Titus (1999)

A lot of scholars claim that Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare’s worst play, but it’s sure crammed full of violence. The bizarre retelling Titus (1999) even adds lots of cool modern trappings. Anthony Hopkins stars as a favored soldier who turns down the opportunity to take over the Roman Empire. Instead, Alan Cumming takes over, and he’s a real troublemaker. First, he wants Titus’s daughter as his bride, even though she loves another. Titus ends up having to kill his own sons just to try to get his daughter to the altar. By then, though, the emperor’s fallen for foxy older woman Jessica Lange--who just happens to hold a real grudge against Titus. This leads to some crazy violence worthy of a drive-in epic. Don’t forget the sex, either. Lange shows off her classical bod, while Laura Fraser demonstrates that young girls can be sexy, too.