Editing Julius Caesar (play) (section)

==Adaptations and cultural references==
[[File:Julius Caesar (play) in The Doon School.jpg|thumb|1963 production of ''Julius Caesar'' at [[The Doon School]], India.]]
One of the earliest cultural references to the play came in Shakespeare's own ''[[Hamlet]]''. [[Prince Hamlet]] asks [[Polonius]] about his career as a thespian at university, and Polonius replies: "I did enact Julius Caesar. I was killed in the Capitol. Brutus killed me." This is a likely [[metafiction|meta-reference]], as [[Richard Burbage]] is generally accepted to have played leading men Brutus and Hamlet, and the older [[John Heminges]] to have played Caesar and Polonius.

In 1851, the German composer [[Robert Schumann]] wrote a [[concert overture]] ''[[Julius Caesar (overture)|Julius Caesar]]'', inspired by Shakespeare's play. Other musical settings include those by [[Giovanni Bononcini]], [[Hans von Bülow]], [[Felix Draeseke]], [[Josef Bohuslav Foerster]], [[John Ireland (composer)|John Ireland]], [[John Foulds]], [[Gian Francesco Malipiero]], [[Manfred Gurlitt]], [[Darius Milhaud]], and [[Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco]].<ref>Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th edition, ed. [[Eric Blom]], Vol. VII, p. 733</ref>

The Canadian comedy duo [[Wayne and Shuster]] parodied ''Julius Caesar'' in their 1958 sketch ''Rinse the Blood off My Toga''. Flavius Maximus, Private Roman Eye, is hired by Brutus to investigate the death of Caesar. The police procedural combines Shakespeare, ''[[Dragnet (series)|Dragnet]]'', and vaudeville jokes and was first broadcast on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/multimedia/video/rinse_the_blood.cfm |title=Rinse the Blood Off My Toga |publisher=Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project at the University of Guelph |access-date=13 March 2010 |archive-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626214317/http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/multimedia/video/rinse_the_blood.cfm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1984, the [[Riverside Shakespeare Company]] of New York City produced a modern dress ''Julius Caesar'' set in contemporary Washington, called simply ''CAESAR!'', starring [[Harold Scott, Director|Harold Scott]] as Brutus, Herman Petras as Caesar, Marya Lowry as Portia, Robert Walsh as Antony, and Michael Cook as Cassius, directed by W. Stuart McDowell at [[The Shakespeare Center]].<ref>[[Herbert Mitgang]] of ''The New York Times'', 14 March 1984, wrote: "The famous Mercury Theater production of ''Julius Caesar'' in modern dress staged by [[Orson Welles]] in 1937 was designed to make audiences think of [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]]'s [[Blackshirts]] – and it did. The Riverside Shakespeare Company's lively production makes you think of timeless ambition and antilibertarians anywhere."</ref>

In 2006, [[Chris Taylor (comedian)|Chris Taylor]] from the Australian comedy team [[The Chaser]] wrote a comedy musical called ''[[Dead Caesar]]'' which was shown at the Sydney Theatre Company in Sydney.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dead Caesar |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/dead-caesar-20070130-gdpcnl.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |last=Taylor |first=Andrew |date=2007-01-30 |website=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref>

The line "The Evil That Men Do", from the speech made by Mark Antony following Caesar's death ("The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.") has had many references in media, including the titles of:
* [[The Evil That Men Do (song)|A song]] by [[Iron Maiden]].
* A politically oriented [[The Evil That Men Do (film)|film]] directed by [[J. Lee Thompson]] in 1984.
* [[The Evil That Men Do (Buffy novel)|A novel]] in the [[List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels|''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'']] series.

The 2008 movie ''[[Me and Orson Welles]]'', based on a book of the same name by [[Robert Kaplow]], is a fictional story centered around [[Orson Welles]]' famous 1937 production of ''Julius Caesar'' at the [[Mercury Theatre]]. British actor [[Christian McKay]] is cast as Welles, and co-stars with [[Zac Efron]] and [[Claire Danes]].

The 2012 Italian [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] ''[[Caesar Must Die]]'' ({{langx|it|Cesare deve morire}}), directed by [[Paolo and Vittorio Taviani]], follows convicts in their rehearsals ahead of a prison performance of ''Julius Caesar''.

In the [[Ray Bradbury]] book ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'', some of the character Beatty's last words are "There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, for I am armed so strong in honesty that they pass me as an idle wind, which I respect not!"

