I tried watching the 1963 version of "Cleopatra" with Elizabeth Taylor a few years ago and gave up after about 90 adventure-less minutes of boring dialogue. The 1999 version makes up for this shortcoming as it combines action & adventure with the expected melodrama.A few memorable highlights are as follows: -- Timothy Dalton is outstanding as Julius Caesar and has an undeniable commanding presence. That distinguishing cleft chin of his somehow fits the role just perfect.-- Billy Zane is also great as Marc Antony. He played the psycho killer in "Dead Calm" and the love-to-hate villain in "Titanic," but his character in "Cleopatra" is the express opposite. As Marc Antony, Zane is both likable and heroic, not to mention loyal and realistically human.-- There are some great Moroccan locations for the outdoor scenes. The indoor & city sets are good and have that distinctive Egyptian vibe; the costuming as well.-- The multifaceted score isn't overly bombastic but it is fitting, properly edited and memorable.As for Leonor Varela, the actress who plays Cleopatra, she has the requisite exotic looks for the part, but she's too bland. She's undeniably good-looking, but she's not my cup of tea (too thin), so all that leaves (for me) is her performance, which is merely adequate. However, I'll say this: She's more fitting for the role than Elizabeth Taylor! The '63 version failed to pull me into its story; this '99 version pulls you right in and is easy to follow. I'm not saying that it's the most captivating piece of cinema, but it's certainly better than the '63 rendition.WARNING: The run time of the film is 177 minutes and the DVD 155 minutes, but the VHS version runs only 139 minutes, cutting 38 minutes from the original! GRADE: C+ or B-

I found this a good movie to pass your time, but not by any chance of any historical value. The portrayal of Cleopatra reminded me a cheap soap opera.The twist of the facts is... funny! She gave birth while feeding her people!?!? O please... A pregnant Queen of Egypt (especially this one) would not bother going from one room to the other for that reason! They tried to make her appear a saint for God's sake! And the way they tried to justify her murdering her own sister... beyond description.Cleopatra was the greatest politician of her time. Her decisions were based anything but her feelings and morals. She did everything for only two reasons: Power and self-preservation! She was born in a family where she had to straggle for survival, something she did very well. Anything that stood on her way was either murdered (her brothers and sister) or seduced (Ceasar and Mark Anthony).Unfortunately Octavian was too powerful to kill and too... gay to be seduced. So, he was her end...

I saw this in a history class of the Roman Republic, believe it or not. This film smacks of made-for-TV all over it, and it is simply hilarious. It looks like a cheap imitator of "Xena: Warrior Princess" rather than a genuine attempt at historic recreation. All the basic historic facts seem in order, but with overly-pretty actors and over-the-top violence and action scenes thrown in to lure the Xena fans. Marc Antony is the super-hunky Billy Zane, though he seems supremely whiny and wimpy in this movie. HE'S the great Roman General?! Master of the Horse?! Puh-lease! Hunkiness means nothing if you're such a scaredy-cat, you let the girly-looking Octavian (he looks like Napoleon Dynamite) beat you in battle. It's clear Cleo chose him only for his looks! Cleopatra is an over-the-top sexy babe, and a cheap imitation of Xena. She joins Antony in battle at Actium, kicking major butt and slicing and dicing with her sword. She is also a yappy, whiny shrew of a woman that, in spite of her great beauty, it is very unlikely any man would want to hook up with her. I adamantly refuse to believe that Antony and Cleopatra were uber-hot supermodels; but, for the purposes of this film, it works! It's lovely schlock, and connoisseurs of schlock and camp will love this film.

According to the budget most of the TV-films have, I should tell that Martin Hitchcock did some great work as production designer and Enrico Sabbatini created some convincing costumes. David Connell his cinematography is sometimes breathtaking, but in the scenes on water it sometimes looks very fake, a pity. The action has its moments, but don't expect to much of it, especially the special effects are quite weak. But that is not really a failure because they probably did not have enough money for spectacular battle scenes. The main character Cleopatra is portrayed by Leonor Varela, she isn't bad and performed some good dialogs, but she does have a few very mediocre appearances. The first half of the film focuses on the relationship of the Egyptian quine and Julius Caesar. Timothy Dalton is as usual impressing. And although he played better roles in his wonderful career he gives an interesting interpretation of the Roman conqueror. The second part concerns about Cleopatra her interferences in the Roman civil war between Marc Antony and Octavian, both strong performances by Billy Zane and Rupert Graves. The most interesting supporting roles were Olympos (Art Malik), Brutus (Sean Pertwee) and Rufo (John Bowe). They did some good work with those roles, but Kassandra Voyagis (as Arsinoe, sister of Cleopatra) is painful to watch, she is a disturbing factor, and the actors appear to act more relaxed and with more confidence when her character isn't around anymore. This production outreaches the standard quality of an OK TV-film. And although there are some disappointing shots I think it is worth to watch, just do not be in the mood for a great epic adventure with tons of spectacle. Remember it is made for television.