Cleopatra | 1963 | G | – 5.5.3

Why is “Cleopatra” rated G? The MPAA rating does not include content details. The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes several implied sex scenes, discussions of arranged marriages, bigamy and producing heirs; several scenes of battles at sea and land with bodies and bloody wounds shown in the aftermath, several suicides, a murdered child, many arguments over power, and some strong language and insults. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

---

After Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) defeated Pompey in 48 BCE, he travels to Egypt and is quickly seduced by the young Queen, Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor). After Caesar is assassinated, wanting to create a global dynasty, Cleopatra begins a torrid affair with Mark Antony (Richard Burton) and together they confront Caesar’s designated successor, Octavian (Roddy McDowall) in the decisive naval battle of Actium. Also with Kenneth Haigh, Andrew Keir, Martin Landau and Hume Cronyn. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. [Running Time: 3:12]

Cleopatra SEX/NUDITY 5

 – A nude woman lies on a table where she is massaged by another woman (we see her bare back, hip, buttock, the side of her breast and legs). A woman’s gown reveals her nipples through the fabric. A woman’s nightdress reveals the outline of her nipples through the fabric. Women wearing pasties and bikini-type bottoms dance in a parade through streets (cleavage, bare abdomens and legs are seen). A woman wears a sheer robe that reveals the outline of her buttocks through the fabric. A nude woman sits in a tub (we see her bare shoulders and upper chest) and a man stands in the room on the other side of a screen. A nude man sits in a tub in a couple of scenes and we see his bare chest, abdomen and legs. Shirtless men wearing loincloth type bottoms walk in a parade through streets and we see their bare chests, abdomens and legs to the upper thighs. A woman is shown wearing a flesh toned gown that reveals her bare back to the hips. Several women wear skimpy outfits that reveal cleavage, bare abdomens, backs, and legs to the hips. A woman wears a gown that is slit up the front to reveal her bare leg to the hip. A woman wears many cleavage revealing outfits throughout the movie. A nude statue of a woman is shown and we see the outlines of her breasts and nipples with her hand covering the pubic area.
► A woman lies in bed and a man joins her; the woman places the man’s hand on her clothed breast and talks to him about her breasts and hips (sex is implied). A man and woman kiss and lie back on a bed (sex is implied); we see the man’s bare chest later.
► A man forcibly holds a woman and kisses her, and then kisses her on the neck. A man kisses a woman. A man and a woman kiss. A man and a woman snuggle and kiss. A man and woman hug and talk of love.
► A man marries a woman and his other wife hears about the nuptials through rumors. A woman tells a man about the reputation of her “handmaidens.” A reference is made to a brothel. A reference is made to a woman being “barren.”

Cleopatra VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A man is murdered by several men stabbing him and we see blood on his clothing as he falls dead; the body is later placed on a platform and set on fire. A man is sentenced to death and we hear him yell off-screen where he is presumably killed. A man asks another man to “help him into death” before stabbing himself in the abdomen (we see some blood). A severed head is pulled out of a pot by the hair and presented to a man as a gift. We see bodies with spears through them; bodies are hauled up ladders and thrown into a large flaming pyre. A dead man is shown with blood on his face. A dead man is shown lying on the ground with a sword sticking out from his abdomen (we see blood on the blade and his arm and leg). A young boy’s body, with blood on his mouth, is shown slumped in a cart (we understand that he has been murdered). A woman holds a man’s head in her lap as he dies and they kiss. A dead man is shown draped over a bead and we understand that he poisoned himself. A dead woman is shown lying on a platform and another woman lies dead at the base of the platform while a third dies and slumps to the ground as a snake slithers out of the room.
► Many boulders are catapulted into a stone edifice and we see walls crumbling and rubble on the ground; men fight with swords and we see some men run through with swords and spears (no blood is apparent), and flaming boulders are flung into the area and we see many dead bodies and horses lying on the ground. Many ships prepare for battle and exchange fire, causing ships to catch fire; one ship rams another and the mast collapses, swordsmen board and fight with slashing and clanging and we see many men in the water around the ships calling for help.
► A woman pleads with another woman and cries and she is told to drink from a goblet of wine; when the woman drinks, she falls over dead from being poisoned. A woman winces when she puts her hand inside a basket that contains a venomous snake that bites her and she then dies. A man and a woman slap each other. A man has a seizure and another man puts a stick in his mouth; he is held by the man and he massages the man’s shoulders after the seizure subsides. A woman moans during labor.
► Many men on horseback move toward a single horseman; the single man charges them and slashes at their shields but they do not fight back. Lines of men are shown shackled. An army marches through a desert. Many people are shown leaving a city with their belongings. People toss something into a fire pit and it causes the flames to spark.
► A woman screams and slashes clothing using a knife after hearing that a man has married another woman. A woman screams and a guard picks her up and carries her away. A man carries a large rug and when it is unrolled, a woman is revealed to have been hiding inside. Many people clamber outside the door of the senate as men inside discuss a situation.
► We hear that many ships in a harbor are burning and that the flames have spread to a library. A man yells at a woman. A woman argues with men in several scenes. Two men argue. A young man says that his sister tried to kill him and that his guards ran her off into the desert where she died. A man threatens to “Tear out a thousand tongues.” People talk about a civil war. People discuss a joint ruling relationship between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy. A man says that his daughter died trying to have a son. References are made to someone “foaming at the mouth,” and people being “torn to pieces by the mob.” We hear about “tax riots.” A comment is made to people not having been paid for months. A reference is made to chopping someone up and feeding them to horses. A woman tells a man, “They told me you were dead.” A threat is made to, “Cut out your tongue.” A man talks about the “possession” of a woman by a man.
► A woman is shown tasting food and wine before another woman eats or drinks to test for poison.

Cleopatra LANGUAGE 2

 – 3 sexual references, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (stupid, master of the unexpected, barbarian, mental defectives, idiot, liar, whore, rubbish, Egyptian harlot), 3 religious exclamations (They Say You Are God, My Lord, Emperor and God). | profanity glossary |

Cleopatra SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man drinks wine, a man is shown drinking a lot of wine in several scenes, a woman pours a goblet of wine for a man, men drink wine in a few scenes, a man says that he wished that he hadn’t drunk so much, and a man says that he has given up wine.

Cleopatra DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Cleopatra, Caesar, Mark Antony, Octavian, Pompey, Alexander the Great, Rome, Egypt, dictatorships, treachery, evil, rape, murder, trust, love, divinity, obsession, cowardice, dreams, ambition, gender roles, arranged marriages, envy, self-pity, The Ides of March, merit, virtue, power, destiny, gossip, infidelity, corruption, epilepsy, betrayal, deceit, honor, suicide.

Cleopatra MESSAGE

 – The quest for power perpetually results in scores of dead people.