The play's line "the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves", spoken by Cassius in Act I, scene 2, is often referenced in popular culture. The line gave its name to the [[J.M. Barrie]] play ''Dear Brutus'', and also gave its name to the best-selling young adult novel ''[[The Fault in Our Stars]]'' by [[John Green]] and its [[The Fault in Our Stars (film)|film adaptation]]. The same line was quoted in [[Edward R. Murrow]]'s epilogue of his famous 1954 ''[[See It Now]]'' documentary broadcast concerning Senator [[Joseph R. McCarthy]]. This speech and the line were recreated in the 2005 film ''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]''. It was also quoted by [[George Clooney]]'s character in the [[Coen brothers]] film ''[[Intolerable Cruelty]]''.

The line "And therefore think him as a serpent's egg / Which hatched, would, as his kind grow mischievous; And kill him in the shell" spoken by Brutus in Act II, Scene 1, is referenced in the [[Dead Kennedys]] song "[[California über alles]]".

The title of [[Agatha Christie]]'s novel ''[[Taken at the Flood]]'', titled ''There Is a Tide'' in its American edition, refers to an iconic line of Brutus: "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." (Act IV, Scene III).

The line "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures" is recited by [[Jean-Luc Picard]] at the end of the ''[[Star Trek: Picard]]'' series finale, "[[The Last Generation (Star Trek: Picard)|The Last Generation]]." The play was previously discussed in a conversation between [[Julian Bashir]] and [[Elim Garak]] in the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "[[Improbable Cause]]".

===Film and television adaptations===
{{see also|List of William Shakespeare screen adaptations}}

''Julius Caesar'' has been [[Film adaptation|adapted]] to a number of film productions, including:
* ''Julius Caesar'' ([[Vitagraph Company of America]], 1908), produced by [[J. Stuart Blackton]] and directed by [[William V. Ranous]], who also played Antony.<ref>Maria Wyke, ''Caesar in the USA'' (University of California Press, 2012), p. 60.</ref>
* ''[[Julius Caesar (1950 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (Avon Productions, 1950), directed by [[David Bradley (director)|David Bradley]], who played Brutus; [[Charlton Heston]] played Antony and Harold Tasker played Caesar.<ref name="MovingImage">'' Shakespeare and the Moving Image: The Plays on Film and Television'' (eds. Anthony Davies & Stanley Wells: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 29–31.</ref>
* ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' ([[MGM]], 1953), directed by [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]] and produced by [[John Houseman]]; starring [[James Mason]] as Brutus, [[Marlon Brando]] as Antony and [[Louis Calhern]] as Caesar.<ref name="MovingImage"/>
* ''[[An Honourable Murder]]'' (1960), directed by [[Godfrey Grayson]];<ref>Darryll Grantley, ''Historical Dictionary of British Theatre: Early Period'' (Scarecrow Press, 2013), p. 228.</ref> depicted the play in a modern business setting.<ref>Stephen Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, ''The British 'B' Film'' (Palgrave Macmillan/[[British Film Institute]], 2009), p. 252.</ref>
* ''[[The Spread of the Eagle]]'', a 1963 BBC series comprising ''[[Coriolanus]]'', ''Julius Caesar'', and ''[[Antony & Cleopatra]]''.
* ''Julius Caesar'' (BBC, 1969), a television adaptation in the [[Play of the Month]] series, directed by [[Alan Bridges]].
* ''[[Julius Caesar (1970 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' ([[Commonwealth United Entertainment|Commonwealth United]], 1969), directed by [[Stuart Burge]], produced by [[Peter Snell (producer)|Peter Snell]], starring [[Jason Robards]] as Brutus, [[Charlton Heston]] as Antony and [[John Gielgud]] as Caesar.<ref name="MovingImage"/>
* ''[[Heil Caesar]]'' ([[BBC]], 1973), a three-part television play written by [[John Griffith Bowen]] that was "a modern-dress modern-dialogue rewrite of the play, updated to an unnamed present-day regime that's about to switch from democracy to dictatorship unless Brutus and his conspirators act to prevent it." It was intended as an introduction to Shakespeare's play for schoolchildren, but it proved good enough to be shown on adult television, and a stage version was later produced.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/566329/index.html |title=Julius Caesar on Screen |publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|work=[[Screenonline]]|author=Michael Brooke}}</ref> The [[British Universities Film & Video Council]] database states that the work "transforms the play into a modern political conspiracy thriller with modern dialogue and many strong allusions to political events in the early 1970."<ref>[http://bufvc.ac.uk/screenplays/index.php/prog/1238 Heil Caesar, Part 1: The Conspirators], ''Learning on Screen'', [[British Universities Film & Video Council]].</ref>
* ''[[BBC Television Shakespeare#Julius Caesar|Julius Caesar]]'' ([[BBC Television Shakespeare|BBC]]/[[Time-Life Television|Time-Life TV]], 1978), a television adaptation in the [[BBC Television Shakespeare]] series, directed by [[Herbert Wise]] and produced by [[Cedric Messina]], starring [[Richard Pasco]] as Brutus, [[Keith Michell]] as Antony and [[Charles Gray (actor)|Charles Gray]] as Caesar.<ref name="MovingImage"/>
* The [[HBO]] series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'' frequently referenced notable moments and lines from the Shakespeare play.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384766/|title = Rome (2005-2007) - IMDb| website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> 
* ''Julius Caesar'' (2010), is a short film starring [[Randy Harrison]] as Brutus and [[John Shea]] as Julius Caesar. Directed by Patrick J Donnelly and produced by Dan O'Hare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1699188/|title = Julius Caesar (2010) - IMDb| website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>
* ''[[Caesar Must Die]]'' (2012), is an Italian film about a group of prison inmates rehearsing a play. Ultimately, the prison life and the play become indistinguishable and Mark Antony's [[Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears|Friends, Romans...]] speech is delivered in a prison courtyard with hundreds of prisoners peeking from their cell windows taking the role of Roman citizens. While the film is fictional, the actors are actual prison inmates [[Cameo role|playing themselves]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/mar/03/caesar-must-die-review-philip-french|title=Caesar Must Die – review|first=Philip|last=French|newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 March 2013|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>
* ''Julius Caesar'' (2012), a [[BBC Television|BBC]] [[television film]] adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company stage production of the same year directed by [[Gregory Doran]] with an all-Black cast, sets the tragedy in [[Decolonisation of Africa|post-independence]] [[Africa]] with echoes of the [[Arab Spring]]. The film stars [[Paterson Joseph]] as Brutus, [[Ray Fearon]] as Antony, [[Jeffery Kissoon]] as Caesar, [[Cyril Nri]] as Cassius and [[Adjoa Andoh]] as Portia.<ref>
{{cite web | url = https://www.films.com/ecTitleDetail.aspx?TitleID=201982 | title = Julius Caesar (Royal Shakespeare Company) | website = Films Media Group | publisher = [[Infobase]] | access-date = November 24, 2023}}</ref>
* ''[[Zulfiqar (film)|Zulfiqar]]'' (2016), a [[Bengali language|Bengali-language]] Indian film by [[Srijit Mukherji]] that is an adaptation of both ''Julius Caesar'' and ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'' and a tribute to the film ''[[The Godfather]]''.<ref>Anindita Acharya, [http://www.hindustantimes.com/regional-movies/my-film-zulfiqar-is-a-tribute-to-the-godfather-says-srijit-mukherji/story-qHyDQlVqcqePyOaPBrfHXK.html My film Zulfiqar is a tribute to The Godfather, says Srijit Mukherji], ''Hindustan Times'' (20 September 2016).</ref>

