Rating: 
Summary: I Gave it 4 Viewings
Review: Ms Taymor, let me say at the outset, is a highly creative director. Loved the Broadway show (The Lion King). She's innovative, imaginative, extremely adept at visual imagery, etc. What she isn't is adept at interpreting The Bard. The DVD version had her meeting with a group of NYU students discussing the production and the play, in which she showed exactly how shallow her understanding of Shakespeare actually is. Her focus was entirely on her vision, rather than his text. That shows up, rampantly in the movie. It's all about her and her imagination, never centering on the text or the innner beauty of Shakespeare's most brutal play. I'm not saying that all the bard's plays have to focus on the grand design of the poetry, the meter, the frangrant, redolent language, but at least lip service should be paid there. In this version, we get stuffed with so many Taymor pipe dream (and I do mean a loaded hookah!) visuals, that the language is submarined into oblivion. Even so consummate an actor as Anthony Hopkins (why isn't he Sir Anthony, by now? ..get off your keister, Queenie!) can't compete with the hyperactive Ms Taymor and her busycam. She's obviously aiming for the Art House crowd (of which I am a sometime member, but not in good standing here, obviously), but she misses even that mark. Most of the "innovative" interpolations, such as the young kid who provides the framing device, are entirely superfluous, thereby losing any actually artistic force they might have achieved. It's nothing but empty window dressing. The performances are largely execrable, including Sir Tony, I hate to report. His version of the Brando mumble is ill suited to the title role. Jessica Lange gives a nadir plumbing performance in a career that features a few of them. She was a lot more convincing in King Kong, trust me. The rest of the Mad Max rejects were even worse. The reason I gave this film four viewings before sending the DVD on to a friend, was I thought perhaps it was just me, and I was being too reactionary or cynical about this brave new look at what is actually, in a way, one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Then, midway through viewing #5, I thought, "nah....this thing really is as bad as originally perceived." Last I heard, "The Lion King" was still playing on Broadway. My suggestion is, buy tickets to that, next time you are in NYC. As for this Turkey, my advice is to rent it if you must. Otherwise, don't put yourself through the torture I did. BEK
Rating: 
Summary: Three stars for cast and crew, minus two stars for the Bard.
Review: I am not a fan of movie adaptations deviating in the slightest detail from the source material.
Think of how much better such film tragedies as "The Haunting" and "Hannibal" could have been, were it not for the irresponsible and downright stupid interference of that most reprehensible of all Hollywood employees, the Adapted Screenplay Writer.
However, this is one case (and to date, the only one I've come across) where a little more omission on the part of the screenplay would have catapulted this Herculean effort into the ranks of 'Classic'.
'Titus' tells the tragic story of Titus Andronicus (Hopkins), a heroic general of Rome, and his family's trials as they suffer at the hand of their newly-crowned Empress Tamora (Lange). As with all Shakespearean titles, there are several sub-plots afoot, peppered liberally with treachery, murder, lust, intrigue and that hoariest of all chestnuts, revenge.
The cast here is utterly magnificent (save for a campy and overworked Chiron, portrayed so boyishly by the unfailingly amateur Johnathan Rhys-Myers). Hopkins is his usual excellent self, lending delerious humour and fragmented pathos to the titular character. Jessica Lange is similarly magnificent as the ruthless (if very wronged) Queen Tamora - here's an Actress of the first magnitude, who really ought to be in more films. Other cast nods go to Alan Cumming as the weak-willed Emperor Saturninus, and the charismatic and sensual Raz Degan as Alarbus.
In her directorial debut Julie Taymor has made brave and some brilliantly-executed moves with her visual treatment of this tragedy. Her neoclassical gothic visuals blend seamlessly with the disenfranchised tragedy emanating from the script, and her use of contrast in terms of visual tone is exciting and vivid - although her use of symbolism is somewhat obvious. In places her overreliance on the novelty of the visuals is uncomfortable, but on the whole she's created an exciting and somehow fitting visual motif to go with her grandiose treatment of 'Titus'.
The problem with 'Titus' is the source material: this is a dreadfully disjointed Shakespeare play. With so much high-octane drama unfolding in the first hour or so of the movie, the remaining two hours tend to overplay a very limited number of events. There's no real build in the tension, save for the last ten minutes of film, and though Hopkins, Cumming and Lange do their level best with what they have, it still can't save 'Titus' from sinking in the centre like an underdone blood pudding. Similarly, the pivotal scene at the end of the play where Tamora and her sons attempt to fool Titus with disguise just does not translate at all to the screen - or at least, not on a screen where everything is taken so seriously. Disguise is fine for 'The Merchant of Venice', maybe, but here it's just unbelievable.
And that's the final word on 'Titus', Magnificent performances and interesting direction are unfortunately marred by some visual fluffing and a truly lacklustre Shakespeare script. Which is a shame - had such a treatment been applied to 'MacBeth', or to 'Hamlet', we'd have had Oscars.
