Titus

Rating:
Summary: A Missed Classic
Review: I saw this movie in an arthouse movie house a few years ago and it has stuck in my mind ever since the movie itself is based on the shakespear play. But it is the vivid images which will haunt you after you see the movie. Hopkins is outstanding as the lead so is Lange as his nemis, but it is Harry Lennix who plays the moore that steals the show. the opening scene of the roman soilders returning form battle with the Goths in to the collisium is superb when it is mixed with the images of the child playing out of cotrol with his toys.
In my opion it is a great movie and a truely exceptional disc for extras. I can't rate this movie highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent modern interpretation of a difficult play
Review: This is one of Shakespeare's earlier works and like most of them the language is hard to understand without seeing it performed on stage, however, to produce it for the theatre is difficult due to the extreme violence. Believe me, this is not for children; this play in particular was written in the style of the Roman playwright Seneca with it's emphasis on supernatural elements, bloody violence, and obsessive passion. Although these elements are prevalent in Shakespeare's later, tragic works none (in my opinion) are to the graphic degree of this piece.

Taking that into consideration the director did an excellent job of redeeming this difficult play and Anthony Hopkins plays the titular character in such an excellent way one relates to his madness.

One thing of note is the character Aaron, Tamora's moorish lover. One can see how Shakespeare later developed Othello's Iago from him.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Film
Review: Julie Taymor has done a wonderful job with this film. It is a richly textured, visually sumptuous film. Taymor manages to create a setting which evokes both ancient Rome and a nameless post-apocalyptic world.

The set design (by Dante Ferretti) is beautiful, at times stark and frightening, at others, majestic and dazzling. The costumes also are perfect, blending the past, present and future, to create a look which perfectly complements the set design. This is not your typical summer stock Shakespeare with the cast dressed in their Elizabethan best.

Taymor manages to give us her own unique vision without sacrificing Shakespeare's words; her screenplay is remarkably faithful to the source material.

The actors are perfect in this film. Anthony Hopkins demonstrates his ease with Shakespeare's words and flawlessly takes Titus from victorious leader to grieving father, then on to madness and revenge. Hopkins manages ferocity without the least bit of scenery-chewing.

I've read other reviewers who have derided Jessica Lange. I completely disagree; she is excellent as Tamora.

The supporting cast, too, are excellent. Colm Feore as Marcus Andronicus, Harry J. Lennix as Aaron, and Laura Fraser as Lavinia are all right on the mark.

As good as the actors are, it is Taymor's film. It looks like no other film, it manages to achieve the level of true art without pretense, and it does justice to the source material.

I highly recommend this film to any Shakespeare aficianado, and to anyone looking for a new, one of a kind cinematic experience.

Rating:
Summary: DIRECTOR DOESN'T TRUST HER AUDIENCE
Review: Just a few comments & observations on "Titus":

1. The director doesn't trust her audience. In two instances, she inserts scenes which over-explain events in the film and "talk down" to the viewer. First is the scene where Hopkins and Lange face each other down in front of a backdrop of raging flames. Folks, we already KNOW they've got it in for each other. There is no need to belabor the point. Second is the scene of the sacrificial lamb on the alter. By this point in the film, it's pretty obvious - at least to most intelligent Shakespeare-and-movie-lovers, that Lavinia is the symbolic "lamb to the slaughter". If the director trusted her audience to realize this from events and dialogue, such scenes are completely unnecessary and, at worst, insulting to our intelligence. If we were STUPID, would we have sat that long through passages of Elizabethan dialogue? I think not. Most come to "Titus" because they're familiar with the Bard on some level. Give the viewer the benefit of this doubt.

2. I don't know why Hopkins says he can't do Shakespeare. He's the best thing ABOUT this over-produced film. The girl playing Lavinia is also first-rate in her delivery of the dialogue, as is the gentleman playing Titus' brother. Most of the rest of the actors, Jessica Lange included I'm sorry to say, shouldn't go near Shakespeare with a 10-foot pole until they've had sufficient and proper training in same.

