Julius Caesar (1970 film)


Julius Caesar is a 1970 British independent film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, directed by Stuart Burge from a screenplay by Robert Furnival. The film stars Charlton Heston, Jason Robards, John Gielgud, Robert Vaughn, Richard Chamberlain, Diana Rigg, and Jill Bennett. It is the first film version of the play made in color.

Cast

The film was shot at studios in the UK and on locations in Spain.
Orson Welles was the first choice to portray Brutus, but was passed over for Jason Robards, who had considerable difficulties during production: frequently missing rehearsals, refusing to appear on horseback, and holding up the proceedings due to illness.

Release

Julius Caesar had its world premiere in Tokyo on 20 February 1970 and was released in the UK on 4 June 1970.

Home media

The film was released on DVD on 11 May 2004 initially and then 1 February 2005, 25 July 2006, and 19 February 2013 afterwards. Upon its 2013 Blu-ray disc release, it met with a more positive review from the website DVD Talk, although Jason Robards' performance was still soundly panned. Its previous DVD release, which was pan-and-scanned rather than letterboxed, had been harshly criticized, and several other DVD reviewers also disparaged the film.

Reception

Critical response

The reviews for this version upon its theatrical release were mostly negative, with Robards especially being criticized for his wooden performance as Brutus. The film failed at the box office.
Howard Thompson wrote in his review:
Critic Roger Ebert gives it only one star. In his review, he wrote:

Other Caesar films

played Cassius in the 1953 film version of Julius Caesar, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Charlton Heston had played Mark Antony once before, in an earlier film version of Julius Caesar, made in Chicago in 1950. He would do so yet again, in a 1972 film version of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, which Heston directed.