The costume of Cleopatra is unmistakable: gold, heavy adornments, lavish headdresses, dramatic makeup. The film honours this and then some, providing Taylor with 65 costume changes and showing off Cleopatra's imitable beauty and style at every opportunity.
Mankiewicz's 243-minute epic. “There were days when we literally had 10,000 extras,” recalled Landau, who played Rufio, the loyal right-hand man to Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) and Marc Antony (Burton). “They would come at 5 in the morning and be sprayed with makeup to darken them before they got into the costumes.”
In 1958, his production company partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to produce the film. Following an extensive casting search, Elizabeth Taylor signed on to portray the title role for a record-setting salary of $1 million.
What was the budget for the costumes for Cleopatra?
The original budget was $2.9million – the final bill was $44million! Rex Harrison was paid £200,000 and Richard Burton £250,000. 79 sets were constructed and costume designer Irene Sharaff created a record 26,000 costumes. Elizabeth's costumes alone cost $194,800 and included a dress made of 24-carat gold.
What happened to Elizabeth Taylor during Cleopatra?
During the production of the film Cleopatra in 1961, Taylor and co-star Richard Burton began an extramarital affair, which caused a scandal. Despite public disapproval, they continued their relationship and were married in 1964.
What illness did Elizabeth Taylor have while filming Cleopatra?
Elizabeth Taylor's most dramatic health moment occurred half a century ago. While filming the epic flop “Cleopatra” in Rome, she contracted pneumonia and underwent an emergency tracheotomy so she could breathe.
Did Elizabeth Taylor do her own makeup in Cleopatra?
Taylor would often do her own make-up for movie roles and red carpet appearances, including in her role as Cleopatra, which called for dramatic eyeshadow play. “When I was younger, for a long time I didn't wear any make-up in films; when I did start to wear make-up, I always did it myself,” she once said.
Who designed Elizabeth Taylor's costumes in Cleopatra?
Costume designer Irene Sharaff was solely in charge of the designs and numerous costumes made for, and worn by, Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 Twentieth Century Fox production Cleopatra. Sharaff won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Costume Design, along with fellow costumiers on the film, Vittorio Nino Novarese and Renié.
In Greek dress, she would have worn a chiton, a type of tunic made from a single piece of fabric that was draped and pinned around the body. In Egyptian dress, she might have worn a kalasiris, a close-fitting linen garment adorned with jewellery and embellishments.
When filming on Cleopatra began, Taylor was 29 and already on husband number four, Eddie Fisher. Fisher had left his wife, Debbie Reynolds, for the violet-eyed seductress.
She died from congestive heart failure on March 23, 2011. She was 79. It is believed that Elizabeth Taylor's net worth at the time of her death was between $600 million and $1 billion. The film icon structured her will as a revocable living trust.
How many wardrobe changes did Elizabeth Taylor have in Cleopatra?
The costume of Cleopatra is unmistakable: gold, heavy adornments, lavish headdresses, dramatic makeup. The film honours this and then some, providing Taylor with 65 costume changes and showing off Cleopatra's imitable beauty and style at every opportunity.
Historians say she used herbeuty to seduce Roman Emperor Julius Caesar and his leadinggeneral Mark Anthony. But a new exhibition at the British Museum in London nextmonth, which features 11 statues previously thought to portrayother queens, will show Cleopatra as plain-looking, about 5 feet tall and apparently plump.
There are plenty of coins surviving with Cleopatra's portrait on them, and they generally repeat the same features that seemed to astound reporters: a prominent nose, sloping forehead, sharply pointed chin and thin lips, and hollow-looking eye sockets.
After their defeat, the children were taken to Rome by Octavian and paraded as spoils of war. Alexander Helios and his siblings were later sent to live with Octavian's sister Octavia, who had been Antony's wife before he abandoned her for Cleopatra.
Taylor famously donned the prop for the 1963 production of "Cleopatra." After filming, the wig was kept safe by British wigmaker, Stanley Hall, who then passed it on to a Hollywood makeup artist.
Who was the actress who had purple eyes in Cleopatra?
Legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor's eyes were famous for being stunningly beautiful and distinct. Widely known for having the most striking eyes in Hollywood, Taylor had what appeared to be rare, natural purple irises.
Taylor's twin-set of lashes are thought to be the result of a genetic mutation at the FOXC2 gene. (Funny that a woman most men would describe as "foxy" was possibly affected by the FOXC2 gene!) An extra row of eyelashes is known medically as distichiasis (pronounced dis-tic-key-i-asis) and it's a rare disorder.
Cleopatra used the bright green malachite paste of the ancient Egyptians on her lower eyelids. On her upper eyelids, she used a deep blue eye shadow with gold-colored pyrite flecks, made from ground lapis lazuli stone.
Kohl eyeliner was a prominent feature of Cleopatra's makeup routine. She accentuated her eyes with thick, black lines that extended beyond the eyelids, creating a dramatic and captivating effect. The use of kohl dates back to ancient Egypt and was widely employed by both men and women for cosmetic purposes.
