# Cleopatra (クレオパトラ) (1970 film)
**Cleopatra** (クレオパトラ) is a 1970 Japanese adult animated feature film directed by [Osamu Tezuka](https://www.edgepedia.org/osamu-tezuka) and Eiichi Yamamoto, produced by Mushi Production, and distributed by Nippon Herald Movies on September 15, 1970[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html). It is the second of the three "Animerama" adult-oriented theatrical features made at Mushi Pro, following *A Thousand and One Nights* (1969) and preceding *Belladonna of Sadness* (1973)[2](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/03/04/kureopatora-cleopatra/). The film mixes a science-fiction frame story with a comic, heavily anachronistic retelling of Cleopatra's relations with [Julius Caesar](https://www.edgepedia.org/julius-caesar) and [Mark Antony](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-antony), and it was marketed by its distributor as an erotic animated work for adults[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese release | September 15, 1970, distributed by Nippon Herald Movies; color, wide screen[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html) |
| Directors | Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto; original plan and story line by Tezuka[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html) |
| Key staff | Screenplay Shigemi Satoyoshi; music Isao Tomita; character design Isao Kojima[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html) |
| Series position | Second of the three Animerama adult features, between *A Thousand and One Nights* (1969) and *Belladonna of Sadness* (1973)[2](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/03/04/kureopatora-cleopatra/) |
| Setting | A 21st-century frame story sends three human minds back to Egypt of 50 BC, during the Roman invasion[3](https://www.mushi-pro.co.jp/2010/08/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%91%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9/) |
| North American release | 1972, retitled *Cleopatra, Queen of Sex* by Xanadu Productions with an unauthorized self-applied X rating[4](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film951027.html) |
| Reception | A critical and commercial failure in Japan, unlike its predecessor[5](https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tezukas-adult-features-cleopatra-1970/) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film opens in the 21st century, when humanity is expanding into space and targeting the planet Pasatorine. Earth learns that Pasatorine's inhabitants are plotting a conspiracy called the "Cleopatra Plan" against humanity, and to discover its truth three humans have their minds sent back to Egypt of 50 BC, the era of [Cleopatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleopatra)[3](https://www.mushi-pro.co.jp/2010/08/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%91%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9/). In the French-language synopsis the three are Mary, Jirou, and Hal, whose souls enter the bodies of the resistance fighter Lybia, the slave Ionius, and, through a programming error, Rupa, a tamed leopard[8](https://www.planete-jeunesse.com/fiche-3128-cleopatra.html).
Egypt is under invasion by the [Roman army](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-army) led by Caesar. In this telling Cleopatra is introduced as an ugly young woman; to ensnare Caesar she undergoes plastic surgery and is transformed into a great beauty[10](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/143351). The men around her, Caesar first among them, quickly fall captive to her charms, but Cleopatra herself comes to want happiness as a woman rather than as a queen[10](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/143351). After Caesar's death, the next Roman commander, Antonius, attacks Egypt and she captivates him as well[3](https://www.mushi-pro.co.jp/2010/08/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%91%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9/). Her attendant Apollodria, who organizes guerrilla resistance against Rome, repeatedly pushes her to seduce the incoming conqueror Octavian, and Cleopatra furiously refuses[11](https://eiga.com/movie/36161/). The film follows the historical outline of Cleopatra's life to its tragic end[2](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/03/04/kureopatora-cleopatra/).
## Production
Mushi Production, the studio Osamu Tezuka founded in 1961, made the Animerama features as theatrical animation aimed at adults, a direction Tezuka had long wanted to pursue[6](https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/fa82be39-b977-4027-917d-af24d2717424/826862-1183589.pdf). After *A Thousand and One Nights* became a hit in Japan, Nippon Herald commissioned this second film[7](https://tezukaosamu.net/jp/anime/8.html). The schedule was tighter than for the first film, but the team finished on time for the September 15, 1970 premiere[8](https://www.planete-jeunesse.com/fiche-3128-cleopatra.html).
Tezuka took the original plan and story line and co-directed with Eiichi Yamamoto, his longtime collaborator; the screenplay was by Shigemi Satoyoshi, the music by Isao Tomita, and the character design by the manga artist Isao Kojima, known for *Hige to Boin*[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html) • [3](https://www.mushi-pro.co.jp/2010/08/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%91%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9/). The distributor advertised the film with the slogan that it was "far more erotic than a thousand and one nights"[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html).
Reported running times differ among sources: the Tezuka Productions and Kinenote records give 112 minutes[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html) • [9](https://www.kinenote.com/sp/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=19374), allcinema lists 113 minutes[10](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/143351), and Mushi Production's own page gives 100 minutes[3](https://www.mushi-pro.co.jp/2010/08/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%91%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9/).
## Style and humor
**Parody is the film's signature.** Mushi Production's own description calls it a parody spectacular that depicts Cleopatra's eventful life as a historical pageant while scattering Tezuka-style gags throughout[3](https://www.mushi-pro.co.jp/2010/08/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%91%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9/). Popular manga characters of the day, including those of *Sazae-san*, *Kamui*, and *Harenchi Gakuen*, make cameo appearances; the [Roman triumph](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-triumph) parade brings on famous paintings by Picasso, Van Gogh, and others; and Caesar's assassination is staged as a parody of the pine corridor scene from *Chushingura*[3](https://www.mushi-pro.co.jp/2010/08/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%91%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9/). Contemporary topical jokes and catchphrases fill the dialogue[7](https://tezukaosamu.net/jp/anime/8.html).
