Recommended Film, Television, and Script References

By DJ Hopkins

The following are a collection of films and TV shows that will give you a sense of the world of our production. Some of the following are film versions of Julius Caesar — you can have a look at how others have imagined this play. Other titles below are more general. Some will give you a sense of life in ancient Rome. The film Titus is a terrific film version of one of Shakespeare’s other Roman plays; Julie Taymor’s Titus is more in line with the style of our production than the older adaptations of Caesar.

Julius Caesar, dir. Joseph Mankiewicz, 1953. With Marlon Brando, Louis Calhern, Greer Garson, John Gielgud, Deborah Kerr, James Mason. Major Hollywood adaptation featuring leaders of both American and British theatre. Gielgud coached Brando on his speeches. Subsequent critical acclaim made this Brando’s break through film.

Julius Caesar, dir. Stuart Burge, 1970. With Jill Bennett, John Gielgud, Charlton Heston, Jason Robards, Diana Rigg. Mixed reviews for this independent film, despite a cast of many stars. Heston in particular would play Anthony numerous times in his career.


Caesar Must Die (Cesare deve morire), dir. Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, 2012. A documentary-style version of Julius Caesar, set in a modern-day Italian prison. Never stuffy, often powerful. 75 minutes.

Titus, dir. Julie Taymor, 1999. Alan Cumming, Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Harry Lennix. This was Taymor’s first film, based strongly on her stage version of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus at Theatre for a New Audience. Visually arresting mash up of modern and ancient Rome. Note: the play is violent, including a harrowing rape scene. Taymor’s film includes surreal images (which she calls “Penny Arcade Nightmares”) drawn from her stage production of the play to enhance and comment on the brutality.

Rome. British TV series, 2005-2007. Created by Bruno Heller, William J. MacDonald, John Milius. Premise: “The turbulent transition from Roman republic to autocratic empire, which changed world history through civil war and wars of conquest, is sketched both from the aristocratic viewpoint of Julius Caesar, his family, his adopted successor Octavian Augustus, and their political allies and adversaries, and from the politically naive viewpoint of a few ordinary Romans....” (IMDB)

Our Recommended Edition of Julius Caesar:

Our rehearsal script is based on the Arden Edition of Julius Caesar, edited by David Daniell (1998). The introduction is excellent, and the table of contents is specific enough to let you pick and choose what you might want to read; see also the index for specific characters, themes, etc. The Appendix to the Arden Caesar includes excerpts from North’s translation of Plutarch’s Lives, including sections on Caesar, Brutus, and Anthony, if you’d like to see what Shakespeare himself was reading when first imagining this play. 

Julius Caesar on Shakespeare's Stage

By DJ Hopkins

Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar had its premiere in London in 1599. This was a breakthrough year for Shakespeare. At the age of 36, he became a part-owner in a major theatre company, sharing in its box office revenue. His company opened a new theatre that year, and Caesar was likely the first play to be performed in the new Globe: a roofless amphitheater in the “entertainment district” of early modern London, where crowds frequented pubs, brothels, bear-baiting pits, as well as other theatres. The Globe would have held an audience of hundreds in a relatively small, crowded space. On stage, there would have been no set and few props; costumes would have been minimal, mostly contemporary clothing; and the actors would have spent very little time in rehearsal.
Shakespeare frequently acted in his company’s productions, but he was becoming well known as a playwright, and this was the year that cemented that reputation. In 1599, Shakespeare wrote four of his most acclaimed and beloved plays: Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and Hamlet. These four plays are among my very favorites by Shakespeare. Like the other plays written in this amazing year, Julius Caesar makes clear how much Shakespeare loved the theatre.

Theatricality can be seen all over this play, especially in the first three acts: We first see Caesar in a holiday parade (which were popular, theatrical entertainments in Shakespeare’s England). Caesar tells Anthony that he doesn’t trust Cassius because “he loves no plays” — no worse crime in a play by Shakespeare! Later, it’s Cassius (ironically) who imagines the assassination of Caesar being performed as a play in the distant future — exactly what was happening in London in 1599 when this play was first performed. And the turning point in Act III comes when Anthony uses his superior powers of theatrical performance to turn the people against the conspirators, taking Rome back from Brutus and Cassius with nothing more than a well delivered monologue. Elizabethan audiences loved seeing plays like Julius Caesar that pointed out their own status as theatrical events. And in 1599, Shakespeare was London’s master of meta-theatricality. 

Who was Julius Caesar & Why was he assassinated?

By Rachel Mink

Julius Caesar

Born into an aristocratic family around 100 BCE, Gaius Julius Caesar grew up in a Rome that could not yet handle its own size and power. Caesar came of age at the same time his uncle, Gaius Marius, became embroiled in a civil war with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Following Sulla’s victory, Caesar was stripped of his inheritance and titles, and Caesar joined the military to avoid further persecution. 

Pompey the Great

Caesar later allied himself with Pompey the Great, a war hero who had been badly treated by the Senate, and Crassus, a wealthy Roman politician and general, both of whom hated each other. Despite this, they both helped Julius Caesar be elected to a various political offices, and not always by reputable means. Their alliance came to be known as the “First Triumvirate.” In 60 BCE Julius Caesar was elected to the office of Consul, the highest position within the republic.

Caesar soon secured the governorship of Gaul (France & Belgium), which gave him a power-base to recruit soldiers and conduct the military campaigns that would make his name and secure his fortune. Eventually the Triumvirate was badly strained. Pompey was increasingly jealous of Caesar’s success and Crassus still hated Pompey. When Crassus was killed in battle, Rome was on the brink of civil war, so Pompey was appointed consul as an emergency measure, thus ending the alliance of the Triumvirate. 

Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon

The Senate, led by Pompey, ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome. Caesar felt the only way to protect himself was to seize power. In 49 BCE, Caesar famously led his troops across the Rubicon River into Italy and started a new civil war. Caesar pursued Pompey and his supporters across Eastern Europe and into Egypt, where Pompey was assassinated. 

Detail of Cleopatra and Caesar
1866 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme

There, Caesar became involved in Egypt’s own civil war, helping Cleopatra to win her throne. He also began a romantic relationship with her, despite his marriage. Over the next several years he conquered parts of Spain and Africa and defeated the remnants of the opposition. 

Back in Rome, however, Caesar famously pardoned almost all of his political enemies and carried out much-needed reforms, such as relieving debt, enlarging the Senate and establishing a new constitution. 

Dictatorship was always regarded as a temporary position, but in 44 BCE, Caesar was named “Dictator for Life” by the Senate. His success and ambition alienated strongly republican senators. A group of these, led by Cassius and Brutus, assassinated Caesar on March 15, 44 BCE. His assassination sparked the final round of civil wars that ended the Republic of Rome and gave rise to Rome’s first Emperor, Caesar’s great-nephew and heir: Octavius, who would eventually reign as Caesar Augustus.

Murder of Caesar
1865 painting by Karl Theodor von Piloty

It's almost time for our 1st rehearsal...

Getting ready for design and dramaturgy previews before our first read-thru! 

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(Brutus is just as cute as Caesar.)