Antony and Cleopatra

12/9/2023

Whilst this is a really quite good looking version of the Shakespeare tragedy, it's the overly wordy adaptation that drags it down. What director Charlton Heston and his writing team seem to failed to appreciate is that much of the original text was designed to complement the simplicity of the stage. With an whole gamut of visuals for us to enjoy, much of the original dialogue is rendered superfluous, and abridging that is the challenge that fails this production. Essentially, it picks up just after the assassination of Julius Caesar with Lepidus (Fernando Rey), Octavian (John Castle) and Marc Antony (Heston) managing an easy truce so they can deal with Pompey (Freddie Jones). Octavian is also nervous about Antony and so suggests that he marry his sister Octavia to create a stronger bond b