The visual approach is deliberately eclectic. The opening sequence in the far future places animated faces on live-action bodies, a pastiche of the American Synchro-Vox technique used in *Clutch Cargo*; Tezuka himself described it as a deliberate in-joke[5](https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tezukas-adult-features-cleopatra-1970/). Elsewhere the film mixes limited animation, rotoscoping, watercolor animation, cut-out sequences built from classic paintings, and live-action footage combined with cel overlays[2](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/03/04/kureopatora-cleopatra/). Sexual content is present but largely stylized: sex scenes are rendered through abstract, semi-abstract, or comic devices rather than explicit depiction[12](https://www.animationforadults.com/2018/06/osamu-tezukas-animerama-thousand-one.html).
## Voice cast and music
Cleopatra is voiced by Chinatsu Nakayama, Caesar by Hajime Hana, and Antonius by Osami Nabe, with Nachi Nozawa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, and others in supporting roles[7](https://tezukaosamu.net/jp/anime/8.html). Isao Tomita wrote the score, and the theme song "Cleopatra's Theme" (クレオパトラの涙) has lyrics by Nakayama Chinatsu, music by Tomita, and vocals by Saori Yuki[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html) • [13](https://www.isaotomita.jp/works/).
## Release and reception
In Japan the film failed with both critics and audiences, a sharp reversal from *A Thousand and One Nights*; commentators blamed Tezuka's self-indulgence, and the bewildering opening, topical gags, and avant-garde mix of styles were judged too esoteric for the general public[5](https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tezukas-adult-features-cleopatra-1970/). The Tezuka Productions official site acknowledges that the topical humor gave the film's comedy no lasting universality, while crediting its imagery as remaining impressive and beautiful[1](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html).
**The American release compounded the failure.** To capitalize on the success of [Ralph Bakshi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-bakshi)'s X-rated *Fritz the Cat*, the distributor Xanadu Productions released the film in North America in 1972 as *Cleopatra, Queen of Sex*, with a self-applied [X rating](https://www.edgepedia.org/x-rating) that was never submitted to the MPAA; the film opened on April 24, 1972, twelve days after *Fritz the Cat*, and neither the title nor the rating attracted an audience[4](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film951027.html) • [5](https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tezukas-adult-features-cleopatra-1970/) • [14](https://queeranimation.omeka.net/items/show/100).
## Place in animation history
The three Animerama films are now studied as an early, influential attempt to establish feature animation for adults in Japan, at a time when Ralph Bakshi was opening the same territory in the United States[2](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/03/04/kureopatora-cleopatra/). Scholarship on Mushi Pro's adult films argues that, whatever their flaws, they blurred the line between full and limited animation and experimented with styles drawn from manga, fine art, and popular culture[15](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jscsj/2/0/2_63/_pdf). In *Cleopatra* the studio also experimented early with aerial compositing of live-action film and animation, a technique it had begun testing after the first Animerama film[16](https://tezukaosamu.net/jp/museum/permanent02_03.html). The film's failure, however, contributed to Tezuka's withdrawal from Mushi Pro's management; he had already founded Tezuka Productions in 1968, and Mushi Production went bankrupt after *Belladonna of Sadness* was released in 1973[5](https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tezukas-adult-features-cleopatra-1970/) • [6](https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/fa82be39-b977-4027-917d-af24d2717424/826862-1183589.pdf).
## References
1. [Cleopatra, Tezuka Osamu Official (English anime page)](https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/8.html)
2. [Kureopatora (Cleopatra), Dr. Grob's Animation Review (2024)](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/03/04/kureopatora-cleopatra/)
3. [クレオパトラ, 虫プロダクション作品紹介](https://www.mushi-pro.co.jp/2010/08/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%91%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9/)
4. [Cleopatra: Queen of Sex (1970), Filmaffinity](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film951027.html)
5. [Tezuka's Adult Features: "Cleopatra" (1970), Cartoon Research (2014)](https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tezukas-adult-features-cleopatra-1970/)
6. [Decreto del Direttore Amministrativo n. (thesis on Mushi Production), Università Iuav di Venezia](https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/fa82be39-b977-4027-917d-af24d2717424/826862-1183589.pdf)
7. [クレオパトラ, 手塚治虫 TEZUKA OSAMU OFFICIAL (Japanese anime page)](https://tezukaosamu.net/jp/anime/8.html)
8. [Cleopatra, Planète Jeunesse](https://www.planete-jeunesse.com/fiche-3128-cleopatra.html)
9. [クレオパトラ(1970), KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/sp/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=19374)
10. [映画アニメ クレオパトラ (1970), allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/143351)
11. [クレオパトラ（1970）作品情報・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/36161/)
12. [Osamu Tezuka's Animerama: A Thousand & One Nights/Cleopatra, Animation For Adults (2018)](https://www.animationforadults.com/2018/06/osamu-tezukas-animerama-thousand-one.html)
13. [WORKS, TOMITA information Hub](https://www.isaotomita.jp/works/)
14. [クレオパトラ / Cleopatra, Queer Animation](https://queeranimation.omeka.net/items/show/100)
15. [A Reevaluation of the Importance of Mushi Pro's Three Adult-Oriented Animated Films in the Development of Japanese Animation, Cinema Studies no.2](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jscsj/2/0/2_63/_pdf)
16. [常設展2「作家、手塚治虫」3, 手塚治虫記念館](https://tezukaosamu.net/jp/museum/permanent02_03.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 1932 to 1998*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license