Shakespeare in Performance: Film
Antony and Cleopatra (1972, Charlton Heston)
| Title | Antony and Cleopatra |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972 |
| Release Locations | GB Spain |
| Director | Charlton Heston |
| Medium | Video |
| Audience | college and university general public |
| Play Connections | Antony and Cleopatra (adaptation) |
Description
Rehearsed in London and filmed in Spain, this version of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, while never widely exhibited in theaters, is now available on videocassette. Charlton Heston tells something of its genesis: "Not all the films of Shakespeare's plays have been directed by actors playing the parts in them . . . but most of them have. When I found myself undertaking this daunting assignment in Antony and Cleopatra, I was heartened to recall that Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles had provided examples and models for me in the three films each has made from the plays and illuminated with his performances . . . . Each man [Olivier and Welles] . . . gave me identical advice . . .: 'You must rehearse the whole play for as many weeks as you can before you start shooting, and you must have a good actor to play Antony for you while you are setting up the shots' [Heston describes the intense pre-location readings at a 'dingy rehearsal hall near Covent Garden']." There he learned the value of advance rehearsal for a film adaptation heavily dependent on acting skills (Heston, Charlton, "Heston Directs Heston," Publicity Release, 1972)
Description from Shakespeare on Screen : an International Filmography and Videography by Kenneth S. Rothwell and Annabelle Henkin Melzer. ©1990 Kenneth S. Rothwell. Cited by permission. — Added 2008-11-14
Cast Overview
Production Team and Crew Overview
Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell