Titus: The Illustrated Screenplay [Hardcover]

Julie Taymor (Author)

Book Description

Series: Newmarket Pictorial Moviebooks | Publication Date: April 18, 2000

Featuring more than 80 photos (most in full color), the director's own production notes, and the complete shooting script-here is the stunning pictorial record of the extraordinary movie written, directed, and coproduced by Julie Taymor, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. This mesmerizing retelling of Shakespeare's comic tragedy Titus Andronicus is as visually stunning as it is theatrically charged. Filmed in Italy, with elaborate sets and the grand scale of real historical monuments from the Roman Empire and the Mussolini era, Julie Taymor's Titus is a work already being hailed as a cinematic masterpiece. The movie stars Academy Award(r)-winning actors Anthony Hopkins as the honorable but flawed Titus and Jessica Lange as Goth queen Tamora, as well as Alan Cumming, Colm Feore, James Frain, Laura Fraser, Harry Lennix, Angus Macfadyen, Matthew Rhys and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The creative production team includes five-time Academy Award(r)-nominated production designer Dante Ferretti (Kundun); two-time Oscar(r)-winning costume designer Milena Canonero (A Clockwork Orange); two-time Academy Award(r)-nominated composer Elliot Goldenthal (Interview with the Vampire); director of photography Luciano Tovoli (Reversal of Fortune); and Oscar(r)-winning editor Francoise Bonnot (Missing).

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Julie Taymor] takes Shakespeare's goriest play and makes it vivid, relevant, and of elevating scariness. . . . [It is] a complex weave of word and image, and an early clue to where film might go in its second century. -- Richard Corliss, Time

About the Author

Julie Taymor, the director, screenwriter, and co-producer of Titus, is the two-time Tony Award winner for The Lion King (for directing and costume design), establishing her as the first woman to receive a Tony for directing a Broadway musical. One of the most imaginative, prolific, and respected directors and designers working in the performing arts today, she is also the recipient of an Emmy Award, two OBIE Awards, a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, the first annual Dorothy B. Chandler award in theater, and numerous other accolades. A book of her work, Playing with Fire, was published by Abrams; Hyperion recently published her book The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway. A major retrospective of 25 years of her work will be touring nationally in 2000.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Newmarket Press; 1 edition (April 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557044368
• ISBN-13: 978-1557044365
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,456,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Companion to the Movie, May 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Titus: The Illustrated Screenplay (Hardcover)

"If William Shakespeare were alive today, he would be writing and directing movies..." is the statement made boldly on the back of this book. Taymor delivered her vision of what might of been in the (highly underrated) bigscreen version of Titus, of which Titus: The Illustrated Screenplay, is based. This screenplay provides glorious color photos of key elements in the film, a complete word-for-word script, and tells just how Taymor brought the story from the stage to the screen. Fans of the cast may find some information lacking, and the book could have spent time detailing the costumes, but overall the book was hardly disappointing. The photographs are one of the best features of the book, most in full color and some spanning over two pages. These pictures show a great amount of the setting and costumes, as well as the emotions expressed in important parts of the movie, alongside bold print quotations that apply to the moment. What makes this a good companion to the movie though, is that it gives the full script of what is said in the film, often valuable to those that can't decipher the words directly from the actors' mouths. Shakespeare's writing can often be confusing to those not familiar with reading his stories. While there is some parts hard to understand, the book describes some of the meanings behind the characters' actions, helping to show what occurs. Some of Taymor's liberties are also pointed out, particularly the uses of anachronism throughout the storyline (to show how this story applies to modern times). Taymor takes some time to describe the process of making the movie. She goes into who is involved in the costumes, setting, score, etc. and also how the story became so important to her to make into a movie. However, there isn't a large amount of detail that could have been discussed in this part of the book. There is an illustration of a setting, but no drawings of the costumes, and little brought up about the cast behind each of the characters involved, which might have been of interest to fans. Despite the things that are missing though, the book is worth getting for what it does have. Those that enjoyed the movie will find this book equally enjoyable.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb tie-in with the film, April 17, 2001

By 

Chiron (....) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Titus: The Illustrated Screenplay (Hardcover)

If you're a lover of Taymor's unconventional movie, you will find equal delight in the book that accompanies it. Things like this are really quite rare. In my personal opinion, this is a bit of a treasure of a find.

The pictures alone are grand. And the word-for-word transcript of the text makes it perfect to read while simutaneously viewing the film. It really lets the impact of the weighty dialogue come out.

The introduction is of special interest to me- informative and insightful, it put the subject matter in context.

While I might have wanted more information concerning the behind-the-scenes goings on in the film, I find this a small quibble at best. Things this *unique* don't come around very often. Therefore, when they do, sieze them with joy.

Not only is Titus a powerful story, it is a beautiful film that speaks to our time. This book I found nearly as enjoyable as the movie. Like the other reviewer stated- if you liked the film, you will like this too.

I really am pleased in my decision to purchase this; I think you would be too.