This film is one of the first six-reel feature films produced in the US. With the tagline "The most beautiful motion picture ever made", the film was the first to offer a feature-length depiction of Cleopatra, although there had been a short film about Antony and Cleopatra earlier.
In the opening credits, performers are not listed by their full names but by their last names only.
Included among the American Film Institute's 2002 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 top 100 America's Greatest Love Stories movies.
William Shakespeare's play was produced in London circa 1606-7; Victorien Sardou's play, "Cléopatre", opened in Paris on 23 October 1890.