Continued from "The Restored Cleopatra", page 16 - From the death of Sosigenes, the scene dissolves to Actium, in Greece. Cleopatra's palanquin, borne by slaves, is brought into the scene and lowered to the ground. She is helped out of it and approaches the Command Post where Antony, Euphranor, Rufio, Canidius (a high-ranking Roman General), Ramos, and others are in a conference. As Cleopatra comes to them, all except Antony, bow, then return their attention to their conference. Cleopatra moves unobtrusively to one side and listens...
ANTONY
The
great Admiral Euphranor of
Rhodes!
You no longer command
a
pack of mongrel pirate vessels,
manned
by pickpockets and wharf
rats
- ours is the largest
fleet
of the finest ships ever
built!
Carrying the Roman
legions
of Mark Antony!
EUPHRANOR
Romans,
rats, pirates or the
Gods
themselves, your ships are
too
large to begin with! And
why
must the decks be packed
with
20,000 men and their armor -
ANTONY
Because
battles are fought and
won
by men!
EUPHRANOR
At
sea they are fought and won
by
ships! Even empty, these tubs
of
yours cannot be maneuvered!
ANTONY
You
will not be required to maneuver
them!
(with
quiet
finality)
Your
orders, Admiral, will be to
hold
against Agrippa's attack...
EUPHRANOR
And
if Agrippa does not attack?
ANTONY
I'll
force his hand. I know
Agrippa...
EUPHRANOR
By
land. I know him by sea...
Antony gestures. Rufio, Ramos, Canidius - and others - draw near the topo table, a table holding a scale version model of the topography of the battle area. Antony uses model ships to illustrate:
ANTONY
With
my command ship and two
escorting
vessels, I shall break
the
Roman center. I have one
objective.
Octavian's flagship -
and
Octavian. You will engage
his
entire line - keep them
away.
Your reserves to the
extreme
right and left. Once
I
am on Octavian, you will
close
in - for the kill...
He finishes proudly and takes a long drink from a goblet held by a slave. Euphranor is not impressed.
EUPHRANOR
A
classic plan of attack - for
land
armies. Agrippa will offer
thanks
to all the Gods in all
the
heavens if you commit
yourself
- and us -
ANTONY
(quietly)
I
have
committed myself. And
you.
And my ships. And my men.
EUPHRANOR
(aghast)
But
- but - my Lord - water is
fluid
- ships drift - they're
hit,
there are gaps - winds
rise
suddenly -
ANTONY
The
action will begin with the
rising
of the sun, tomorrow -
EUPHRANOR
Lord
Antony, hear me! Your
battle
plan is very brave, very
simple
- you might bring it off
on
land - but there are ten, a
hundred
reasons to debate its
wisdom
upon the sea!
The scene continues with Antony relieving Euphranor of his command because of his opposing opinions. Then Rufio picks up where Euphranor left off - pleading, asking, why Antony has committed so many land fighting men to do battle on ships - in the water. Savagely, Antony replies, "Because I have decided it will be so!"
Canidius suddenly speaks up...
CANIDIUS
Are
you sure - ?
RUFIO
(warningly)
Canidius!
CANIDIUS
You
will not say it - and it
must
be said!
(to
Antony)
Are
you sure, my Lord, it is
you
who have decided it will
be
so?
A sharp, hidden reaction from Cleopatra. Antony does not look at her. He looks steadily at Canidius...
ANTONY
(quietly)
If
not I - then who?
CANIDIUS
You
and I have fought in many
campaigns
- on land. I have
watched
- and learned from you -
as
you made your men ready for
war.
As you studied the field
of
battle -
ANTONY
(pointing)
I
have studied this one. I find
one
wave very much like another...
CANIDIUS
Euphranor
would not agree with you.
Nor
can I picture Mark Antony upon
that
battle field. I see water -
upon
which none of us have fought.
I
see great floating hulks - built
at
the command of Egypt's Queen.
