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Cleopatra→Cleopatra
H. Rider Haggard·1917·Director: J. Gordon Edwards
70%
Faithfulness
N/A
Book Rating
3.3
Movie Rating
Theda Bara, Fritz Leiber, Thurston Hall
The Book
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and the last active Hellenistic pharaoh. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. Her first language was Koine Greek, and she is the only Ptolemaic ruler known to have learned the Egyptian language, among several others. After her death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Hellenistic period in the Mediterranean, which had begun during the reign of Alexander.
The Film
Cleopatra is a 1917 American silent historical drama film based on H. Rider Haggard's 1889 novel Cleopatra, the 1890 play Cleopatre by Émile Moreau and Victorien Sardou, and the play Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare. The film stars Theda Bara in the title role, Fritz Leiber Sr. as Julius Caesar, and Thurston Hall as Mark Antony.
Key Differences
The film condenses subplots and trims interior moments present in the book.
Our Verdict
Read the book firstRead first — the novel offers depth the film couldn't fully capture.
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