3. The sets and set-pieces tend to overwhelm the viewer and take away from the thing that should be the main focus: the plot, how it unfolds and the gorgeous language used to reveal it. Ms. Taymour obviously feels a film isn't "done" unless she has too much of everything: too much color, too much display, ridiculous costumes (the guy playing the Emperor wears pink eyeshadow and prances around like a first-rate fop, and ends up looking quite "queeny" and completely ridiculous, robbing the character of his "imperial" dignity. There is also an orgy scene which is completely unnecessary to events happening outside the palace - just a "group grope" scene inserted, in the opinion of this viewer, for sheer titillation and not because it was necessary to advance the plot).

As Hamlet said, "The PLAY'S the thing." Here, this lamentable film, while very ambitious, has too many flaws for me to recommend a second viewing. The only reason I would is simply to see Hopkins work, particuarly the scene at the crossroads when he is told about Lavinia's rape. If you are not moved by his performance here, you are truly made of stone.

Apparently Ms. Taymour trusted Sir Anthony to get it ... it's a damn pity that she didn't afford her audience the same courtesy and intellectual respect.

Use spectacle for "The Lion King" on Broadway and leave so much of it out of Shakespeare.

Rating:
Summary: An elevation above the merit of the play.
Review: To be frank, Titus is not one of Shakespeare's best works. The plot is at times forced, the dialog drifts from time to time into the banal and clumsy. Yet, as we have all seen truly great stories murdered by incompetent conversion into movie form, stilted visions performed by stuttering, unbelieveable actors, the movie "Titus" is just the opposite: An unspectacular play converted by superb direction and stunning performances to a horrible masterpiece of violence and tragedy. And horrible it is. The image of Titus' mutilated daughter (and her death) will be burned into your memory. Yet, it is truly beautiful, like an atomic mushroom cloud rising above Hiroshima...the conscience squirms but the eye cannot turn away.
That said, the language is, per the nature of the beast, often hard to follow the first time, but becomes much clearer upon re-watching. Little expense seems to have been spared on sets and settings...the environment is fully immersive. The violence will cause some to denounce it, and the dense language and convoluted plot are a little more intellectually challenging than some people *ahem* can stand in a movie. But for the rest of us, "Titus" is a dark gem.

Rating:
Summary: "Titus" is Sublime
Review: The only problem with this film is that other Shakespeare adaptations will now seem much duller in comparison. Here, Shakespeare is brought into full splendor and the aesthetic bar is raised very, very high.

The costumes and sets are out of this world. They are a strange mixture of beauty, the like of which I've never seen. But Julie Taymor's greatest gift to us is that she shows us the eternal genius of Shakespeare.

Taymor's cast animates Shakespeare's words and characters into the fabulous full life they deserve. My personal favorite is Titus with his profound expressions of grief, loss and despair. No matter how many times I watch it, I am moved to dumb wonder again and again as Anthony Hopkins recounts his sorrows to the stones.

It becomes apparant that the long tradition of disparaging criticism of this play, which started well after Shakespeare's death, was due primarily to a general distaste for the type of strong violence that is an essential theme of the play. But as the public's taste shifts back towards a greater tolerance for violence, Julie Taymor's inspired organization of great talent proves this tradition wrong and shows us that "Titus Andronicus" was in fact one of Shakespeare's most perfect works of art. (At least in my humble, all-knowing opinion.)

Rating:
Summary: I'll Take My Shaksespeare Straight
Review: If you admire Shakespearean plays AS THEY WERE WRITTEN, then don't watch this film. The neo-classical approach of mixing modern day conveniences with antiquity just doesn't work, at least not for me. It's a little unsettling when you see guys shooting pool, people driving caddy's, and soldiers carrying handguns - while at the same time carrying swords and speaking in ye olde english.

This movie is very graphic in it's violence and sexual content and should NOT be viewed by young children, incest and cannibalism being among the more disturbing themes that run their course in this film.