Manned
by mercenaries of many
Eastern
countries - paid by Egypt's
Queen.
I have never known women -
even
Queens - to be present at
councils
of war. Since the arrival
of
your legions from Egypt - by sea,
at
her command - Mark Antony's
generals
have not once met with him
except
in the presence of Egypt's
Queen.
Am I now to face the
greatest
army ever to carry your
battle
standard - an army
equipped
and fed by Egypt's
Queen - to order 20,000 of
them
dragged out to fight at
sea,
while the rest stand on
the
hilltops and cheer - at the
command
of Mark Antony?
There is a pause. Antony struggles to control his rage.
ANTONY
(slowly,
tight with
anger)
'Egypt's
Queen' has a name. She
may
be referred to - by those worthy
of
the privilege - as 'Queen
Cleopatra'.
Or - as 'Her Majesty'.
If
her name - in any form - passes
your
lips again, Canidius, I will
kill
you...
(he
takes a deep
swallow
of drink)
Enobarbus
- you - and Rufio. Three
men
to whom I would have entrusted
my
life, at any time. Enobarbus,
as
you know, has gone over to
Octavian.
Why don't you follow
him?
Octavian will welcome you
with
great honors, great riches -
and
female-free councils of war
that
stink of masculinity! If
you
like, crawl safely to Octavian!
Go,
if you like!
(Canidius
doesn't
move.
Antony turns
on
Rufio)
You
- Rufio! Your chance to
serve
another Caesar - take it!
(Rufio,
hurt almost
to
tears, turns away
abruptly)
Any
of you - all of you!
There is no move. Ramos speaks up quietly:
RAMOS
I
would consider it an honor
to
fight beside Lord Antony -
at
any time, anywhere...
ANTONY
Spoken
like a Roman, Ramos...
(he
finishes his
goblet,
holds it
out
to be refilled)
And
you shall fight at my side.
In
Rufio's place. Rufio, you
will
remain with Her Majesty
aboard
her vessel...
RUFIO
As
you command.
ANTONY
Canidius,
you will remain with
the
land forces cheering from
a
hilltop, if you like...
CANIDIUS
As
you command.
ANTONY
Exactly.
As I command. You
are
all dismissed.
Without another glance at them, he crosses to sprawl on a seat. The men leave. Cleopatra and Antony are alone. She crosses to him and smiles proudly...
CLEOPATRA
There
never was - there never
will
be - a commander of men to
equal
Mark Antony...
ANTONY
Shall
we drink to that..?
Without looking at her, he drinks...
CLEOPATRA
Will
they do as you say?
ANTONY
(nods)
To
the letter. As if my wishes
were
theirs. Like the rest of
humanity,
an army cannot exist
without
a chain-of-obedience.
The
least powerful is told by
the
next most powerful - who
is
told by the next most powerful -
and
so on up -
(he
looks at her now)
to
the all powerful. You.
CLEOPATRA
(smiles)
We.
They do as we think best...
ANTONY
You.
I never wanted war with
Octavian.
I wanted peace with
you.
But I made your wish mine.
Not
wanting it, I could still
understand
it. But now - to
risk
fighting him at sea when
we
are certain to defeat him
on
land - it is my feeling
neither
one of us thinks it
best.
Nor I cannot understand
why
you insist. But since you
must
have it so - it will be so.
The
chain-of-obedience being what
it
is - and I being what I have
become...
He finishes off his goblet and rises...
CLEOPATRA
(stunned)
Nor
do I understand. Just now -
as
I stood here and listened -
everything
you said and did -
ANTONY
(breaks
in)
-
was everything you would have
wanted
said and done. For my
part
- such as it is - Euphranor
is
right. And Canidius. And -
Rufio...did
you see his look
when
he turned away from me..?
He reaches for more wine but thinks better of it...
CLEOPATRA
But
it was just last night - that
you
agreed with me! That we have
Octavian's
army pinned against the
sea!
That to destroy his fleet -
his
possible escape - first, and
then
his army - would mean total,
final
victory! You agreed with me!
