Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- operatic
- grotesque
- darkly comic
- arthouse film night
- Shakespeare adaptation marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the adaptation's audacious visual imagination, theatrical energy, and performances while recognizing its extreme camp and violence as deliberately polarizing.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Julie Taymor uses monumental sets, extravagant costumes, stylized blocking, and operatic compositions to turn Shakespeare's revenge plot into visual spectacle.
Titus's sacrifice of Tamora's son initiates an escalating chain of retaliation involving Titus, Tamora, Saturninus, and their families.
The film pairs flamboyant performances and grotesque set pieces with serious treatment of grief, corruption, rape, and political violence.
The Roman world is rendered through modern machinery, uniforms, architecture, and weapons while retaining Shakespeare's ancient setting.
Films like Titus, and why
Macbeth
stylized Shakespeare adaptation, operatic revenge, and heightened theatrical violence
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
baroque visual design, tragic power struggles, and mythic historical drama
The Devils
surreal period setting, sexual violence, and darkly comic theatrical excess
Richard III
Shakespearean tragedy rendered through audacious production design and stylized performance
Movie Details
- Director
- Julie Taymor
- Release Date
- 1999-12-25
- Runtime
- 162 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (296)
Cast
- Anthony Hopkins
- Jessica Lange
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers
- Matthew Rhys
- Harry Lennix
- Angus Macfadyen
- Colm Feore
- Alan Cumming
- Laura Fraser
- Raz Degan
Common questions
- What is Titus about?
- Julie Taymor transforms Shakespeare’s bloodiest revenge tragedy into a flamboyant, grotesque, and visually baroque descent through familial and imperial violence.
- What is Titus like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Titus as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Titus violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Titus as graphic.
- What did critics think of Titus?
- Critics broadly praised the adaptation's audacious visual imagination, theatrical energy, and performances while recognizing its extreme camp and violence as deliberately polarizing.
- Which films are like Titus?
- Films with a similar feel include Macbeth, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The Devils, and Richard III.
- How long is Titus?
- Titus runs 162 minutes.
