Article: "CLEOPATRA" COMIN' AT YA "CLEOPATRA" MEANT "EPIC" LONG BEFORE "GLADIATOR" CAME ALONG.(DAILY BREAK)

Byline: Larry Bonko

YES, ``Gladiator'' is a great costume flick with the Roman Colosseum and all. It won five Oscars.

But did its star make 65 costume changes? Did Russell Crowe as Maximus arrive on screen atop a 28-foot-tall sphinx?

When I think epic, I think ``Cleopatra'' with its cast of thousands.

It was produced long before Hollywood discovered computer-generated special effects, which ``Gladiator'' director Ridley Scott embraced.

``Cleopatra'' began in 1959 as a $2 million, routine sword-and-sandal picture to be filmed in 64 days on the 20th Century Fox back lot in Southern California. Fox planned to cast a studio ...

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