The acting of course is impeccable, but then again what do you expect from Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. That being said I have to profess my bias for the traditional approach to Shakespeare and would have loved to see them in something a little closer to what the Bard had in mind when he penned his famous prose. Call me close-minded but I'll take my Shakespeare straight.

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular and rewarding
Review: Let me assure you that this is one spectacular movie. I doubt you will find any film adaptation of a Shakespeare play that is as visually impressive. As for the story, this is not the Shakespeare you were introduced to in high school. This was The Bard's first tragedy, as well as one of his first plays. History has it that he was very young when he wrote it, while legend claims that he was out to top his arch rival, playwright Christopher Marlowe. He pulled out all the stops, intent, it seems, on writing a real crowd pleaser. As a result, Titus Andronicus is so sexy and so violent that it rivals the stories in many of today's movies. Some English professors, in fact, refuse to believe it was written by Shakespeare at all, though I believe it has been proved that he did.

Titus, played by Anthony Hopkins, is a respected Roman general. The movie opens as he returns to Rome after successfully defeating the Goths. Victory has come at a price. He is about to bury many of his sons, who died in battle. He has taken prisoner the Queen of the Goths, Tamara [Jessica Lange], and her three sons. For retribution and to appease the Gods, he orders her eldest son put to death, despite her cries for mercy. The Emperor of Rome has recently died, and the Senate asks Titus to take his place. Wisely, or so he thinks, Titus declines and nominates Saturninus [Alan Cumming], one of the Emperor's two sons. Saturninus choses Titus' daughter, Lavinia [Laura Frasier], to be his bride. She spurns him for his brother, Bassinus [James Frain]. The new Emperor is furious at both Bassinus and Titus. Immediately, he asks Tamara to marry him. She accepts readily, for she knows that this position of power can enable her to get her revenge against Titus and his entire family. She enlists the aid of her remaining sons, Chiron and Demitrius [Jonathan Rhys-Meyer and Matthew Rhys]. Meanwhile, Aaron [Henry Lennix], a disgruntled Moorish slave, has dreadful plots of his own to implement.
Before long, everyone is headed for a climax that will both surprise and appal you.

Hopkins and Lange are in top form. Nobody plays an intriguing madman better than Hopkins. As Tamara, Lange is both sensuous and cold-blooded, so much so that she will send chills up your spine. Other notable cast members include Henry Lennix, Jonathan Rhys-Meyer and Colm Feore as Titus' brother.

This is director Julie Taymor's first movie. She is well know in the theater world for her imaginative staging of such musicals as The Lion King. She has made a minor masterpiece of Titus, and I expect her to be a major movie presence in the coming years. She stages the film as the tragedy it is, but she also plays to its aspects of black comedy. Its as though she knows that Shakespeare wrote this as dark entertainment and not as something to be taken seriously. She gives it all a surrealistic air, which is appropriate, and is sure to let us know that the dreadful behavior that was going on over two thousand years ago is still going on today.

Rating:
Summary: Violence with a Mind
Review: This movie is a work of art! Critics who pan this movie are the ones who were happy they made a sequel to "Scary Movie" and pray for "Dude, Where's My Car? Part 2". "Titus" brings together such wonderful performers as Jessica Lange, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Alan Cumming, Harry Lennix, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers; furthermore, each one, as well as all other actors, has some torture within the movie that can be identified with today's social strife. Revenge, hatred, and all the evil sins we hate to think exist are laid out before us while the setting uses ancient civilization, fifties era, and present styles to convey that even after years of evolution, humanity still displays the basic barbarity we've always been known for. Even though sin is rampant throughout the movie, the ending gives a glimmer of hope that we may forgive and move on someday. If you like brainless movies with no point except to lower your IQ then move on, but for a ride through all that makes humanity awful and great SEE THIS MOVIE!

Rating:
Summary: IT WAS DISGUSTING
Review: I just wanted to write this review to let people know that if you are easily impressed by blood and gore, DO NOT watch this film!!!
I had to see it for one of my classes and it was a nightmare-- at points it was so gory it was ridiculous... but I guess that was really the point... to make exaggeration funny.
So please be careful because it's very very nasty