Ok, so now I've seen it

I have spent part of my sick day watching the Taylor-Burton Cleopatra. I have been reading about this film for as long as I can remember, but haven't ever watched it till today.

Elizabeth Taylor in her prime is so beautiful that it's ridiculous -- almost as ridiculous as her eye makeup and headdresses. (Trust me, the two at right are tasteful. Wish I could find a shot of her truly trippy serpent skull cap.) Richard Burton's acting is so over the top that you long for Marlon Brando's Antony in Julius Caesar. Brando delivered his lines as though he was Antony and the thoughts were spontaneously occurring to him. Burton makes sure we all realize he's reciting speeches.

But it's fun to let your mind wander as you watch, trying to guess scene by scene if Liz and Dick had started doing it in their dressing rooms yet.

Trust me, the making of this movie is juicier and sexier to read about than the final product is to endure.