Cleopatra remains one of the most expensive films ever made - around $40m at the time of production and considerably more when inflation is taken into account. So why did it cost so much? Well, starting filming in wintry England with Peter Finch, Stephen Boyd and director Rouben Mamoulian didn't help matters. Cranking up again in Rome - this time with Joseph L Mankiewicz shooting by day and writing by night - Elizabeth Taylor's frequent illnesses gave the accountants nightmares, even if her on-set romance with Richard Burton was a publicist's dream. The spectacle is the thing, yet, despite a multitude of screenwriters and sources, the film at least manages to make some sense of an extraordinary moment in history, as Rome expanded from republic to empire.

Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.