===Contemporary political references===
Modern adaptions of the play have often made contemporary political references,<ref name="Marks">Peter Marks, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/06/16/calpurnia-as-melania-octavius-as-jared-the-public-theater-goes-full-trump-with-julius-caesar-in-central-park/ When 'Julius Caesar' was given a Trumpian makeover, people lost it. But is it any good], ''Washington Post'' (16 June 2017).</ref> with Caesar depicted as resembling a variety of political leaders, including [[Huey Long]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], and [[Tony Blair]],<ref name="Pallotta">Frank Pallotta, [https://money.cnn.com/2017/06/12/media/julius-caesar-public-theater-shakespeare/index.html Trump-like 'Julius Caesar' isn't the first time the play has killed a contemporary politician], CNN (12 June 2017).</ref> as well as [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Oliver North]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Della Gatta |first1=Carla |title=Latinx Shakespeares: Staging US Intracultural Theater |date=2023 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor |isbn=978-0-472-05577-7 |pages=184–85 |url=https://press.umich.edu/Books/L/Latinx-Shakespeares}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tragedies - Julius Caesar |url=https://www.latinxshakespeares.org/tragedies |website=Latinx Shakespeares |access-date=13 August 2023}}</ref> Scholar [[A. J. Hartley]] stated that this is a fairly "common trope" of ''Julius Caesar'' performances: "Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, the rule has been to create a recognizable political world within the production. And often people in the title role itself look like or feel like somebody either in recent or current politics."<ref name="Pallotta"/> A 2012 production of ''Julius Caesar'' by the [[Guthrie Theater]] and [[The Acting Company]] "presented Caesar in the guise of a black actor who was meant to suggest [[Barack Obama|President Obama]]."<ref name="Marks"/> This production was not particularly controversial.<ref name="Marks"/>

