This moment in particular stuck out to me for several reasons. One of those being the previous grand entrance moments before this is taken, to both win the roman people over with her abundance of wealth and to possibly scare Roman senators into place to show she is nothing to be messed with, like how Caesar walked all over her before falling in love. Another technical reason why both this film and this shot were remembered by is the use of the rule of thirds so well, a focus on Cleopatra and a blur of her riches behind her, possibly representing the focus she has and her past successes leading her to Caesar but mainly just showing the technical ability this film showcased.
This is an iconic scene in the movie, and you describe it well. The fact that Cleopatra is not right in the middle of the shot but positioned more towards the right third of the image is indeed an application of the Rule of Thirds.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, the blurring of everyone in the background makes it absolutely clear that Cleopatra is supposed to be the focus of our (and everyone else's) attention.
The medium shot at eye-level lets us get close to her and look at her as equals, except she does not look at us, but slightly up at Caesar on his throne.
Her intricate golden dress signals the immense riches of Egypt, just as you said, as do the slaves dressed in gold in the background that frame her body.
At the same time the strangeness of her costume with its Egyptian headdress and the deep-black Nubian slaves underline her Otherness/exotic nature. Her low-cut décolleté highlights her sexuality and seductive nature (as typical for movie Cleopatras) and indeed, the reason why she is making this triumphal entrance into Rome in the first place is that she is Caesar's lover.
The rising cobra (uraeus) on her headdress is a traditional Egyptian symbol of royalty, but Cleopatra wears not just the usual single uraeus, her entire head is encircled by multiple snakes, which seems like an implied warning of her treacherous nature.