Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare in 1599 A.D. recounts events which have transpired 1,642 years before during the days of the Roman Republic. The assassination of Julius Caesar has been a popular topic among historians, artists, playwrights, and the film industry for decades. Although the story of Caesar’s assassination has been displayed in many forms over the years some of them have been not so accurate (from the historical point of view). However, Julius Caesar a 1953 film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz has largely been able to stick to historical accuracy due to its reproduction of Shakespeare’s original. But, with that said the play is still flawed and does not completely keep to the facts as we know them by the historical writer Plutarch.
The film by Mr. Mankiewicz depicts not only the assassination itself but also the plot leading up to it and the aftermath thereafter. Caesar who is played by Louis
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Although based on Shakespeare’s classic work by the same name the film align closely with the facts as we know them from Plutarch. However, and perhaps more surprising than the films ability to keep true to the facts of what happened 1,642 years ago is its applicability to today’s society. The story of rulers who overextend themselves is (in a way) still a reoccurring theme in today’s global society and is a story that we can relate closely with. With that said and despite the excellent portrayals of Mark Antony by Marlon Brando and Cassius by John Gielgud I fear the word for word replica of Shakespeare’s original alienates the general public from truly understanding the film. Julius Caesar was a great film sixty-three years ago and it still is today – however, it is not excellent. My one criticism would be that it did not stray far enough from the path treaded in 1599 when Shakespeare wrote his great