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Customer Reviews of Titus

Titus (2000) d: Taymor, Julie
Titus Andronicus is arguably the most complicated play ever penned by the great William Shakespeare. It is also one of the darkest and most violent plays, filled with shocking scenes, and obscene human behavior. Using the original old English, this movie mixes things up a little using outrageous situations, and brilliant visual touches of ancient Rome, fascist Italy, and a coke-a-cola post everything media assault. The new emperor played by Alan Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Cumming marries a vengeful queen (played by a sometimes topless Jessica Lange) who has two vicious punk rock sons who torment Roman warrior Titus (played by Anthony Hopkins). In scenes comparable to Silence of the Lambs (1991), Titus seems to lose his mind after his two sons are decapitated and his daughter is raped, she has her tongue cut out and her hands chopped off. Revenge soon follows in a cannibalistic dinner served to the guilty, 'a la Theatre of Blood (1973) with Vincent Price. The DVD contains many extras. A excellent film with something to offer both young and old alike. Not only is it hard to believe the depths the movie delves into, but even more incredible is that this epic picture by Julie (Lion King) Taymor is a directorial debut. Impressive first try..., we can't wait to see another.

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My new appreciation for Shakespeare
Blood, sex, gore, rape, mutilation, wild orgies. Shakespeare? You realize this isn't going to be a standard Shakespeare adaptation when only 15 minutes into the film, you see a modern boy messing up his whole dinner table and action figures with ketchup, male full frontal nuditity, and someone's guts sizzling in a sacrificial flame. Surprisingly, Julie Taymore's adaptation doesn't stray too far from the original Shakespeare tragedy, 'Titus Andronicus' although it may seem like that because it's so damn entertaining. What brings Titus truly alive and makes it comprehendable from a modern standpoint is that each scene contains elements from separate time periods- architecture, cars, and guns from Fascist Europe; pool tables, arcade games, and heavy metal from the MTV age, swing music and Chaplin-ey dark makeup from the roaring 20's, and old, clanky military costumes from ancient Rome, the time period in which the original play was set. Titus follows an ensemble cast, Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Laura Fraser, Angus McFayden, Colm Feore, Alan Cumming, Jonathon Rhys-Meyers, and the standout Harry Lennix through a cold and bloody revenge spree started when Roman general, Titus (Hopkins) returns from war and sacrifices Gothic Queen Tamora's (Lange) eldest son for religious purposes. Soon after, Tamora vows revenge and marries the bufoonish emperor Saturnius (Cumming), sends her two obnoxious sons off to brutally rape and mutilate Titus's virginal daughter Lavinia (Fraser- in what's sure to be one of the most harrowing scenes in film history) and has Titus cut off his own right hand in vain. Everything about this is horrible. But it's directed with such a furious zeal for the material that each scene plays like Scream- in poetry. Indeed Titus is much closer to a modern horror movie than any Shakespeare adaptation in sight. And believe it or not there is a message behind Titus. A message that speaks volumes about violence, and directly reflects back on our culture. The way violence can either be passed on generation through generation. The way cruelty backfires. And the constant reprucussions because of one violent, maybe even righteous act. If Taymore supplies the entertainment, Shakespeare supplies the meaning.

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I Gave it 4 Viewings
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