 July 2006, and 19 February 2013 afterwards. Upon its 2013

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of stori ...

disc release, it met with a more positive review from the website

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

, although Jason Robards' performance was still soundly panned. Its previous DVD release, which was pan-and-scanned rather than letterboxed, had been harshly criticized, and several other DVD reviewers also disparaged the film.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Caesar (1970 Film) 1970 films 1970 drama films 1970 war films 1970s historical films American epic films American war drama films American historical films British epic films British war drama films British historical films Cultural depictions of Cicero Cultural depictions of Marcus Junius Brutus Depictions of Augustus on film Cultural depictions of Julius Caesar Cultural depictions of Mark Antony 1970s English-language films Films based on Julius Caesar (play) Films set in ancient Rome Films set in the 1st century BC Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in England Films shot in Spain Films directed by Stuart Burge War epic films Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1970s American films 1970s British films