Julius Caesar has had a very odd and uneven reputation as a play: it is often quoted, and yet often reviled; it's considered one of Shakespeare's great tragedies, but is almost certainly the least of those great tragedies. The cinema has treated it with similarly ambiguous regard. There are no really great productions of Julius Caesar, though there were a couple of blockbuster productions that at least intended to be so. The first two are products of the period of Hollywood's highest regard for itself, and verge, as I recall them, on the pretentious.

1953, Joseph Mankiewicz: This is still widely considered the best available production, despite some of its peculiarities and limitations. I'm still not quite ready to see Marlon "I could've been a contender" Brando in a toga, and for me his diction still gets in the way. But there are some rather capable acting forces here, including the inimitable James Mason and John Gielgud as Brutus and Cassius, respectively.

1970, Stuart Burge: This big-budget 1970 extravaganza features some real acting talent, but it is mixed with some fairly poor work as well. The whole is so badly conceived and put together that most of the effort is wasted. Worthy of note, however, is the reappearance of John Gielgud in the role of Caesar himself. The rest drift along, as if they were not entirely in the same play, speaking their lines, but with neither real conviction nor real connection with others.

1979, Herbert Wise: This is one of the rarer and less noted productions in the BBC Shakespeare series, and I have not had a chance to see it yet. If consistent with the overall run of the series, it is competently made, a bit stagey, and fairly complete.