Joseph L. Mankiewicz’ Cleopatra
The inspiring scenes that led me to write, “The Eyes of Egypt”, a remnant of Cleopatra.
Cleopatra: I feel that you need me now, but I can not help you.
Caesar: Then help me to live as I have always lived, always differently from the rest. The others, for whom life is merely an endless fear of dying.
Cleopatra: Your gods and mine go with you Caesar. The world expect for you is filled with little men.
Cleopatra: Use that Roman genius for destruction. Tear down pyramids, wipe out cities! How dare you and the rest of your barbarians set fire to my library. Play conqueror all you want mighty Caesar. Rape, murder, pillage thousands, millions of human beings. But neither you or any other barbarian has the right to destroy one human thought!
That’s enough. Leave me alone with her.
Cleopatra: This morning early, you paid a formal visit to the tomb of Alexander. You remained alone at his sarcophagus for some time.
Caesar: I’d very much like to know how you know that.
Cleopatra: Just staring down at him… and then you cried. Why did you cry Caesar?
In Egypt, at Cleopatra’s Coronation...
Caesar: Isis herself would surrender her place in heaven to be as beautiful as you.
Cleopatra: You’re not supposed to look at me. No one is. You should be kneeling. (she kicks him a pillow and says…) You have such bony knees.
Caesar: Not only bony, but unaccustomed to this sort of thing. (He kneels, it angers Aggripa, and she smiles at Caesar’s respect towards her.
(And when in Rome, she shows her respect towards him...)
Antony: How many legions do we have left?
Rufio: It’s hard to tell. So many desertions. They haven’t been paid in months. We must find the gold to pay them, wheat to feed them, supplies, ships, armor.
Antony: And where do you suggest we look for all these? I forbid you to mention her!
Antony: I will not crawl to her with a hand held out like a beggar! Why hasn’t she offered assistance?
Rufio: perhaps she doesn’t know.
Antony: of course she knows. She knows everything. If only out of gratitude of what I’ve done for her.
Rufio: Perhaps she’ll express it in person.
Antony: Then let her come to me. Am I so much less than Caesar?
Rufio: Nor is she less than Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.
Antony: Queens. Strip them naked as any other woman, they’re no longer queens.
Rufio: It is also difficult to tell the rank of a naked general. And general’s without armies are naked indeed.
Antony: Alright, I’ll meet her halfway. I’ll send you to her. You order her to come to me.
Rufio: If I’m to order her, I need not journey.
Antony: Then Summon her. Whatever you want, but see to it that she comes to me.
Cleopatra: I do not intend to join that long list of queens who have quivered so happily to be summoned by Lord Antony.
Rufio: But surely I didn’t say summon.
Cleopatra: You said “invite”, “he meant summon”. In any case, I am the queen of Egypt and I chose to stay on Egyptian soil. I will meet with Lord Antony, but only on Egyptian soil.
Cleopatra: With so much left unsaid within you, it must be a relief to tear and break things.
Antony: Stronger than the strongest, still no Caesar. Do what you will, Caesar’s done it first and done it better. Ruled better, loved better, fought better. Run where you will, you can’t get out. There’s no way out. The shadow of Caesar will cover you and cover the universe for all of time. (She sits up and really looks at him. She sees Antony’s love)
Antony: For so long you have filled my life… like a great noise I hear everywhere in my heart. I want to be free of you… of wanting you… of being afraid.
Cleopatra: Caesar would not permit it.
(He pulls the Caesar made necklace from her neck and kisses her. He tells her...)
Antony: Now I will never be free of you.
I wanted my character Julius to have mind and strength like Caesar, but to love like Antony.
Cleopatra is told of Antony... He understood quite clearly what was at stake, what he would lose, but said that he would not leave you. (She goes to see Antony)
Cleopatra: When you go, must it be for very long?
Antony: I must take some of these with me. They don’t have them. At least they didn’t when I was last… in Rome. (She walks away telling him...)
Cleopatra: While they were building the foundation of my tomb, the workers found an old wall. Someone scratched on it. Hundreds of years ago. “You were not here last night and I could not sleep. Will you be here tonight?” Do you suppose they ever met again? (He holds her.)
Antony: Will you come tonight so that I can sleep... the dark sleep. They did meet after all... The lovers. (He said, referring to the story of the lovers that she told him.)
Cleopatra: They will always meet.
Caesarion: I’m afraid. I know I shouldn’t be.
Cleopatra: Who told you that? All kings and especially queens are afraid. They just manage not to show it- something ordinary people can not do.
As Apollodorus pushed Cleopatra to escape Octavian’s invade of Egypt, the concentrated hopelessness that dripped from her answer to her faithful servant stayed with me…
Apollodorus: Your majesty, please consider… there are two of euphranor’s ships, very fast, in the east harbor.
Cleopatra: And would you roll me on board in a carpet? No.
There are no more Caesars to go to, at least not for me.
I understood the heaviness in the character’s heart from losing her great Caesar that she admired so much, her true love Antony and the will to fight back she might’ve held on to if there had been another Caesar. This was the moment that inspired my remnant of Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s wonderfully written screenplay. The scene begged for a continuation to me. Yes, Octavian wasn’t able to bring Cleopatra back to Rome to show off his conquest and diminish her elaborate first entrance to Rome, because she took back her control with suicide, but there had to be MORE. I wanted to show that even in death, Cleopatra, Caesar and Antony still defeated Octavian and his wrongdoings would come back to him. That was the focus of my remnant.
I hope all admirers of this work find my continuation of this story pleasing and appreciate my efforts to create a main character with Caesar and Cleopatra’s likeness. I used this scene as my framework to develop the character…
Visiting the tomb of Alexander, standing beside his sarcophagus, Cleopatra asked Caesar, “That first time when you stood here alone, why did you cry? Will you tell me now?”
“Because I had lost something.”
“Having conquered the world he died at 32. I am 52. My remaining ambition is to keep the world from conquering me.”
Catullus’ poetry is recited to Cleopatra... Caesar enters and enjoys the way it’s recited... (So do I. My character Caesaria recites a line of poetry in a like manner.)
Ah, then let us live and love without one thought for the gossip of virgins now grown old and stale.
Suns go down and may return
but once put out our own brief light
we sleep through one eternal night.
Read “The Eyes of Egypt” here: https://deliciousgloss.wordpress.com/2019/07/04/the-eyes-of-egypt/
