Many thanks to editor Wendy Goodman of New York Magazine for naming Designs on Film as one of the seasons "Top Design Tomes." I am proud to be in such wonderful company and you can read more about this and her selections here.
She cites the designs of Cleopatra (1963) as one of her favorites. I agree as these sets were some of the richest and most opulent in film history.
Elizabeth Taylor as the pampered Queen of the Nile |
The film was one of the most expensive films ever made at that time |
Filming was shot in England to look like Alexandria, Egypt and then moved to Italy, hence the inflated budget |
I am a big fan of Wendy's work and be sure to catch her new book The World of Gloria Vanderbilt (Abrams, 2010) which debuted earlier in the month. The images and insider's view of the history of this renaissance woman are as stunning as the cover.
Photo Credits: Twentieth Century Fox, Abrams Books