Rating: 
Summary: YIKES
Review: Well I love anthony, but the movie blew big chunks. now I know why this movie quietly appeared and disappeared from the big screen. Rent it if you must, owning it is a bad idea
Rating: 
Summary: We'll get these kids into Shakespeare yet . . .
Review: The Shakespeare play of the new millennium . . and the perfect one for this violence obsessed generation. In Shakespeare's day, it was the ultimate crowd pleaser . .and subsequently was considered by critics to be the worst play of his repetoire (T.S. Eliot abhorred it). Hopkins does well as Roman general Titus, but it's Lange who is mesmerizing as the vengeful Tamora. For those who love tales of revenge and intrigue, it's the perfect film, but be prepared for the graphic violence, of which, thanks to today's computer generated effects, not one whit is spared (You'll also see in this play why Shakespeare's contemporary critics accuse him of racism). Kudos as well for the great cinematography and the score, which ranges back and forth from classical to rock throughout the film.
Rating: 
Summary: Caligula, Pt II?
Review: Visually and intellectually stunning piece of filmwork... Julie Taymor exhibits a predilection for the dark side of mankind in this story that seamlessly combines the subject matter of Caligula and Salo - 120 Days of Sodom. Treated more as a play than a film, the artistic integrity of this release cannot be questioned. Her subject matter choice for a directorial debut comes into question, however. Personally, I like films that provoke. This does, but it is not for the faint-of-heart.
Rating:
Summary: A Most Medieval Movie
Review: SPECTACULAR! Very colorful, in depth, and entertaining flick. This will totally get you involved as this film was not made like many others. Great story as well as a great ending. I will not get into details as you have got to experience TITUS yourself. Highly recommended to add this to your DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: This is Great
Review: I have seen several Shakespeare adaptations, but this one is clearly the best. I was not familiar with the story of Titus before I saw this film and I had no trouble following it. The true test of conveying Shakespeare(in my humble opinion) is telling the story without the losing the audience in the diologue. Titus accoplishes this. It is visually spectacular and the performances by Anthony Hopkins and crew are wonderful. The story, though, is what makes Titus so amazing. I won't spoil it for you, but if you like truely twisted tales, then by all means check out this film. You will not be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: Hopkins does Shakespeare's Titus like Mel Gibson did Hamlet!
Review: Dynamic. If often is a chore to watch Shakespearian plays and movies since the emphasis is often buried in dramatically British spoken text. Mel Gibson in Hamlet was the only movie for which I would refer interested persons. However, there Mel's Hamlet is no long along in its charm to bring Shakespeare's plays into meaning life. TITUS is high form. Antony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Julie Taymor, and others are impeccable performers. Viewers, at first, may be thrown by the familiar Rome scenery that are lightly mixed with toys, melodies, and articles from modern times. Be assure that the messaget from Shakespeare's classic play is kept true and vibrant. Though aspects of TITUS the play were gruesome and violent, this performance uses Hitchcock techniques of 'implied imagery" Violence is represented in all its nasty genres. Shakespeare knew about the tragedies of kids killing kids, War, human sacrifice, revenge, anger, sociopathic need, and lust. TITUS comes with 2-CDs. One is the movie, widescreen with sharp imagry. Interviews with director, producer, Anthony Hopkins, and many of the cast members are terrific for inside peek at this film or any film's preparation. Why did they, this and that? is answered professionally and openly. At first, I was looking for a simple movie about Roman history. When I realized that I was actually viewing Shakespeare and understanding all of what was going on, this film BLEW MY MIND. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare as it should be done!
Review: Many people call themselves Shakespeare fans because they enjoy listening to the language and also enjoy the plots visually, but to understand the language as you see the action unfold is by far the only way to properly enjoy it. This movie accomplishes that by using what seems like perfectly casted actors who speak their lines as a shakespearian actor should...slowly, and with no background noise or score. Many times the language is ruined because the actors rush the lines. The first 45 minutes is a little harder to understand than the rest, but only because the charcaters are talking about things that have taken place before the movie started, and it requires alot of inferencing. Many people also get turned-off by the fact that it does not seem to take place at any one time, but rather spans all of time. Modern meets old. Someone in a toga standing next to someone in a suit. I think this is the only way you should attempt shakespeare. Although his stories may be time-specific, his characters, emotions, and plot-lines aren't. Therefore by removing the time and/or anachronisms, it is easier to focus on what is happening, along with admiring the beautiful sets and costumes. Once you renounce time in this movie, only the beauty of what is being shown remains. The lighting, color scheme and interpretive direction is amazing. I recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in seeing just how cool Shakespeare is, or a shakespeare fan who has a love for his language, and play on words, and has been disappointed with other movie adaptions.
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Summary: An amazing movie with outstanding acting and costumes.
Review: This movie based on Shakespears, "Titus Andronicus" is an amazingly accurate portrayal of the book. The lines do not forfiet Shakespears original plan of satire, and yet the movie gives it more. Whether it be more gruesome violence or more sex. The costumes and scenery put you back in time and rate up there with "Talented Mr. Ripley"'s designs. The movie does start out very oddly, and poorly with a boy playing with his food, after that its amazing. For those who loved the "Run Lola Run" vibe, it shines through in more than a few scenes and adds to the pleasure of the movie. Great acting on the part of Jessica Lange who plays, the empress. But the real Breakout performance is from Harry Lennix who plays the Moor, Aaron. All around spectacular film, One of the top five of the year.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful story, stupendous acting, weird directing
Review: "Titus" is yet another vain attempt to "update" Shakespeare for consumption by the masses. Like others before it, this film maintains the original verse intact, while providing imagery that is artsy and hip with no real relationship to the original story. The good news is that the acting was potent and delivered a forceful rendition of Shakespeare's most disturbing play. The bad news is that the dark and bizarre imagery was at best distracting and at worst detracting. Julie Taymor's imagery was somewhere between nightmarish and hallucinogenic. It was typical of a style I call Noir Bizarre, where dark themes are augmented by weird and disjointed images, replete with gruesome scenes and morbid undertones. Tim Burton's work is illustrative of this style. Taymor conjures a surreal version of ancient Rome with contrived retro/futuristic costumes, and modern period props such as motorcycles, automatic weapons and arcade games interspersed with horse drawn chariots and swords. Tamora's (Jessica Lange's) costumes were particularly outlandish. It is invariably mentioned by the directors that make these Shakespearean updates that they provide an opportunity to bring Shakespeare to a new generation. They hope that adulterating his work by repackaging it with pop culture imagery will somehow make it more appealing to the masses. The irony is that just about all of them have been abysmal commercial failures. As soon as the masses discover that the Old English verse has been preserved, they steer clear. The only people who ultimately see these films are the people who liked Shakespeare in the first place, and they generally resent the visual perversion. Despite my disdain for Taymor's strangely fantastic vision, the film was effective mostly due to the superlative acting of Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming, and Harry Lennix. Hopkins' sophisticated and wieldy presence provided a dominating force that bolstered the entire cast. Jessica Lange was maniacal as the evil seductress intent on revenge upon Titus and his family for the death of her son. Harry Lennix gave an absolutely demonic performance of Aaron, the malevolent moor whose only repentance was for the good deeds he had done in his life. Alan Cumming was also excellent as the sniveling Emperor being manipulated like a puppet by powerful forces on all sides. In the final analysis, the peculiarity of Taymor's vision distorted but did not negate the excellence of the acting and the power of the play. I rated it a 7/10. I recommend that Shakespeare lovers not be driven away by the avant-garde presentation and allow themselves the opportunity to enjoy the awesome performance of a terrific cast.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like it...and here's why...
Review: I just didn't like the unnatural dialogue. To some this is "poetic, artistic and Shakespearean", and would have been perfectly acceptable to me in a broadway play or stage show. But, I just don't like seeing this style used in any movie. It reminds me too much of "Henry V" - another movie I couldn't appreciate. I also didn't like seeing "roman" troops, nazis, motorbikes, post-nuclear holocaust vehicles and "Mad-Max" style characters in the same scene. That's a total turn-off. This logically may lead to the belief that the producers must have been trying to convey some message with this "artistic" style that I still can't grasp or interpret. What I now really think is that they were just using leftover props and junk from some cancelled B movie to save cost and at the same time keep the audience guessing of its subtle abstract significance. What a cheap trick! When I saw this at the start, I told myself something must be wrong and I would really like to return the DVD now pleeease. Hopkins did a good job though, but I would have preferred a different approach to the movie (such as Shakespeare in Love, though I found that movie slightly boring). I regret buying this, it's definitely not for me. Oh, but I did like the blue dirt, that was cool.
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