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"The opening scene
seems to depict the theory that "our violent society is teaching our
children to be violent. All this play of violence our children display is
effecting their psyche, in effect making them crazy." Thus, this is how the
child in the movie reacted. Then, we are delivered into the Roman Coliseum where
we are inundated with scene after scene of man's inhumanity to man. This was
really from the imagination of the boy, as was evidenced in the "toy
soldier-like" way the Roman soldiers marched into the coliseum. Not to
mention the introduction of motorcycles, video games, and finally a "my
father is better than your father,... yea, that's it, he became the Roman
Emperor." In real Rome, and in the true spirit of the play itself, they
would have killed that baby. The boy's final actions are the "politically
correct" proof that our violent society is not so bad after all."
KEENA B. CATANZARO
"I wish I had read
your review prior to viewing Titus. Instead, I relied on a local paper. I agree
with your review, however, my disappointment in this film is greater. Had I read
the play prior to my viewing, perhaps I could have examined the movie for its
interpretive vision. Instead, I suffered the entire film debating at each new
scene whether I should get up and leave. I found the absurd violence and pallid
attempt to modernize the story disconcerting and irritating. Although there were
positive aspects to this film such as the acting, it could not redeem it for me
I am thankful that Titus was not the first Shakespearean work I experienced, for
it would have been the last."
GENE GOODWIN, San Francisco, California
"I had heard nothing
about Titus when I went to see it in London. I paid the senior concession of 6
pounds (around $9) and about 5 minutes into the movie I tho't "I paid how
much for THIS?" Then I decided to stay for at least 15 minutes and by then
I was hooked to see the whole thing. The acting was superb, one might even
say brilliant. But then, Hopkins & Lange rarely disappoint.
Although it has been a while since I read Shakespeare, the language was not too
difficult as it was hard to be distracted by anything else. I had never
read the original play but have much of Shakespeare.
The movie is TERRIBLY
violent and sometimes, I think, gratuitously so. Why mess with the words
of the Bard??? However, it certainly makes its case for government
corruption, greed, vengeance and all that flying in the face of the values we
say we esteem. The modern overlay was to impress the audience that the
same evils of that day are still very much with us.
I must admit to gasping a
few times, especially after the meal when Titus broke the neck of you know who."
DONA GALLAGHER, London, UK
"The film was
visually impressive, but the story does not offer any redeeming
qualities to justify the violence. The
lovely work by Julie Taymor, the powerful acting by the cast, not even
the Shakespeare name, can disguise the fact that TITUS is no more
than a high quality horror flick. I regret
that Julie Taymor thought this particular Shakespeare story merited
her talents. I also regret that I didn't know
my Shakespeare Literature enough to know
before hand to skip this movie. No matter how
well this story is told, it is not worth reading or hearing,
let alone seeing. I further regret that,
although I ended up turning it off, I did not turn
it off soon enough. The images I am left with
do not educate, enlighten, or improve my life. They
only disturb. Even days later, the first
thing I see when I wake up are the images from the movie. It
is further disturbing that the people; the writers, the artists, and
actors and actresses who made this movie thought they were
contributing something to the world. Disturbing."
MARY VOLLERO, USA
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