Other than the noteworthy over-the-top Grand Guignol violence that made this a minor cult hit, this film has one thing worthy of note -- it comes across as a badly done high-school production of Shakespeare. It has everything. There are nervous actors not quite hitting their spots and shuffling their feet quickly to get them where they need to be, furtively glancing at the floor and out at the crew, and the other cast members. Performers haltingly intone their lines with little understanding of what they are saying, rather than actually speaking. Motions and gestures are either overdone, or underplayed.
The main roles, Titus and Tamora, are particularly atrocious. The actors do not do their lines justice. Anyone who wants to be a Shakespearean actor would be advised to see a speech therapist to do away with an unfortunate lisp (it is so distracting that I thought this should be called SYLVESTER Andronicus) and the actress has an unfortunate habit of SHOUTING ALL HER LINES ALL THE TIME. That's okay, though. So does Titus' son, Lucius. Horrid.
Seriously. Horrid acting. Absolutely horrid.
It looks like a filming of a bad local community staging Titus Andronicus. (And what local community theater would do that?)
The pity is that TA is actually one of my favorite Shakespeare plays (yeah, I know) but this version of it is absolute... well, insert your preferred scatological term. It's a total waste of time.
The main roles, Titus and Tamora, are particularly atrocious. The actors do not do their lines justice. Anyone who wants to be a Shakespearean actor would be advised to see a speech therapist to do away with an unfortunate lisp (it is so distracting that I thought this should be called SYLVESTER Andronicus) and the actress has an unfortunate habit of SHOUTING ALL HER LINES ALL THE TIME. That's okay, though. So does Titus' son, Lucius. Horrid.
Seriously. Horrid acting. Absolutely horrid.
It looks like a filming of a bad local community staging Titus Andronicus. (And what local community theater would do that?)
The pity is that TA is actually one of my favorite Shakespeare plays (yeah, I know) but this version of it is absolute... well, insert your preferred scatological term. It's a total waste of time.