SHAKSPER 2000: Taymor's TITUS

From: Hardy M. Cook (editor@ws.bowiestate.edu)
Date: 02/16/00 

The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 11.0338  Wednesday, 16 February 2000.

From:           Hardy M. Cook <hcook@bowiestate.edu>
Date:           Wednesday, February 16, 2000
Subject:        Taymor's TITUS

Last night, I saw the Taymor TITUS.

All I can say right now is "PLEASE, PLEASE, SEE IT!" Travel any
reasonable distance and pay any ridiculous price, but see it.

The production is brilliantly conceived, directed, costumed, acted,
photographed, edited, and so on and so on. In fact, at this moment, I
feel that this was the finest Shakespeare film I have ever seen (I am,
of course, slightly sleep deprived, not usually staying up as late as I
did last night.).

The production choices were so right that I knew within about thirty
seconds into the film that I was going to thoroughly enjoy the next two
and a half plus hours.

I am planning to see it again weekend after this one and may change my
mind, but, in any case, this is the sort of film that deserves all of
the support it can get. I would even have supported a "Come see the
slasher Shakespeare" campaign if it would have broaden the theatergoing
base for this film.

I realize that the release of TITUS is limited - it only opened a few
days ago in Washington, D.C. - but this is a MUST see, an intelligent
and challenging production and not at all the Hollywood pap of such
releases as the recent Michael Hoffman MND.

You owe it to yourself and to the film industry to make every effort to
see the Taymor TITUS. If this film tanks in the box offices, not only
will we get fewer productions of this quality but Anthony Hopkins will
not get the Academy Award he deserves for his final performance.

Glowingly,
Hardy


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