Cleopatra (1970 film)
Cleopatra | |||||
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Japanese name | |||||
Kanji | クレオパトラ | ||||
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Directed by | |||||
Screenplay by | Shigemi Satoyoshi | ||||
Story by | Osamu Tezuka | ||||
Produced by | Yasuhiko Yoneyama | ||||
Starring |
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Cinematography | Katsuji Misawa | ||||
Edited by | Masashi Furukawa | ||||
Music by | Nippon Herald Films | ||||
Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes | ||||
Country | Japan | ||||
Language | Japanese |
Cleopatra (Japanese: クレオパトラ, Hepburn: Kureopatora) is a 1970 Japanese anime fantasy film directed by Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto.[1] The film is the second part of Mushi Production's adult-oriented Animerama trilogy, following A Thousand and One Nights (1969) and preceding Belladonna of Sadness (1973).
The film was a critical and commercial failure. A manga adaptation of the film, also from Tezuka and Hisashi Sakaguchi, was released later that same year in October exclusively in COM, and was reprinted in late 2018.[2]
Plot
In the far future, three humans—Jirou, Hal, and Maria—discover that an alien race called the Pasateli intends to conquer humankind with the mysterious "Cleopatra Plan". Using a time machine, the three transport their minds into the bodies of members of the historical Cleopatra's court to discover and stop the plan. Hal, however, vows to use the opportunity to secure the title of the greatest lover who ever lived by having sex with Cleopatra.
In the middle of the Roman conquest of Egypt, a group of Egyptians secretly plot a rebellion to overthrow Julius Caesar. The group plans to send Cleopatra to seduce and murder Caesar. The Romans discover the group and attack them. Cleopatra escapes, along with her handmaidens Libya and Apollodoria. Cleopatra goes to an ancient priestess, who magically grants her an irresistibly seductive body for her mission.
It is at this point when Jirou, Hal, and Maria arrive: Maria is now Libya; Hal finds himself in the body of the priestess' pet leopard Rupa, thwarting his plans to seduce Cleopatra; and Jirou finds himself in the body of Ionius, a Greek man captured and enslaved by the Romans. Ionius frees himself and the other slaves by using his knowledge of future technology to make modern
Libya and Apollodoria insist Cleopatra must murder Caesar; Cleopatra, however, has had a change of heart and keeps putting off the assassination in favor of sex. They accompany Caesar back to Rome, just in time for him to be assassinated by his own senators. Caesar's adopted son, Octavian—soon to be called
Finally, during the Battle of Actium where Octavian's fleet defeats Anthony's Egyptian fleet, Anthony kills himself. Octavian goes to Cleopatra to persuade her to surrender; she is taken into custody by the Romans. Distraught and disappointed by the rejection after Anthony's death, Cleopatra commits suicide using an asp's venomous bite.
The time travelers return to the future and report that the Cleopatra Plan is a scheme by the Pasateli to assume the form of beautiful human women to seduce and destroy Earth's most powerful male leaders. The Pasateli have already taken their human forms and are poised to strike when this information arrives, but Earth is able to root them out and save the world in time.
Cast
- Chinatsu Nakayama as Cleopatra
- Hajime Hana as Julius Caesar
- Marcus Antonius
- Jitsuko Yoshimura as Maria Fellow/Libya
- Tsubame Yanagiya as Hal Witcher/Rupa
- Nobuo Tsukamoto as Jirou Tani/Ionius
- Kazuko Imai as Calpurnia
- Susumu Abe as Cabagonis
- Octavian
- Kotoe Hatsui as Apollodoria
- Yoshirō Katō as Chief Tarabahha
Release
In 1972,
The film was not received well by audiences in America, and was not a success at the box office, due to false advertising claiming it to be a "pornographic" movie, which caused people who saw the film to want refunds. It was not successful in its native Japan either.[5]
Critics give it mixed reviews.
Cleopatra was not submitted to the
In its native country, it has been released on
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
- ^ "Osamu Tezuka's Erotic Cleopatra Manga Gets Limited Edition Reprint". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ "With Xanadu Productions Inc. (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
- ^ "at the movies". d.merrill. November 28, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ a b "Tezuka's Adult Features: "Cleopatra" (1970)". Fred Patten. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-0725-2.
- Michael Barrier. "The Filming of Fritz the Cat". Funnyworld, Nos. 14 and 15. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
- ^ https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cleopatra-1970-Osamu-Tezuka-Nakayama-Chinatu-Used-Anime-movies-VHD-Japan-release-/264453970887 , eBay. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- Yahoo!Japan. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ "Animerama: 1001 Nights / Cleopatra Limited Edition [Blu-ray]". June 18, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2020 – via Amazon.
- ^ Mateo, Alex (August 6, 2020). "Discotek Licenses New Getter Robo OVA, Isuca Anime, Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure Special". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
External links
- Cleopatra at IMDb
- Cleopatra (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Cleopatra in the TezukaOsamu.net database