Historical Movies


Antony and Cleopatra - UK, 1974

Director: Trevor Nunn - Jon Scoffield
Story: William Shakespeare 
Cast: Richard Johnson (Marc Antony), Janet Suzman (Cleopatra), Patrick Stewart (Enobarbus)

Television play based onShakespeare's work about Mark Antony and Cleopatra. With a cast including Patrick Stewart, it is not surprising that this is considered as one of the best versions of the Bard's famous play.


Caesar and Cleopatra - UK/USA, 1946

Director: Gabriel Pasal
Story: George Bernard Shaw
Cast: Claude Rains (Julius Caesar), Vivien Leigh (Cleopatra), Stewart Granger (Apollodorus)

When Julius Caesar comes to Egypt, Cleopatra sees an opportunity to ally herself with one of the most powerful men in the world. 


Cleopatra - USA, 1934

Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Story: Bartlett Cormack - Vincent Lawrence
Cast: Claudette Colbert (Cleopatra), Warren William (Julius Caesar), Henry Wilcoxon (Marc Antony)

Claudette Colbert portrays a man-hungry Cleopatra, using her talents of seduction on Julius Caesar and later on Marc Antony in an attempt to solidify her power.


Cleopatra - USA/UK/Switzerland, 1963

Director: Joseph L. Manckiewicz
Story: Sidney Buchman - Ranald MacDougall
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra), Rex Harrison (Julius Caesar), Richard Burton (Marc Antony)

Running over-budget and over due, this movie became famous because of the intrigue behind the scenes, rather than the on-screen drama.


Cleopatra - USA, 1999

Director: Franc Roddam
Story: Margaret George (novel) - Stephen Harrigan
Cast: Leonor Varella (Cleopatra), Timothy Dalton (Julius Caesar), Billy Zane (Marc Antony)

Mini-series about the struggle of Cleopatra to tip the balance of power in her favour.


Land of the Pharaohs - USA, 1955

Director: Howard Hawks
Story: Harold Jack Bloom - William Faulkner
Cast: Jack Hawkins (Pharaoh Khefu), Joan Collins (Nellifer)

Treachery and intrigue surround the building of king Khefu's (Kheops) pyramid, as his wife Nellifer plots to prevent the king from taking his treasures into to his tomb as well as sending him there somewhat sooner than expected...


The Curse of King Tut's Tomb - UK, 1980

Director: Philip Leacock
Story: Barry Wynne (book) - Herb Meadow
Cast: Eva Maria Saint (Sarah Morrissey), Robin Ellis (Howard Carter), Raymond Burr (Jonash Sabastian)

Dramatization of some of the events and intrigues surrounding the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.


The Egyptian - USA, 1954

Director: Michael Curtiz
Story: Philip Dunne - Casey Robinson
Cast: Jean Simmons (Meryt), Victor Mature (Horemheb)

Sinuhe, an orphan living in 18th Dynasty, becomes a physician who is appointed to the service of the new pharaoh, Amenhotep IV. Surrounded by intrigue, he learns the secrets that answer the questions he has sought ever since his birth.


© Jacques Kinnaer 1997 - 2023