Cleopatra (1963)

Toilet Review: One heck of a long movie, but absolutely beautiful.

First off, apologies for not updating in so long. Over the past month and a bit, I have been moving myself and my husband halfway around the world to Toronto, Canada. A bit of a big move from Dublin, Ireland! So, between packing, and flying, and moving, and getting a new job, I haven’t really had time to update my blog. However, I believe now that things have settled down somewhat, normal service should resume.

“Cleopatra” was my plane movie. Given that it is nearly five hours in run time, it suited me almost perfectly for the seven and a half hour flight to Toronto. It was funny actually, as my husband ended up watching two movies and each time he would lean over and ask if I was STILL watching Cleopatra!

But, moving on.

“Cleopatra” is a movie of epic portions. The costumes, the sets, the dialogue, the extras, the acting. Everything is magnified to the point where you actually stop believing this is a movie and are transported to the world on show. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The sets are absolutely magnificent. They are huge and grand, and often times I wondered how long they took to build. The costumes, don’t even get me started on the costumes. They deserve to be in history of film books as the pinnacle of what can be achieved. They were sumptuous and gorgeous, and even if they weren’t period accurate, what about it!?

The story focuses, surprisingly enough, on the life of Cleopatra and her love for Julius Caesar, and later Mark Anthony. Her life is a constant battle and the few months of happiness that she garners is just not enough to make her story a happy one.

Elizabeth Taylor is the star in this movie, no doubt about it. She commands the scene each time she makes an appearance. Be it merely as a background character or the Pharaoh of all Egypt, she is amazing in this.

This is the sort of movie that can be a trial to watch, given it’s lengthy run time, and to be honest, it wouldn’t have been my first choice, even on the plane. But I am so glad I gave this a shot, and I will definitely be looking out for a theatre that shows it on the big screen. No doubt it will be just as fabulous, if not more so.

The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947)

Toilet Review: Who wouldn’t want the ghost of surly sea captain haunting their house?

I’m not even sure how I came to watch this movie. I have a box, which I have been writing movies onto slips of paper, and chucking them into, for about three years now, possibly more. I have no idea what caused me to put this one in, or even why. It’s definitely not my sort of movie. The whole idea of romantic movies tend to make me feel queasy and I tend to avoid them as much as I can. However, the moment I realised what this was, I was instantly intrigued.

Sure, there is the bog standard romance plot, but it has a twist. One that I was honestly delighted with to see where the movie brought it. We meet Lucy Muir, a young widow, with a small child, who moves with her faithful housekeeper to a beautiful isolated sea side home in a small English town. Mrs Muir meets resistance every step of the way, from her overbearing sister in law, to the town’s estate agent. She falls in love with this home, and is determined to stay.

Everything is not what it seems, when Mrs Muir meets the former owner, a long dead sea captain by the name of Daniel Gregg, and whilst he is a bit of rogue, agrees to only appear to Lucy. Saying anything more would ruin the plot, and the ending was so surprisingly sombre, yet very sweet, I wouldn’t want to deprive you, dear reader, of that.

I haven’t seen too many movies with Rex Harrison in them, but to me, he is the quintessential star of this style of movies. He is boorish, and a bit mischievous, yet endearing and flirty, all at the same time. This movie is no exception. I love him as the forthright Daniel Gregg, and his speech on why he calls our heroine Lucia is wonderful.

And Gene Tierney is just beautiful in this movie. She is elegant and proper, and just looks like every classic leading lady should. Her portrayal of Lucy Muir is just perfect. It’s hard to say how much of the character was the actor and vice versa.

This movie is certainly one of the most slow paced movies I’ve seen. There are no big plot twists, nothing shocking or overtly surprising. It’s just a simple story about a young woman and the man she falls in love with. Overall, I am glad I watched it, because it was a story, and for that fact alone, I am happy I watched it. I really got into the characters and enjoyed their interactions. Definitely a rainy Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea kind of movie.