Review of Julius Caesar (1953) by Ricardo O — 17 Aug 2011

This is definitely what you could call a classic! Brutus (Mason), Cassius (Gielgud), and other men are sick of Julius Caesar's (Calhern) ways, and plot to murder him. When they do, it ends up the loyal Marc Antony (Brando) plans to avenge a war against them for their actions.

Brando was just about the hottest thing in Hollywood, scoring major hits with "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Viva Zapata", and fans were excited to see what he would do next. It actually caused quite a shock that he was playing Marc Antony, instead of being a crazy guy who yells "Stella!" Personally, I have not seen any Marlon Brando movies yet, and trust me, this movie proves why he is considered one of the best actors ever! He doesn't get as much screen time as I though (James Mason gets most of it), but every time he's there he steals the scene, and is always perfect.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz was the best pick possible as director here. He has the greatest actors here: Mason, Brando, and Gielgud are excellent as the leads, and Greer Garson and Deborah Kerr do their best as the small roles of the "women".

Also, it was super cool how he decided to have the character's speak in 16th century English rather than now-- it might be confusing at times, but trust me, in the end you feel a lot smarter. What I liked most about his direction however, was how he used the bare essentials.

Not one set is spectacular, bringing the actors out more and more. And, since it's not in Technicolor, it really really makes this truly one thing-- an acting movie. So many epics are distracting because of its "ornaments", but you only have to focus on one thing here, making everything seem so much better.

I loved this movie! "Julius Caesar" is spectacular, but a warning to others: some of the language might be a little bit hard to understand. :-).