Movie · 1999 · Drama, History · 2h 42m · R · English
Curator score: 4.9/10 (37K ratings)
The fate of an empire. The descent of man.
Overview
Titus Andronicus returns from the wars and sees his sons and daughters taken from him, one by one. Shakespeare's goriest and earliest tragedy.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.9/10
IMDb: 7.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.64/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 69%
Metacritic: 57
TMDB: 6.4/10
Director
Julie Taymor
Production
Clear Blue Sky Productions, Overseas FilmGroup, Urania Pictures, NDF International, Titus Productions, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Cast
Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Matthew Rhys, Harry Lennix, Angus Macfadyen, Colm Feore, Alan Cumming, Laura Fraser, Raz Degan, Kenny Doughty, James Frain, Blake Ritson, Colin Wells, Osheen Jones, Dario D'Ambrosi, Ettore Geri, Constantine Gregory, Geraldine McEwan, Tresy Taddei
Curator Review
Verdict
A wildly stylized, blood-soaked Shakespeare adaptation that swings for the fences and mostly lands through sheer audacity. It’s not subtle or easy, but its visual invention, ferocious performances, and operatic excess make it a memorable watch for viewers who like their classics remixed into something feverish and modern.
Best for
Shakespeare fans open to radical reinterpretation
Viewers who enjoy baroque, theatrical filmmaking
Fans of heightened violence, revenge stories, and operatic tone
People curious about late-90s art-house experimentation
Skip if
You want a straightforward period drama
Extreme violence and grotesque imagery put you off
You prefer restrained, naturalistic performances
You need a clean, easy-to-follow adaptation
Overview
Julie Taymor’s Titus is less a museum-piece Shakespeare adaptation than a full-body assault of image, sound, and performance. It takes one of the playwright’s most savage tragedies and turns it into a delirious collision of ancient Rome, fascist pageantry, and late-20th-century pop-art excess. The result is unruly, but that unruliness is the point: this is a film that wants to overwhelm you.
Worth noting
Anthony Hopkins anchors the chaos with a Titus that is both imperious and broken, while the production design and costumes keep shifting the film between historical spectacle and surreal nightmare. The violence is notorious, but the movie’s real shock is its confidence in going bigger, stranger, and more theatrical than almost any mainstream Shakespeare film of its era.
Bottom line
It won’t be for everyone, especially viewers who want tonal consistency or classical restraint. But for those who respond to bold formalism, camp grandeur, and adaptations that treat Shakespeare as living, dangerous material, Titus is a singular experience and one of the most distinctive literary films of the 1990s.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Silent J (5★) · 873 likes
I'll be damned if "Villain, I have done thy mother." is not the greatest line that Shakespeare ever wrote.
Who knew Shakespeare cracked Yo Momma jokes back in the day?
Ben Peterson (4.5★) · 248 likes
Me: I know this Shakes adaptation came out in ’99, but it’s a period piece. It couldn’t POSSIBLY be indicative of the year 1999.
The Movie: cut to a bleached blonde, rave-leather overalls wearing Matthew Rhys listening to industrial techno while playing Road Rash in his man-dungeon.
Me: ok you win.
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (4★) · 218 likes
This film can be accused of many things, but lacking ambition it will never be one of them. As a result of her Spiderman play disaster, Julie Taymor has become synonymous with creative genius, yet a lack of control, which, when well executed, can result in an opulent and wonderfully epic version of one of Shakespeare's least discussed plays. In contrast, when the director overdoes it, the result is a catastrophe that borders on incomprehensible. In this case, both sides… more This film can be accused of many things, but lacking ambition it will never be one of them. As a result of her Spiderman play disaster, Julie Taymor has become synonymous with creative genius, yet a lack of control, which, when well executed, can result in an opulent and wonderfully epic version of one of Shakespeare's least discussed plays. In contrast, when the director overdoes it, the result is a catastrophe that borders on incomprehensible. In this case, both sides… more
Wood (4★) · 113 likes
I love that Shakespeare shit, but I really love that wacky Shakespeare shit.
1995 · Drama, War · 1h 44m · R · Curator 7.1/10 (28.6K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A bold, modernized Shakespeare adaptation with fascist imagery, political menace, and theatrical swagger.