[Many viewers have wondered why Cleopatra insisted upon fighting this battle on water, when it was a given that it would be won on land. Here is our answer. With this explanation not given to us in the final cut of the film, the reason for Actium being fought on water is left, unanswered, in the air. Given the amount of story Mankiewicz was forced to delete, and thanks to skillful editing, we are able to ascertain, or, at least surmise, the reasons and motivations for many events. However, for us to get these points, we must, at times, hang on to every word being spoken. In this instance, as with the sequences involving Titus the money lender, and, later, Rufio's death, there doesn't seem to be a single word left to answer our "why"?]
ANTONY
Last
night! And the nights that
went
before - and tonight, if it
pleases
you - in your arms I would
agree
that we could walk, hand in
hand,
across the Bay of Actium...
CLEOPATRA
(bitingly)
So
once more, it seems, I am
charged
with witchcraft.
Apparently,
however, you
suffer
from it only after
sundown...
ANTONY
(shakes
his head)
I
live for the night. My only
complaint
is that day insists
upon
breaking in on it...
He starts out. Cleopatra, in sudden emotion:
CLEOPATRA
Antony!
(he
pauses)
What
has happened - ?
ANTONY
To
me - ? You have happened to me
He continues out. Cleopatra, alone, looks after him - concerned and confused by many emotions. She forces her attention to the business at hand. She crosses to the topo table, staring down at the tiny ships. She studies them for an instant and finds Octavian's flagship. She lights one of a bunch of tapers from a nearby brazier and touches Octavian's ship with it. It flares up and the scene dissolves to Agrippa's galley among the Roman fleet. Inside his flagship we see a work-table covered with a map showing the disposition of the forces at Actium. At the work-table is Agrippa - Octavian stands a bit to one side. Agrippa is staring down at a wax tablet - trying to reconcile it with the battle array on the map...
AGRIPPA
(bewildered)
I
can't understand it. Euphranor
is
no fool...
OCTAVIAN
If
- let us say that Euphranor has
gone
mad or been persuaded against
his
better judgment - they do
attack
as indicated, are you
quite
sure of victory?
AGRIPPA
As
surely as the sun crosses the
heavens
- we can win as we please.
But
- my Lord Caesar, may I speak
my
mind?
OCTAVIAN
If
it does not displease me...
AGRIPPA
What
I find most difficult to
believe
is - the decision to fight
us
at sea. Why would they?
OCTAVIAN
You
know that as well as I - and
the
rest of the world. Queen
Cleopatra
wants the battle
fought
at sea...
AGRIPPA
(bluntly)
On
land, they would win...
OCTAVIAN
You
begin to displease me -
AGRIPPA
(rising)
Antony
knows that - as you, and
I,
and the world knows it! On
land,
he would win! Why does
he
fight at sea?
OCTAVIAN
Because
Cleopatra wants it so...
AGRIPPA
Is
that enough? Are the wants
of
a woman - even Cleopatra -
enough
to make a man change
wrong,
as he has always known
it,
into right?
OCTAVIAN
There
are such men...
AGRIPPA
Then
Cleopatra must be a fool...
OCTAVIAN
Whatever
else she is - which is
everything
a woman can be -
Cleopatra
is not a fool...
AGRIPPA
Then
she must know that Antony's
way
- on land - will lead to
victory.
Why must she have her
way?
OCTAVIAN
She
is probably convinced that,
either
way, Antony will win.
This
makes her wrong - but not
a
fool...
(He
begins to nibble
at
a platter of food)
Let
victory come by Cleopatra's
way
- at her insistence upon her
way
- and the future world will
be
hers. And Antony - will have
been
the means to the end. But
let
Antony be victorious his
way
- then her future becomes...
in
Antony's world, she will be
what?
The Great Antony's -
queen.
Cleopatra might find that
increasingly
unsatisfactory;
increasingly
- temporary, even.
