Cleopatra was originally supposed to cost just $2m, but ended up costing twenty-two times as much. To put that into perspective, the movie's $44m budget is equivalent to over $340m when adjusted for inflation. Both one of the most lavish and tortured productions in Hollywood history, the movie almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox, one of the biggest studios in the business. The tales of excess from the production of Cleopatra are the stuff of legend; original director Ruben Mamoulian was fired with the project already massively over-budget, his replacement Joseph L. Mankiewicz was himself fired and then rehired during the editing process, while star Elizabeth Taylor's record $1m contract eventually ballooned to $7m (over $50m adjusted for inflation) following numerous delays. Six months into shooting, the entire production was relocated to Rome at massive financial cost, while the finished movie uses no less than seventy-nine sets and over 25,000 costumes. Quite simply, they just don't make em' like this any more. Which is probably a good thing, as Cleopatra is 248 minutes of tedium elevated only by several strong performances and some great production design, which is the least you'd expect from such an expensive project. Although the movie did go on to earn almost $60m at the domestic box office to avoid becoming an outright financial disaster, it remains the pinnacle of Hollywood excess over 50 years on.
I don't do social media, so like or follow me in person but please maintain a safe distance or the authorities will be notified. Don't snap me though, I'll probably break. I was once labelled a misogynist on this very site in a twenty paragraph-long rant for daring to speak ill of the Twilight franchise. I stand by what I said, it's crap.
