Alright, let’s talk about this Cleopatra movie poster, you know, the one with that fancy lady on it. I ain’t no scholar or nothin’, but I know what I like, and that Elizabeth Taylor, she sure was somethin’ else. They say she played this Cleopatra, a queen from way back when, in Egypt, I think it was.
So, this movie, Cleopatra, came out a long time ago, like in the 1960s or somethin’. Way before my time, that’s for sure. But even I’ve seen pictures of that poster. It’s got Elizabeth Taylor all dolled up, lookin’ like a real queen. They say she was tryin’ to keep her throne, fightin’ off them Romans, you know, those fellas in those funny skirts and helmets.
- They say she sweet-talked this Julius Caesar fella, a big shot Roman emperor.
- But then, wouldn’t you know it, some folks went and killed him.
- So, she moved on to another one, Marc Antony, his general. Sounds like she didn’t waste no time, that Cleopatra.
Now, this poster, it ain’t just a picture, you see. It’s supposed to tell you what the movie’s about. It’s gotta grab your attention, make you wanna go see it. And I reckon it did a pretty good job, ’cause folks still talk about it today. They got all sorts of posters for this movie, seems like. Big ones, small ones, some with Elizabeth Taylor lookin’ all serious, others with her and that Richard Burton fella, who played Marc Antony. He was a looker too, that Burton.
I heard tell they spent a whole heap of money makin’ this movie. Big money, the kind you and I ain’t never seen. And the poster, well, it had to be somethin’ special, right? They didn’t just slap somethin’ together. They got artists to make it, folks who knew how to draw and paint and make things look pretty. They even had this fella, Strausfeld, who made posters that you could tell right away who it was for. He had his own special way of doin’ things, I guess.
And the colors, oh my! They used all sorts of bright colors, reds and golds and blues, to make it eye-catchin’. It weren’t no dull, boring picture, that’s for sure. They wanted you to see it from across the street, make you stop and take a look. And it worked, I tell ya. People lined up around the block to see this movie. It was a big deal, a real blockbuster.
They say these movie posters started way back in the 1800s. Some fella in France, Jules Cheret, he started makin’ ’em. They weren’t fancy like the Cleopatra ones at first, just tellin’ you when and where the movie was playin’. But they got better over time, more colorful, more artistic. And the Cleopatra poster, well, it was one of the best, I reckon.
Now, this movie, it made a whole lotta money. Three weeks after it came out, it was the number one movie in the country. Everyone wanted to see Elizabeth Taylor play Cleopatra. She was a good actress, they say, and she really made you believe she was a queen. And that Richard Burton, he was good too. They made a good pair, those two. They even got hitched in real life, I heard. Imagine that!
So, if you ever see a picture of that Cleopatra movie poster, take a good look. It ain’t just a pretty picture, it’s a piece of history. It tells a story, not just about Cleopatra, but about Hollywood, about moviemakin’, about a time when things were different. It reminds us of a time when movies were big, when movie stars were glamorous, and when a good poster could make all the difference. And that Elizabeth Taylor, well, she was somethin’ special, that’s for sure.
Tags: [Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Movie Poster, 1963 Film, Richard Burton, Historical Drama, Film History, Movie Marketing, Hollywood, Queen Cleopatra]