Antony
has a way of letting
queens
slip through his fingers -
of
dropping the old as he
reaches
for the new...
An aide enters, carrying another wax tablet - for Octavian. He presents it and leaves...
AGRIPPA
(shakes
his head - sits)
Well...I
can speak only of what
I
know. And I know that no man
who
has ever fought at sea -
least
of all a canny pirate
like
Euphranor - would consider
this
battle plan...
OCTAVIAN
Very
true. It seems the plan
is
Antony's own...
(He
tosses the tablet
on
the table)
Euphranor
has been removed from
his
command. Antony, himself,
will
lead his ships. At dawn
tomorrow...
Agrippa stares at the tablet and exhales through pursed lips...
AGRIPPA
(softly)
I
have never been a devout man.
I
can hardly believe that the
Gods
favor me so...
OCTAVIAN
(eating)
They
know that you fight in
my
name...
AGRIPPA
(bemused)
It
won't even be fighting, more
like
trapping - a bull. He plans
to
come straight for your ship -
and
you - does he..? To break
through
- very simple. Just as
he
would on land - we'll let
you
through, Lord Antony, we'll
let
you through...
The cabin lurches suddenly - Octavian grabs the table...
OCTAVIAN
What
was that - ?
AGRIPPA
(lost
in his work)
A
little wave. He'll expect us
to
hold on both flanks - that's
what
we'd do on land - while he
opens
the center - but we won't
be
on land, Lord Antony. No...
we
won't hold at all...
The cabin lurches again...
OCTAVIAN
Is
there a storm coming up..?
AGRIPPA
(not
looking at him)
Another
little wave. We'll fall
back
before you - our ships are
smaller,
faster - just out of
range
of your ballistas and
fire
- we'll let you through
in
the center, deeper and
deeper...
Octavian pushes aside the food and crosses to sit on a chair - upright. Agrippa becomes increasingly happy as he works - then starts to chuckle. The scene dissolves to Cleopatra's barge. For the first time, we see it converted to the command vessel of her fleet. The topo table, and all of the other devices of command are in evidence, but unmanned. There are some guards at their stations. Eiras stands to one side. Apollodorus and Ramos to another, watching over Cleopatra, her face set and strained. She paces slowly by herself, a cloak pulled about her against the damp air. She pauses suddenly, listens alertly:
CLEOPATRA
Is
that the sound of oars - ?
RAMOS
The
creaking of a ship, your
Majesty...
She continues pacing. As she draws abreast of Eiras, Eiras yawns suddenly. She turns away in embarrassment. Cleopatra smiles a little...
CLEOPATRA
Eiras
- you needn't wait up...
(to
Apollodorus)
How
many hours until dawn?
APOLLODORUS
Between
four and five, I think...
CLEOPATRA
(attempted
lightness)
Lord
Antony has always had - so
little
sense of time...
She moves away again. Charmian come up from below. Concerned, she hurries to Cleopatra - who turns to her expectantly:
CLEOPATRA
Is
she ready - ?
CHARMIAN
The
High Priestess - cannot come
to
the temple, your Majesty...
CLEOPATRA
Why
not?
CHARMIAN
She
seems to be - ill. Very ill...
CLEOPATRA
Did
you tell her I wanted her
at
once?
CHARMIAN
It
was like - speaking to stone.
She
cannot hear -
CLEOPATRA
(starts
away)
She'll
hear me -
CHARMIAN
Not
even the High Priest!
(Cleopatra
pauses)
He
spoke to her...
CLEOPATRA
What
did she say?
CHARMIAN
Nor
can she talk. She sits
staring
out - at nothing. I
touched
her cheek. It was cold
and
without life - like marble...
CLEOPATRA
(quietly)
Something
has been revealed to
her.
A sight so terrifying that
she
cannot look upon anything
else.
So terrifying that she
cannot
speak of it - and cannot
hear
the voices of those who
would
want to know...
She starts in. Charmian moves, as if to follow. Cleopatra shakes her head.
