Cleopatra and the Undoing of Hollywood
How One Film Almost Sunk the Studios
Seiten
2023
The History Press Ltd (Verlag)
978-1-80399-018-7 (ISBN)
The History Press Ltd (Verlag)
978-1-80399-018-7 (ISBN)
On the 60th anniversary of the film, this book explores the extraordinary story of the making of Cleopatra, the film that changed the face of Hollywood
There had been stars before. There had been films prior to Cleopatra. But in all the cynical, greedy, magical, histrionic history of the movies, there had never been a combination like that of Elizabeth Taylor and Cleopatra.
Other films may have taken more money, won more awards or attracted better reviews, but none have come close to the legend that is Cleopatra.
What began in 1958 as a remake of the 1917 Theda Bara film, which starred Joan Collins and was projected to cost $2 million, would open five years later, having cost nearly twenty times as much. The budget had skyrocketed enormously as the production went through extravagant sets in two different countries, two directors and six leading men – and this was on top of Elizabeth Taylor’s $1 million fee.
But it was the off-screen romance between the two on-screen leads that really cemented Cleopatra’s place in cinema history. Within weeks of Richard Burton’s arrival in Italy, he and Taylor embarked on a tumultuous and passionate love affair that kept the Cuban Missile Crisis off the front pages and was denounced by the Vatican. Cleopatra and the Undoing of Hollywood is a story of lust, excess and hubris – and how one film nearly brought Hollywood to its knees.
There had been stars before. There had been films prior to Cleopatra. But in all the cynical, greedy, magical, histrionic history of the movies, there had never been a combination like that of Elizabeth Taylor and Cleopatra.
Other films may have taken more money, won more awards or attracted better reviews, but none have come close to the legend that is Cleopatra.
What began in 1958 as a remake of the 1917 Theda Bara film, which starred Joan Collins and was projected to cost $2 million, would open five years later, having cost nearly twenty times as much. The budget had skyrocketed enormously as the production went through extravagant sets in two different countries, two directors and six leading men – and this was on top of Elizabeth Taylor’s $1 million fee.
But it was the off-screen romance between the two on-screen leads that really cemented Cleopatra’s place in cinema history. Within weeks of Richard Burton’s arrival in Italy, he and Taylor embarked on a tumultuous and passionate love affair that kept the Cuban Missile Crisis off the front pages and was denounced by the Vatican. Cleopatra and the Undoing of Hollywood is a story of lust, excess and hubris – and how one film nearly brought Hollywood to its knees.
Patrick Humphries has been a professional writer and journalist for over 40 years, with over 20 books to his credit, including Rolling Stones 69 (Omnibus, 2019). He was film editor at Vox magazine, which is when he began writing about and researching Cleopatra.
| Erscheinungsdatum | 11.07.2023 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 8 Plates, color; 23 Illustrations, color; 17 Illustrations, black and white |
| Verlagsort | Stroud |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 156 x 234 mm |
| Themenwelt | Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Film / TV |
| Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Zeitgeschichte | |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Kommunikation / Medien ► Medienwissenschaft | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-80399-018-X / 180399018X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-80399-018-7 / 9781803990187 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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