Julius Caesar: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

James Mason was right to fear Marlon Brando in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. During production, Mason, who played Brutus, repeatedly tried to get Mankiewicz to cut Brando, who played Mark Antony, out of scenes or, at the very least, refocus their scenes together so that the audience's sympathy would be directed more at him. Mason's meddling resulted in Brando threatening to walk off the film. But thankfully, the film was finished. And when the ending credits begin to roll, Mason's competent performance as Brutus is overshadowed by one word: Brando. His two big scenes, the Dogs of War monologue and his address to the Roman public following Caesar's death, crackle with raw electricity and power. Brando may have been dubbed "The Mumbler," but in this film his words are clear, concise, and devastating. There are more merits to Julius Caesar than the acting, though. Mankiewicz and his cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg manage to keep the film from growing static and stale like so many other early Hollywood adaptions of Shakespeare. They employ a restless camera which swoops, glides, and careens throughout the film's impressive set-pieces. This is not just a filmed stage production; it translates the play into the language of the cinema.

8/10