The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 11.0295  Saturday, 12 February 2000.

[1]     From:   Matt Kozusko <
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        Date:   Thursday, 10 Feb 2000 09:54:27 -0600
        Subj:   Re: SHK 11.0281 Re: Taymor on Titus

[2]     From:   Andrea Vandeyck <
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        Date:   Thursday, 10 Feb 2000 10:35:30 -0800
        Subj:   Re: Taymor on Titus

[3]     From:   Hardy M. Cook <
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        Date:   Saturday, February 12, 2000
        Subj:   Titus Opens in DC


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Matt Kozusko <
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Date:           Thursday, 10 Feb 2000 09:54:27 -0600
Subject: 11.0281 Re: Taymor on Titus
Comment:        Re: SHK 11.0281 Re: Taymor on Titus

Certainly worth seeing at any reasonable cost, even for the casual fan.
Some of the cast preferred to act right over their lines, as if the
words were stage business intended to occupy performers as they snarled
and swooned, rather than the stuff of the drama itself.  But much of it
came off nicely.  No dramatic departures, no intolerable diversions.
Only a tactful handful of 20th-century updatings that, for instance,
brought Chiron and Demetrius burstingly to life in the ADHD era.

[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Andrea Vandeyck <
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Date:           Thursday, 10 Feb 2000 10:35:30 -0800
Subject:        Re: Taymor on Titus

In response to Nicole Imbracsio's comments on Titus, I agree there were
problems with the film, but I think the declaration that the movie is
"horrible" is harsh.  My problem with the film mainly lie with the
inconsistencies and superfluous moments.  Using Lucius as a frame into
and out of the film is a very good idea; the problem is Taymor drops him
and then suddenly brings him back close to the end, jarring the
audience.  She does the same with the images of hewn limbs; they appear
throughout the early scenes, cluttering Rome, and then the imagery
stops, leaving the audience abandoned.

While the scene where Lavinia is discovered worked for my in its
understatement, moments such as moving Tamora and Titus to opposite
sides of the screen with images of fire spouting between them is
superfluous and unnecessary, as Nicole Imbracsio indicated.  Taymor does
get caught up with cinematography at odd moments and these disorient the
audience.

Overall, I thought Titus was a good though inconsistent film.  To
Taymor's credit, she did not indulge in moments of gore; Titus can
easily be reduced to a horror movie of violence and death.  The film is
visually stunning and, I believe, worthwhile to see.

This film will, undoubtedly, produce controversy.  I look forward to
hearing what others think.

Andrea Vandeyck

[3]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Hardy M. Cook <
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Date:           Saturday, February 12, 2000
Subject:        Titus Opens in DC

Taymor's Titus just opened in Washington, D.C. The Washington Post
reviews can be found at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-02/11/013l-021100-idx.html
and
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-02/11/075l-021100-idx.html