Julius Caesar (1953)

Julius Caesar can be viewed online at amazon.com.  The script comes directly from Shakespeare.  It was directed by Mankiewicz who also directed Cleopatra, but being in black and white it lacks a lot of the pageantry of the later movie.  It more than makes up for it in substance.  Marlon Brando is hypnotic as Mark Antony, especially in the famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" scene.  The patterns on the men's clothing were very innacurate, many or them containg bold geometric designs.  Roman men of this period wore plain fabric with stripes indicateing their rank.  This innacuracy is fogivable however considering that period appropriate clothing would appear especially boring in black and white, with everyone wearing basicly the same outfit.