TITUS

Movie of the week:
TITUS

Shakespeare wrote "Titus Andronicus" very early in his career. It may have been his first tragedy. He had heavy competition and a reputation to make, so with Titus A. , he went for the throat. Audiences loved it when somebody gets killed in very nasty ways - so there's plenty of that here. But, at the same time, it's so completely over the top that it's absurd. He knew that you couldn't have constant mayhem without a little comedy relief, a little wink to the audience. You might say Titus was the Freddy Krueger of the day.

Titus A. was never considered one of Shakespeare's best works. BUT - This movie, TITUS, elevates the prose to exceptional level. The real star of the movie is the art direction. Now, if you don't think art direction is important, you'll be surprised how beautiful this film really is. I'm not generally a big fan of movie adaptations of Shakespeare, but this is a big exception!.

Here's a few reasons why I think you'll like this movie:

• It's filmed in Rome, Italy - (realize that Rome is made up of both ancient and modern parts)
  
• It's so slick that you forget you're watching Shakespeare.
  
• Jessica Lange is really good at playing evil.
• You expect, at any moment, that Anthony Hopkins will break out into his Hannibal Lecter, and realize that he would not be out of character
  
• The ending is great!

Warning: It's extremely violent and graphic - even for Shakespeare.

It's long - so start early and make lots of popcorn.

Enjoy.