1953 Julius Caesar live blog #13

I really liked the last lines in the movie, spoken by Mark Antony about Brutus:

"This was the noblest Roman of them all. All the conspirators save only he, did what they did in envy of great Caesar. He only, in a general honest thought, and common will for all, made one of them. His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that the nature might stand up and say to all the world, 'This was a man.'"

After all the battling and fighting and bloodshed, Mark Antony was able to look at Brutus and know he died an innocent man. He couldn't help doing what he did, because he thought he was doing it to save Rome. He had no ambition of usurping the throne (reminds me of those sly smiles of Mark Antony's...did he have ambition? Was he at fault more than Brutus, and was he able to recognize that?).

In the movie, next to Brutus' head was a lit oil lamp. Right before "The End" title comes on the screen, the flame is snuffed out. What does that mean? Merely that Brutus is dead? Or that the uproar of Rome has finally turned to peace? Or that Brutus' legend is not timeless and will eventually be snuffed out and that history will forget him?

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One last note about the movie in general: it's interesting to me that the one Oscar it won in 1953 was for best art direction (for a black & white movie). To me, the set actually seemed basic and not extraordinary. Maybe I'm used to bigger-budget movies, but other than the large spaces the movie was able to fill I didn't feel like the scenery was anything too special.

1953 Julius Caesar live blog #11

There's another connection between Brutus and Hamlet: when the ghost of Caesar appears to Brutus in his military tent.

What are the differences? First of all, in Hamlet, the ghost appears to his possible avenger. In Julius Caesar, the ghost appears to his killer. Also, in Hamlet, Hamlet is not the first one to see the ghost, he is just one of several witnesses. In Brutus' case, however, he is the only one who sees or hears the ghost.

1953 Julius Caesar live blog #5

As opposed to Cassius' previous monologue, in Brutus' first monologue his eyes look everywhere but  the camera. I think this makes him look more thoughtful and less intense. He seems less determined than Cassius, and more just thinking out loud. More like Hamlet, I would say.

1953 Julius Caesar live blog #2

Well, Marlon Brando certainly looks the part. He looks just like a statue from the Roman Empire. I still hear a little bit of that dockworker voice in him.

And, how cool that James Mason is in this movie. I think I've only seen him in North by Northwest. But from what I know of him, he always seems like a very slick, mysterious man. He has sort of a Vincent Price quality about him.

Did you see that when Julius Caesar leaves behind the blind soothsayer in the crowd, and the soothsayer touches Brutus to try and recognize him...after he touches his face, he shudders in shock? That seems like some major foreshadowing to me. I'm guessing that the soothsayer "saw" Brutus in a vision, instantly recognized him, and knew he was trouble.