Titus

Released 1999
Stars Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming, Colm Feore, James Frain, Laura Fraser, Harry J. Lennix, Angus MacFadyen, Matthew Rhys, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Directed by Julie Taymor

What a bold directorial debut from Julie Taymor, as she reinterprets her stage version of Shakespeare's play to the screen. It's hard to believe this is her feature-film debut. I would think you'd want to start with a small movie to get your feet wet. Instead, she started with the most reviled play from the greatest writer ever and was able to cast one of the best actors of all time, Anthony Hopkins. She didn't even stop there. She adapted the screenplay from Shakespeare's text and chose to not confine the story to ancient rome. In a precursor to Moulin Rouge, she mixed ancient Rome with the modern world, where anything could be used and incorporated into the story. We see chariots with shotguns in the same scene. She imposed no limits on herself, and it's very successful. I'm sure it helped that she had previously directed the stage production of the play, but she took tremendous risks.

Summary by Bill Alward, May 30, 2002

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