This 1979 BBC/Time-Life production of Julius Caesar faithfully follows Shakespeare's original version. When the film begins, cheering throngs hail Julius Caesar (Charles Gray) as he parades through the streets of Rome after conquering Pompey the Great. But a soothsayer unsettles the crowd when he shouts to Caesar, "Beware the Ides of March," then repeats his warning. Paying no heed, Caesar moves on, unaware that a prominent citizen, Cassius (David Collings), is at that very moment hatching a plot to murder Caesar on the Ides (March 15). Cassius and other Romans fear Caesar will assume absolute control of Rome as a king, thereby ending freedom and curtailing the influence of noblemen. After Cassius persuades the highly respected Marcus Brutus (Richard Pasco) to participate in the plot, other prominent citizens join them. That evening, a violent storm shakes Rome, and Caesar's wife, Calpurnia (Elizabeth Spriggs), believes it is an omen signaling grave danger to Caesar if he goes to the Capitol the next day. Hearing of other signs, she tells Caesar, "A lioness hath whelped in the streets, and graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their dead; fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds...which drizzled blood upon the Capitol." Caesar agrees to remain home until one of the conspirators, Decius Brutus (Alex Davion), visits him and persuades him that his wife misinterpreted the omens. The image of blood she saw, the conspirator says, "signifies that from you great Rome shall suck reviving blood." After Caesar arrives at the Capitol on the Ides, the conspirators surround and stab him. News of his death brings civil war. At the funeral, Marcus Antonius (Keith Michell), Caesar's friend, eulogizes Caesar in an emotional speech that arouses the people against Brutus and the conspirators. Then Antony and two allies form a ruling partnership and track down the fleeing armies of Cassius and Brutus. Seeing that all is lost, Cassius and Brutus commit suicide. Viewers of the play have long argued over who is its real villain -- Caesar, because of his apparent lust for power, or Brutus, because of his betrayal of Caesar. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Review
Impressive acting by a British cast highlights this 1979 production of Julius Caesar. Although filmed as a stage play with limited use of props, the absence of fanfare and spectacle actually works in favor of the production because it centers all attention on the characters and the subtleties of their dialogue. The production is easy to follow because the actors generally enunciate their words clearly, pause at the right moments, and make facial expressions and gestures to help convey the meaning of the occasional difficult Shakespeare passage. Richard Pasco (Marcus Brutus) and David Collings (Caius Cassius) perform brilliantly as the leading conspirators who engineer history with convincing words and daggers. Pasco is a paradoxical Brutus -- idealistic and pragmatic, gentle and harsh. In keeping with Shakespeare's apparent intentions, Collings is a transparent Cassius -- jealous, petty, cynical. After Brutus, Cassius, and their co-conspirators murder Caesar and bathe their hands in his blood, they win the mob to their side. Yes, Brutus tells the people, he killed a friend, but the friend was a tyrant. And then comes the famous funeral oration ("Friends, Romans and countrymen") by Marcus Antonius that wins the mob back to Caesar and his supporters. It is a pivotal speech, a hinge upon which the believability of the rest of the play turns. Therefore, it must be entirely convincing; only an exceptional actor can deliver it. In this production, the task falls to Keith Michell, and he is superb. Pacing, gesturing, altering the stress and intonation of his speech, he molds the crowd into a single lump of opinion. In a moment, it becomes apparent that all is lost for Brutus and Cassius. The rest of the cast also performs capably in this production, including Charles Gray as Caesar and Elizabeth Spriggs as his wife Calpurnia. In any production of Julius Caesar, it's always fun to listen for its famous anachronism -- a bell tolling the hour of the day even though bell clocks had not been invented. This production has the bell clock -- and so much more. One suspects Shakespeare would like it. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
David Collings - Cassius; Alexander Davion - Decius Brutus; Richard Pasco - Marcus Brutus; Elizabeth Spriggs - Calpurnia; Keith Michell - Marcus Antonius
Credit
Herbert Wise - Director, William Shakespeare - Play Author