In 2017, however, a modern adaptation of the play at [[Shakespeare in the Park (New York City)|New York's Shakespeare in the Park]] (performed by [[The Public Theater]]) depicted Caesar with the likeness of then-president [[Donald Trump]] and thereby aroused ferocious controversy, drawing criticism by media outlets such as ''[[The Daily Caller]]'' and ''[[Breitbart]]'' and prompting corporate sponsors [[Bank of America]] and [[Delta Air Lines]] to pull their financial support.<ref name="Marks"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Delta and Bank of America boycott 'Julius Caesar' play starring Trump-like character|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/12/delta-pulls-sponsorship-julius-caesar-play-trump-killed-on-stage|access-date=17 June 2017|work=The Guardian|date=12 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Alexander|first1=Harriet|title=Central Park play depicting Julius Caesar as Donald Trump causes theatre sponsors to withdraw|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/12/central-park-play-depicting-julius-caesar-donald-trump-causes/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/12/central-park-play-depicting-julius-caesar-donald-trump-causes/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=17 June 2017|work=The Telegraph|date=12 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/12/532593994/delta-bofa-drop-support-for-julius-caesar-that-looks-too-much-like-trump|title=Delta, BofA Drop Support For 'Julius Caesar' That Looks Too Much Like Trump|publisher=NPR|date=12 June 2017}}</ref> The Public Theater stated that the message of the play is not pro-assassination and that the point is that "those who attempt to defend democracy by undemocratic means pay a terrible price and destroy the very thing they are fighting to save." Shakespeare scholars [[Stephen Greenblatt]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Beckett|first1=Lois|title=Trump as Julius Caesar: anger over play misses Shakespeare's point, says scholar|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jun/12/donald-trump-shakespeare-play-julius-caesar-new-york|access-date=17 June 2017|work=The Guardian|date=12 June 2017}}</ref> and Peter Holland agreed with this statement.<ref name="Pallotta"/> Pallotta stated that "I have never read anyone suggesting that 'Julius Caesar' is a play that recommends assassination. Look what happens: Caesar is assassinated to stop him from becoming a dictator. Result: civil war, massive slaughter, creation of an emperor, execution of many who sympathized with the conspiracy. Doesn't look much like a successful result for the conspirators to me."<ref name="Pallotta"/> The play was interrupted several times by [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] protesters, who accused the play of "violence against the right", and actors and members of theatres with Shakespeare in the name were harassed and received [[death threats]], including the wife of the play's director [[Oskar Eustis]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Al-Sibai|first1=Noor|title=Shakespearean actors across the US are receiving death threats over New York's Trump-as-Caesar play|url=https://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/shakespearean-actors-across-the-us-are-receiving-death-threats-over-new-yorks-trump-as-caesar-play/|access-date=23 June 2017|work=[[The Raw Story]]|date=17 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Trump death' in Julius Caesar prompts threats to wrong theatres|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40332236|access-date=23 June 2017|work=CNN|date=19 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Wahlquist|first1=Calla|title='This is violence against Donald Trump': rightwingers interrupt Julius Caesar play|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/17/trump-supporter-interrupts-controversial-julius-caesar-play-in-new-york|access-date=23 June 2017|work=The Guardian|date=17 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Link|first1=Taylor|title=Cops investigate death threats made against "Caesar" director's wife|url=http://www.salon.com/2017/06/22/shakespeare-in-the-park-julius-caesar-donald-trump-death-threats-oskar-laurie-eustice/|access-date=23 June 2017|work=Salon|date=22 June 2017}}</ref> The protests were praised by [[American Family Association]] director Sandy Rios who compared the play with the [[Damnatio ad bestias#Execution of Christians|execution of Christians by damnatio ad bestias]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mantyla|first1=Kyle|title=Sandy Rios Sees No Difference Between Shakespeare And Feeding Christians to the Lions|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/sandy-rios-sees-no-difference-between-shakespeare-and-feeding-christians-to-the-lions/|access-date=23 June 2017|work=Right Wing Watch|date=20 June 2017}}</ref>

The 2018 [[Bridge Theatre]] production also incorporates modern political imagery. The commoners in the first scene sing modern punk music and Caesar distributes red hats to the audience that are remarkably similar to [[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign#Campaign branding|Donald Trump's campaign merchandise]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Julius Caesar: Full Play - Julius Caesar |url=https://www.ntathome.com/julius-caesar/videos/julius-caesar-full-play |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=National Theatre at Home |language=en}}</ref> The conspirators also use modern firearms during the assassination and the [[Battle of Philippi|Battle of Phillipi]].<ref name=":0" />