CLEOPATRA
Wait
here, with Eiras.
Cleopatra descends the passage leading to her apartment. Two guards are on duty. She dismisses them with a gesture. She hesitates, then goes toward the Temple of Isis. She approaches slowly, with some apprehension. Except for the fire which burns low in the pit, there is little other illumination. She enters the temple, makes an obeisance to Isis. She then turns to kneel on the cushion before the fire. Staring down into it, calling upon the powers she has believed in and trusted, she prepares herself for the image of what the morrow will bring...
CLEOPATRA
Great
Isis of a thousand names,
You
that are, have been and shall be,
within
whom time itself exists -
so
that past and present and future
are
as one-
The
fire burns, the fire burns.
Grant
that I, whose form you take
upon
this earth, shall see -
shall
see...
The fire flares - it sputters into vari-colored flames. Cleopatra stares into it...
CLEOPATRA
Help
me to see - help me...
The fire remains - fire...
CLEOPATRA
(tensely,
desperately)
I
cannot see...help me - I
cannot...
Only the sound of flames. Suddenly - from behind her, the sound of a low, amused, feminine chuckle. Startled, Cleopatra turns.
We see the face of the statue of Isis, with shadows of the fire dancing behind it. Her gaze seems strangely, sardonically amused. But, there is no more laughter from her. Back to Cleopatra - about to turn to the fire once more. Suddenly - from one of the animal headed gods at the side - the sound of a high, amused, male chuckle. She turns to it. We see the face of the animal god - the same shadow effect behind it, with the same sardonic look of amusement. But the chuckle now seems to come from the other side - this time, mingled with the feminine chuckle. Back to Cleopatra, frightened, and with growing fear - as one after another, in varying tones and pitches, the animal gods seem to chuckle tauntingly at her. Desperately, she turns from one to the other as the laughter mounts - with Isis' laugh always predominant. We now see various faces of the gods, singly, and in groups, mocking Cleopatra - as their laughing builds, and the flames mount in the pit. In terror, Cleopatra presses her hands to her ears and rises to her feet. Suddenly and sharply - the flames go out. Cleopatra is in darkness. The laughter has reached its climax. Cleopatra tries to scream - but cannot. [This is the final "incantation". The one to which the others have been leading us. The first incantation gave us only a hint about "winds of destiny". The second one offered something more precise - "a son would be born" to Cleopatra, and "Rome would know him in cloth of gold." The third incantation allowed us to see what Cleopatra and the High Priestess actually saw when they looked into the flames - they, and we, saw events as they happened. Now, with the final incantation, the gods and goddesses themselves, communicate their sarcastic amusement to us and Cleopatra! With their abrupt stop to the mocking, and the fire snuffing itself out, they have turned their backs on her. This would also have been the first time we would have seen fear, even terror, from Cleopatra. To this point, we have seen her as confident of herself and her ambition, and as a cunning strategist. Now, her gods have deserted her, and she knows the future will be as dark as the temple without its fire.]
Then, as if from a distance at first, cutting through the laughter:
RUFIO'S
VOICE
(urgently)
Your
Majesty! Your Majesty!
The laughter cuts off abruptly. Cleopatra closes her eyes. Then opens them again. Rufio, Apollodorus, and Ramos can be dimly made out, worriedly looking at her. She returns their look, impassively...
RUFIO
Word
of Lord Antony...
CLEOPATRA
Have
you found him?
RUFIO
Where
he can be found. I'll
take
a few staff officers -
CLEOPATRA
Not
his officers. Nor his men.
They
mustn't know. We'll go
after
him ourselves...
Apollodorus had become conscious of the dark, smoking, pit in the temple. He indicates it...
APOLLODORUS
The
temple fire is out...
(Cleopatra
nods)
I'll
send one of the priests,
at
once, to light it again.
CLEOPATRA
Leave
is as it is. Dead...
Abruptly,
she leads the men out of the apartment. The scene dissolves to the dock
area of Actium.