IMDb > Titus (1999)
Titus
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Titus (1999) -- This film is an adaptation of the Shakespeare play "Titus Andronicus." Titus returns victorious from war, only to plant the seeds of future turmoil for himself and his family. Who says revenge is sweet?
Titus (1999) -- Clip: You Can't Fear What You Can't Remember
Titus (1999) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
Titus (1999) -- MyMovies.Net - Trailer (WM9 -
Titus (1999) -- MyMovies.Net - Trailer (WM9 - 128kbps)

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   11,071 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Julie Taymor
Writers:
William Shakespeare (play)
Julie Taymor (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Titus on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 February 2000 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Fantasy | War more
Tagline:
If you think you know Shakespeare....Think again. more
Plot:
This film is an adaptation of the Shakespeare play "Titus Andronicus." Titus returns victorious from war, only to plant the seeds of future turmoil for himself and his family. Who says revenge is sweet? full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 14 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(15 articles)
10 Great Films You Didn’t Know Were Directed By Women
 (From FilmSchoolRejects. 8 October 2009, 3:17 PM, PDT)

'Thor' Cast Gets Two
 (From CinemaSpy. 21 September 2009, 9:26 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Possibly the most faithfully recreated Shakespeare play ever more (275 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for strong violent and sexual images.
Runtime:
162 min
Country:
Italy | USA | UK
Language:
English | Latin
Colour:
Colour
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
After shooting the final scene, Anthony Hopkins unleashed his anger at the close-up camera by giving it a middle-finger salute. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The position of the spoon as Lucius jams it down Saturninus' throat. more
Quotes:
Titus: Rome is filled with tigers. more
Movie Connections:
Features Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991) (VG) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
29 out of 33 people found the following comment useful.
Possibly the most faithfully recreated Shakespeare play ever, 27 November 2004
Author: Ex0dus from Seattle, WA

Taken from the Shakespeare play 'Titus Andronicus', A very dark humored and brutal work originally, Julie Taymor isolates and drives upon the very force that brought William Shakespeare to his immortal success: Shock your audience.

A Roman General(Titus) after loosing many of his sons as soldiers in battle returns to a war-hungry Rome days after the death of Julius Ceasar. You're introduced to the story as the two sons of the Emperor petition to succeed their Father. Superficially this story is an all-out-tragedy. Underneath, however, it's a causticly ironic tale to see a man forge the tools of his own suffering through his own arrogant and selfish misdoings, then to eventually find shame and humility.

This movie is so packed with metaphor most viewers find it intimidating. It's an amazingly seamless telling of a story using time-specific visual references to outline the characters and events. i.e. the nazi-esque motorcade, biker costumes appear similar to the Italian fascist movement, evident paranoia. While the rival motorcade appears symbolic of John Kennedy and symbiotic trust.

The costume design is fabulous, obvious 1960's Glam/GlamRock design influences carefully illustrate the vanity and narcissism of Roman culture at the time using flashy wool-lined synthetics. I openly covet the cape Titus wears. Shakespeare took particular pleasure mocking a society with conveniently and easily deniable Gods, such that the Gods themselves treat their fates as tragic playthings.

And I digress... my main point is Shakespeare built his fame on being what has always been considered taboo and edgy: sex, violence, death and profanity. Julie Taymor having not missed a beat with the visuals, which are terrible and powerful at times, only seek to punctuate tragedy, much unlike its 1999 counterpart 'Titus Andronicus' which focused more on hate and revenge making for very unreasonable 1 dimensional characters.

My advice: Watch this movie more than once. Every time I do I glean more from it. Tony Hopkins and Alan Cumming both give some of the best performances of their careers, Moreover one of the best directed films ever IMHO.

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