00:00Cleopatra is a magic name.
00:27A symbol of romance and love, of power and passion and intrigue.
00:36Cleopatra has been glorified in all the arts,
00:41and by writers from Plutarch here to Shakespeare to Shaw.
00:48Yet, she still remains a mystery, eternal as the Sphinx.
00:56I made this picture because the historical facts of her life
01:01are far more fascinating than any fiction.
01:05How she schemed to meet her conqueror and save her throne.
01:10Observe, Caesar. A most unusual design.
01:15Greetings to Caesar from Egypt.
01:20Very amusing joke.
01:25Very good.
01:28But, uh, I'm too busy.
01:31But even the mighty Caesar surrenders to Cleopatra,
01:35bringing her back in triumph to all the splendor of ancient Rome.
01:44On the steps of the Senate, Caesar is warned,
01:47beware the Ides of March,
01:49but the conspirators drive their daggers deep.
01:52The iron soldier, Mark Antony,
01:55swears to avenge the death of Caesar.
01:58From Tarsus I shall send Cleopatra to Rome in chain.
02:03And how did Cleopatra receive the great Mark Antony?
02:07Antony finds that all the legions of Rome
02:22are not as strong as the soft white arms of Egypt.
02:26And so begins one of the great love stories of all time.
02:55Starting with human desire and rising to immortality
03:00as Antony and Cleopatra face the might of Rome
03:04in one of the seven great battles of history,
03:07the Battle of Actium.
03:09In drama, in song, in story,
03:26four great love have been told over and over again.
03:30Romeo and Juliet,
03:33Samson and Delilah,
03:35Tristan and Isolde,
03:37Antony and Cleopatra.
03:40Two of these I have brought to the screen.
03:43Who shall say which is the greatest love?
03:47Now don't decide until you have seen Cleopatra.
03:51Cleopatra.
04:12The End
04:13The End
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