Titus Andronicus is my favorite trashy Shakespearean tragedy, and I also think that Anthony Hopkins is the best actor we've had in the last 50 years, so I really wanted this movie to be better than it actually is. The costumes are ghastly (lots of animal print that no one ever looks good in), the scenery is too sparse with some weird transitions more suited to stage than screen, but it's ambitious, and that's something I can respect. Despite its faults, Titus is tries to reach for something higher while still being a campy delight and featuring some beautiful shots and some good acting, spoken of course in Shakespeare's beautiful prose. _ _, the Black Moor, plays a significant part in the story, sometimes breaking the fourth wall, Jonathan Rhys-Davies and Matthew Rhys look deletable, and Jessica Lange is stunningly hammy, as always. Still worth the watch, in my meaningless opinion.
It's worth the watch for Jonathan Rhys-Davies and Matthew Rhys' tight bound asses.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | August 18, 2020 6:02 PM |
Jessica Lange was fantastic in this. I still get chills.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | August 18, 2020 6:28 PM |
Fabulous, trippy art direction from Julie Taymor, one of my favorite directors.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | August 18, 2020 6:34 PM |
Matthew Rhys says that JRM's stunt double was a skinny woman, hilariously.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | November 2, 2020 11:20 PM |
Noticed the relationship between Demetrius & Chiron was played incestuously - is that common in productions of TA?
In Taymor's version, overmuch hair fondling and near-kisses and grinding in bed makes it all seem not quite platonic and brotherly. Suppose it was all in service to make the Goth Princes seem gross and deviant as well as despicable, but it backfired a bit given a) how gorgeously andro and sexy JRM was, b) how cute and twunky Matt was, and c) the fact we'd all have liked to see them fuck.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | November 2, 2020 11:22 PM |
I've been a big Taymor fan since seeing this. Loved it. It was over the top, but gloriously so. Everybody was fantastic in it, but Harry Lennix was amazing. I agree with R5 that Demetrius and Chiron had major incestuous vibes going. The two of them were hot together and JRM at his most twinkiest. The rape of Lavinia with the wild animal motif was kind of cool, though, aesthetically, if a bit on the nose. Laura Fraser played Lavina. I thought the entire film was gorgeous to look at and it had a lot of Peter Greenaway moments in the way it was stylized.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | November 2, 2020 11:39 PM |
The thing I loved most about the film was that the production employed set artists and designers who worked for Fellini. They were true craftsmen and not, in a world of total CGI, a relic of the past.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | November 3, 2020 11:56 AM |
I really enjoyed this movie. I didn't know the play going in but I was a big Taymor fan. I'm surprised that it didn't make more of a splash--it seemed to come and go quietly. How is it considered these days? Is it considered an overlooked classic?
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | November 3, 2020 12:11 PM |