Julius Caesar

G

1970

1h 57m

History

Drama

List

40%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

36%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Julius Caesar (John Gielgud) is bestowed with laurels after his rousing victory over Pompey, which ended a civil war -- but danger still lurks among his closest comrades. Fearful that Caesar will destroy the republic, Brutus (Jason Robards) and Cassius (Richard Johnson) scheme to rein in his power. Meanwhile, Caesar's friend Marc Antony (Charlton Heston) remains singularly faithful. Ill omens abound, but they don't sway Caesar from his fateful meeting with the senate on the Ides of March.

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Tim F

A lavish production with a superior cast. Especially noteworthy was Heston's Mark Anthony. His funeral speech is a must see. The only hitch in the casting of this film is Jason Robards. I am a fan of Robards, but he seems out of place as Brutus.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/22/22

Full Review

Audience Member

This 1970 version of Shakespeare's great play has been unfairly dismissed. True, there are some bad wigs and a wholly miscast Richard Johnson as Cassius - but it moves at a fair clip and has a brace of very good supporting performances, not least Robert Vaughn as Casca and John Gielgud as an imperious Caesar. You might argue that Jason Robards is a bit sleepy, but he speaks the lines well and is well-matched by Charlton Heston's Mark Antony. Overall, a creditable version worthy of reappraisal, and the central assassination is very well staged and genuinely shocking.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I loved the movie as a kid and decided to rewatch as an adult only to find out that the movie is generally disliked because of comparisons to Marlon Brando's earlier film. I like Brando's version as well but I don't feel that it is a bad movie by any stretch, Heston does well in his role as does the rest of the cast. Only bad thing is some of the costumes are poor quality and make little or no sense upon viewing them and you'll see an occasional Roman citizen with early 70s Doobie Brothers hair but it doesn't take too much of the immersion out for me.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Solomon M

A misfire for sure. Though Gielgud and Heston both appeared in other film productions of Julius Caesar, this version is tepid at best with Jason Robards' Brutus definitely a "not to be seen" from a favorite actor of this critic. Atrocious "pan and scanned" hurts the available DVD; maybe a letterbox version will bump this film up to "three stars" but for now view the 1953 version with Marlon Brando and James Mason.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/20/19

Full Review

Audience Member

my teacher made us watch this. acting quality totally sucked audio, and set were all sloppy

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

ok version of this but I say skip this & see the superior 1953 version of this classic

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

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Stuart Burge

Director

Charlton Heston

Marc Antony

John Gielgud

Julius Caesar

Jason Robards

Marcus Brutus

Richard Johnson

Caius Cassius

Robert Vaughn

Servilius Casca

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Judith Crist

New York Magazine/Vulture

[Director Stuart Burge] has taken a pragmatic view even of the poetry; his is a virile drama of men making the most of their moments and making the world move with them.

Oct 1, 2019

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

We begin to suspect... that the movie is an alien plot to drain the soul from mighty Shakespeare.

Rated: 1/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 23, 2005

Full Review

Steve Crum

Kansas City Kansan

Handsome production, but pales to Brando's take.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 16, 2004

Full Review

Ted Prigge

rec.arts.movies.reviews

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

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Synopsis

Julius Caesar (John Gielgud) is bestowed with laurels after his rousing victory over Pompey, which ended a civil war -- but danger still lurks among his closest comrades. Fearful that Caesar will destroy the republic, Brutus (Jason Robards) and Cassius (Richard Johnson) scheme to rein in his power. Meanwhile, Caesar's friend Marc Antony (Charlton Heston) remains singularly faithful. Ill omens abound, but they don't sway Caesar from his fateful meeting with the senate on the Ides of March.

Director: Stuart Burge
Screenwriter: Robert Furnival
Rating: G
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2018
Runtime: 1h 57m

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