Rent it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: I sat down to watch this with my family, not knowing that it was Shakespeare's Titus A. After reading the play in college years ago, I was just disgusted with the story and considered it my least favorite of his plays. I wouldn't have rented this DVD or started watching it if I had known what it was. Wow! I was just blown away by the wonderful adaptation! The acting was so fine, and the direction just so perfect, that even with the gruesome, impossible story line, it will now join my favorite performances of Shakespeare. Lange is wonderful as the Goth queen -- her pleas for her son's life (and I am assuming that everyone knows the basic story of the cycle of revenge)are so true and heartfelt that my sympathies were always a little bit with her -- even at her worst moments (and she is indeed a bad person!), I could understand how she got that way. She had seen the worst a person could see -- her son's ritual sacrifice by the Romans. Her lover and henchman, Aaron was played very well indeed -- and my heart was even moved for him, who regretted any good deed he may have done, when he asks for his son's welfare. And as to the two Goth bad boys (or as my old copy of Yale Shakespeare called them, veritable bashibazooks [isn't that a great word?}), well I thought them well done. They are just violent, ruthless, idiots, and the actors did a good job. The character of Livinia is one of the most pathetic in Shakespeare's works -- raped, hands hacked off, tongue ripped out -- good grief! Yet the portrayal was riviting. I liked the way of dealing with the hands. It lead to an almost mythic presence -- a woman so ruined that she has stepped outside of humanity in her own eyes. Finally, the portrayal of the emperor was just so much fun. I loved it. I agree that there was a strong Fellini presence in the film, but I also was reminded of Pasolini's Oedipus, switching time frames and full of anachronism. So, here I am actually recommending a play that I always thought I hated. Who knew such a fine director could achieve that?
Rating:
Summary: Genius
Review: Best "film" adaptation of a Shakespeare play I have ever seen (and I have seen quite a few). Julie Taymor shows us with this film that she is a cinematic force to be reckoned with (Although Frida was not quite the quality for me that this film was - but I forgive her..I wasn't a fan of Sam Mendes'American Beauty but I LOVED Road To Perdition). Every single performance in this film is perfection especially those of Harry Lenix, Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Elliot Goldenthal's score is one of the best in film history...The combination of the closing music and the final shot will haunt you long after it is over.
Rating: 
Summary: Raw Tragedy.
Review: Shakespeare's plays are an inextinguishable source of inspiration for movie-makers. His works are approached from very different stands: classical as "Julius Caesar" (1953) and "Antony and Cleopatra" (1972); as transposition to other time and surroundings as "West Side Story" (1961) and "Ran" (1985) or as in the present case from a very personal optic.
Director Julie Tymor is, in my opinion, heavily influenced by Federico Fellini's aesthetics. Echoes of "Amarcord" and "Satyricon" may be detected in this highly sophisticated presentation of Shakespeare's first tragedy.
The visual composition is great. It is a mixture of tragically poetic photography, as poor Lavinia abandoned in the swamp, and surrealist imagery, as the returning of Titus and his troops to Rome.
The story is a heavy handed tragedy, full of evil characters, assassinations and foul revenge taking place without respite. It is clear that Shakespeare wasn't yet at his fullest capacity when he wrote this play.
For actors and actresses is quite difficult to express themselves, at their full ability, when such an "out of the mold" performance is demanded. Notwithstanding Anthony Hopkins as Titus, Angus Macfadyen as Lucius and Harry Lennix as Aaron display very good performance.
A non-standard movie to be sure, but deserves to be seen!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Rating:
Summary: Innovative
Review: Based on the play by William Shakespeare, which was first published and performed in 1594.
This reworked version by Julie Taymor has elicited some strong reactions. People either hate it or love it. It must be stated that the gory violence in the movie, is actually in the play by Shakespeare.
Set in and around Rome, Taymor's `Titus' combines the ancient with the super-modern in the imagery.
Hence we see a sports car, with Ancient Roman horsemen following it, or Ancient Gothic warriors, armed with sub-machine guns.
General Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins) returns to Rome victoriously, after delivering a crushing defeat on the Goths, bringing with him, the captives the Queen of the Goths, Tamora (Jessica Lange) and her three sons.
In revenge for the deaths of two of his sons, in the war, Titus sacrifices Tamora's eldest son, thus causing the totally detestable and merciless Tamora to plot her hideous revenge.
When the worthless Saturninus (Alan Cummings) is crowned Emperor (ironically chosen by Titus himself, he takes Tamora as his Empress.
The plotting of the evil Aaron the Moor (Harry J Lennix) adds intrigue and wit to this work, and the most harrowing scene is where Tamora orders her two vicious sons, Demetrius (Matthew Rhys) and Chiron (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) to do their will with Titus' lovely young daughter, Lavinnia, before they take her into the forest and rape and horribly mutilate her.
From there on, we observe Titus' war of revenge against Saturninus, Tamora and her sons. It certainly shows that Shakespeare can be relevant and exciting to any age, though the scene with Lavinnia's mutilation could have been less graphic.
My sympathy was with Titus , and his family throughout ,the movie , and one can only feel justice was being done , when he captures and kills Demetrius and Chiron , before baking their blood in a pie to serve before Saturninus and Tamora.
