Internet Shakespeare Editions

Shakespeare in Performance: Film

Antony and Cleopatra (1972, Charlton Heston)

TitleAntony and Cleopatra
Year1972
Release LocationsGB
Spain
DirectorCharlton Heston
MediumVideo
Audiencecollege and university
general public
Play ConnectionsAntony 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

MenasPeter Arne
MenecratesFernando Bilbao
VarriusLuis Bar Boo
OctaviusJohn Castle
ScarusWarren Clarke
SoothsayerRoger Delgado
AlexasJuan Luis Galiardo
ProculeiusJulian Glover
CanidiusSancho Gracia
ErosGarrick Hagan
ThidiasJohn Hallam
AntonyCharlton Heston
PompeyFreddie Jones
CharmianJane Lapotaire
1st MessengerJoe Melia
CleopatraHildegarde Neil
IrasMonica Peterson
EnobarbusEric Porter
MardianEmiliano Redondo
LepidusFernando Rey
VentidiusAldo Sambrel
OctaviaCarmen Sevilla
SoldierFelipe Solano
AgrippaDoug Wilmer

Production Team and Crew Overview

DirectorCharlton Heston
ProducerPeter Snell
ComposerMaurice Pelling
ChoreographyPamela Davis
MusicAugusto Algueró
MusicJohn Scott
Director of PhotographyRafael Pacheco
ProductionWendy Dickson
SetJosé María Alarcón
SetJosé Algueró

Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell