Caesar Must Die Reviews

The problem with the film, which somewhat inexplicably won the Golden Bear at Berlin last year, is that it scarcely transcends the basic novelty of its premise.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

You can only guess what the lines mean to the inmates, who register as atmospheric blanks at best and brutal exotics at worst, even if the tale that they enact with such earnest vigor works because the original tragedy does.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5

It is uncanny how Italy's film-makers keep failing to nail, or effectively to satirise, their country's strident political shortcomings.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Hardly a dish fit for the gods.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Friends, Romans, Countrymen; Caesar Must Die is flawless, and must be seen.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5

The film gets on screen not only the play's bloody, double-dealing, hungry essence, but the redemptive potential of art.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4

The juxtaposition of Shakespearean text and prison cell life is a particularly poignant one.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

A clever meta-narrative achievement that boasts winningly naturalistic performances from the real inmates and doesn't outstay its welcome.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

In just 76 minutes, the Taviani brothers treat us to a deeply affecting adaptation of this ancient play, embedded with even deeper meaning on account of its unconventional stars.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Deeply felt melancholy lingers long after the credits roll.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Delivers a compelling and considered take on immemorial themes.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Shakespeare's tragedy gains extra piquancy in a Roman prison.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

As they find issues and themes they can relate to, the action is never remotely static despite the frequent nature of the close-ups and the plastic sword.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

The 'play-within-the-film' concept keeps the audience held slightly at arms length, but in many of the more intense scenes it's hard not to be sucked in, at least until the real world interrupts again.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

What works best is what's readily accessible, the startling power of performers who understand the drama all too well.

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A gimmick film that begins to feel like a whole, natural piece.

Full Review | Original Score: A-

The Taviani brothers, Paolo and Vittorio, have been blurring the line between reality and fiction in their films for six decades.

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The movie's predominant black-and-white palette pares the action to its starkest outlines, and a few color sequences reconnect the prison, and the prisoners, to the surrounding world.

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If you're looking for an adventurous thought-provoking film, "Caesar Must Die" more than fits the bill.

Full Review | Original Score: B

There's barely a wasted moment in the film, which runs a brisk 76 minutes and contains no female roles.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4