The fresh angel-faced boy, Osheen Jones (who is actually Titus' grandson, the son of his son Lucius (Angus McFayden) was an excellent touch.
He represents innocence and hope for the future. Including him, is what added something beautiful to the movie, just as the angel came out of Pandora's box to soothe , after Pain and Panic had sown their torments.
Rating:
Summary: Very artistic, but horrible story and very graphic
Review: I rented this film because I like Shakespear's plays (usually), and have enjoyed the film adaptations of Hamlet and Midsummer. I watched only half of the film, however, before turning it off and returning it to the rental store for a refund. While the film has a nice artistic quality to it, in terms of mise-en-scene, colors, acting, etc, the story is so over-the-top disgusting and cruel that you pay less attention to the script or artistic parts and more attention to the gory torture scenes. I saw this film over a year ago, and the memory of one short scene still makes me feel ill. ***Graphic description follows*** The scene I'm referring to is when the 'nice' girl is raped, tortured, tied to a post, and has her hands cut off and twigs SHOVED into the bloody stumps; that was just too much for me. ***Description over*** Overall, if you don't mind wading through tons of violent, graphic, horribly cruel scenes, then this film may be worth watching for Hopkin's and the rest of the cast's acting skills, and the good use of lighting and color. For me personally, this interpretation of shakespear's work didn't *do* it for me, which is why I give this film only 2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A truly marvelous film
Review: If you go into this film expecting Shakespeare as it is so often shown, dry, confusing, and difficult to get, you'll be mighty surprised by what you get. It's not quite a tragedy, not quite a black comedy. It belongs neither in Ancient Rome, Fascist Italy, or the here and now. It belongs neither in reality nor a dreamworld. Instead, it all belongs in the great mind of Julie Taymor. "Titus" would be a difficult play to create a great film about. It lacks a lot of the grace and human beauty that exists in Shakespeare's later plays and it actually doesn't feel very Shakespeare-like, hence why critics have tried to have it attached to a contemporary rather than sully the canon. It's a tale of rape, treachery, cannibalism, corruption, and vengeance, which lacks any real hope. In her grand vision, Taymor has given us the gore that exists without flinching from it and trust me you'll need a strong stomach at some points, but she also at the very end gives the viewer a sliver of hope that the violence won't repeat itself. The visual style is striking with the constant references to different times, which could've looked muddled, but they all look like they fit, even Tamora's get-up when she first meet Saturninus in comparison with her sons' punk outfits. Taymor's Rome looks very stylized, not quite like Rome ever has looked ever, a sort of dream Rome. Of course with anything involving Shakespeare, you can have the best looking movie, but without the acting to back it up, you have nothing. Fortuantely for Taymor, the performances are incredible. Anthony Hopkins, who is it must be said channeling Hannibal Lecter at points, and Jessica Lange play well off of one another as two parents who wound one another because of wrongs that began in war. Alan Cumming is at his best playing Saturninus. Harry Lennix is of course the marvel of the film. Aaron ,as a character, is so complex and has to go through so many different emotions that it takes a great actor to do the role. Lennix is that great actor. With intensity and incredible understanding, He is the person to watch in the film. All in all, "Titus" is a stunning movie, one that almost overpowers. I didn't expect to like it so much, but since I have, I recommend it to everyone with a warning, not for the faint of heart.
Rating:
Summary: A creative interpretation
Review: This film version of Titus Andronicus is quite ambitious, and really quite impressive - surprising considering that the director's other major credit is the Broadway Lion King (arrrrghhh... the horror...).
It isn't a complete success - much of the cinematic play has allready been done (which in itself is not the end of the world), and the montages that appear in the latter part of the film (such as the one accompanying the rape) are rather poor choices, but overall this is a powerful adaptation of a play which does not get as much attention as Shakespeare's other works. Apart from what I have allready mentioned, the film does have some very striking and memorable imagery - especially the opening sequence, that is one for the ages. Nicely done.
Amongst other things, Hopkins shows himself to be a very stylish Shakespearean indeed - he should be given the chance to do more such work.
Bloody? Yes. Disturbing? Yes. Riveting? Yes! Not a dull moment in all its length.
This is certainly no proper Shakespeare production, but it is just as certain that it is worth seeing.
Goldsmith, reliable as always, provides some interesting music to accompany the drama and heighten the tension.
The imperfections in the film caused me to pause over what rating to give, but certainly four stars for the effort! It stands in a unique and rare class of bold and striking film making.
A film you will most likely want to see more than once.
Rating:
Summary: Seen under Spanish stars
Review: My husband and I saw this movie last week at an outdoor theater in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain, at 10:30 p.m. What a treat this was--and yes, Anthony Hopkins was delicious as Titus, and oh, so reminiscent of "Hannibal." Sometimes it was hard to understand the language, partly because of the Elizabethan dialect, partly because we were outside and could hear the mopeds whiz by. But that was part of the whole experience--of Shakespeare AND of Spain. We particularly enjoyed how Julie Taymor used the grandson to present the story sort of through a child's eyes plus all the homosexual references. Like I said, it was a delicious experience which we thoroughly enjoyed.
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