Julius Caesar (1950/VCI)
Picture:
C Sound: C- Extras: C Film: B-
Julius Caesar is a popular subject and popular
source for all kinds of programming. In
the past for this site, we have covered his story as documentary…
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2722/Julius+Caesar's+Rome+(History+Channel)
soundtrack…
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1694/Julius+Caesar+(1953/Limited+CD)
and other
dramatic film releases…
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1121/Julius+Caesar+(1970,+Pan+&+Scan)
VCI has
issued the first and lesser seen of Charlton Heston’s Marc Antony
performances. This 1950 version from
director David Bradley is part of a cycle of low-budget films at the time (like
Orson Welles’ Shakespeare films) that were ambitiously trying to capture
history and literature made possible by the efficiency of Film Noir filmmaking
and other post-WWII innovations. TV had
not arrived yet and independent reproductions like this were always interesting
and unique.
It is pretty
good, running at a compact-but-effective 93 minutes and the cast of unknowns
(for which Heston was one at the time) do an effective, non-pretentious job of
delivering the story with ambition and a sort of sincerity missing from other
historical productions. If you are
interested, you are in for a pleasant surprise.
The 1.33
X 1 black and white image is a bit detail challenged, but the print looks good
for its age and considering the low-budget of the film ($15,000 in 1949/50
dollars) for the time. The Dolby Digital
2.0 Mono really shows its age, sounding like an optical master a few
generations down. The combination can be
trying, but not too bad considering the circumstances. Extras include a text examination of Marc
Antony’s famous speech, promo trailer for VCI films in this genre, sepia stills
gallery, and text bios.
- Nicholas Sheffo
