Julius Caesar (1953)

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Movie
German title Julius Caesar
Original title Julius Caesar
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1953
length 120 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz
script Joseph L. Mankiewicz
production John Houseman
music Miklós Rózsa
camera Joseph Ruttenberg
cut John D. Dunning
occupation
synchronization

Julius Caesar is an American film drama starring Louis Calhern and Marlon Brando and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz from 1953. The play Julius Caesar ( The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , 1599) by William Shakespeare served as a literary model .

action

44 BC Chr. Is Julius Caesar in Rome at the height of his power. The Roman Senate has already approved his appointment as dictator for life, but there are also many senators who oppose it, such as Cassius and Casca . In order to save the republic, they plan to assassinate the future dictator. For their project, they try to get Caesar's adopted son Brutus to their side.

On the night before the Ides of March, a thunderstorm approaches. Brutus cannot sleep, he is too preoccupied with the question of how to behave. His wife Portia notices his restlessness and wants to find out why. Caesar's wife Calpurnia is also restless. A bad dream causes her to ask her husband not to go out the next morning. A clairvoyant also warns Caesar of the new day. Caesar is inclined to stay home, but when Cassius, Brutus, and others pick him up for a Senate meeting, he finally leaves. Also Marcus Antonius , a follower of Caesar, is among the companions. In front of the Capitol, he is pulled to the side by a conspirator. Caesar, in turn, is stopped by petitions by some senators. After all, it is Casca who is the first to draw his dagger and stab Caesar in the back. Other conspirators follow his example. When Caesar swaying to Brutus, Brutus gives him the fatal blow.

News of Caesar's death spreads quickly. Thousands of Romans flock to the Capitol , where the conspirators are still staying. Brutus turns to the crowd and explains his motivation. The next to speak is Mark Antony, who was allowed by the conspirators to make a speech, because they believed him on their side. But he knows how to first show the conspirators understanding with rhetorical finesse and then accuse them of selfish and dishonest motives. With this he succeeds in turning the mood of the people against Brutus and his like-minded people.

A list of outlawed Romans is then drawn up under the leadership of Marcus Antonius. With an army he goes against Brutus, Cassius and their followers. These are no longer of one mind, which weakens their fighting power. At the Battle of Philippi the decision is made: Marcus Antonius wins over his opponents. Cassius throws himself on his sword while Brutus forces one of his soldiers to kill him too.

background

MGM originally wanted to cast the film based on William Shakespeare's drama Julius Caesar (1599) exclusively with British actors. However, executive producer John Houseman suggested that, in this case, the film should be produced in Europe by a UK studio, not MGM in Hollywood .

Briton John Gielgud was cast as Cassius after Joseph L. Mankiewicz saw him on stage in Stratford-upon-Avon in the same role. Mankiewicz actually came to Stratford to see Paul Scofield play, whom he had originally intended for the role of Mark Antony. However, when Marlon Brando's audition turned out to be very good, Brando got the part. This decision was controversially discussed in the newspapers at the time, because Brando was more known for rebellious, animalistic characters like his Stanley Kowalski in Endstation Sehnsucht (1951), whose mumbled Pronunciation seemed incompatible with Shakespearean dialogues. Marlon Brando himself later said that he was actually too inexperienced to play Mark Antony: “It takes someone like Gielgud, who has already played the most important Shakespeare roles, to represent such parts in a credible manner. But to appear on set without any relevant experience and play Mark Antons like I did was downright idiotic. "

However, after the film premiered in New York on June 3, 1953 , reviews for Brando and the rest of the cast were consistently positive. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also nominated Brando for an Oscar in the Best Actor category . In Germany the film was released on November 13, 1953. It was released on DVD in 2007.

Reviews

The Lexicon of International Films noted that the faithful adaptation of the Shakespeare model "clearly puts the chains on the stage elements". Furthermore, the German dubbing “ only imperfectly reproduces the beauty of Shakespeare's language (in the true-to-the-original verses by Schlegel - Tieck ) and the audacity of his flights of thought”. The result was "an impressive historical fresco with outstanding actors".

The All Movie Guide highlighted the "strong cast". Mason, Gielgud and Brando offer "very different, but in any case completely satisfactory interpretations of their historical figures". In addition, the camera work in black and white allows the conspiracy scenes to appear "in the appropriate style of film noir ". Criticism is "an extensive anticlimax" of the film, the last two acts are irrelevant, but the film makes up for "this inadequacy with some high-profile speeches". “Friends, Romans, fellow citizens: tune in!” Was the simple verdict of Cinema .

Awards

Oscar

Nominated
Won

British Film Academy Award

Nominated
Won

Further

synchronization

The German dubbed version was made in the MGM synchronization studio in Berlin.

role actor Voice actor
Julius Caesar Louis Calhern Siegfried Schürenberg
Brutus James Mason Friedrich Joloff
Mark Antony Marlon Brando Horst Niendorf
Cassius John Gielgud Paul Wagner
Casca Edmond O'Brien Franz Nicklisch
Calpurnia Greer Garson Tilly Lauenstein
Flavius Michael godfather Heinz Engelmann
fortune teller Richard Hale Franz Weber
Cicero Alan Napier Wolf Martini
Decius Brutus John Hoyt Walther Suessenguth
Cinna William Cottrell Heinz Engelmann
Trebonius Jack Raine Otto Stoeckel
Artemidorus Morgan Farley Otto Stoeckel
Octavius Douglass Watson Klaus Schwarzkopf
Lepidus Douglass Dumbrille Wolf Martini
Strato Edmund Purdom Peter Petersz

literature

Soundtrack

  • Miklós Rózsa : Julius Caesar. The Complete Motion Picture Score . Intrada, San Francisco 1995, audio carrier no. MAF 7056D - digital re-recording of the complete film music by the Sinfonia of London under the baton of Bruce Broughton (CD)
  • Miklós Rózsa: Julius Caesar. Golden Age Classics . Film Score Monthly, 2005 (CD)
  • William Shakespeare , Miklós Rózsa: Julius Caesar. Dramatic Highlights From the MGM Film / Dramatic Highlights From Julius Caesar . MCA, Universal City 1996, MCA-25022 - Music and dialogues of the original film soundtrack (LP)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Articles on tcm.com
  2. ↑ Marlon Brando: My Life . Bertelsmann, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-570-02039-8 , p. 165.
  3. ↑ Julius Caesar. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 6, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ↑ “A strong cast distinguishes the film, with James Mason as Brutus, John Gielgud as Cassius, and Marlon Brando as Marc Antony offering distinctly different yet entirely satisfying interpretations of their historical figures. […] The black-and-white cinematography adds an appropriately film noir-ish element to the conspiratorial scenes […]. Julius Caesar suffers from a prolonged anti-climax (the final two acts add little to the story), but the film survives this deficiency with some show-stopping speeches. " Dan Jardine, cf. omovie.com
  5. ↑ cf. cinema.de
  6. ↑ Julius Caesar. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing index , accessed on July 23, 2018 .