Coriolanus (2011)

A banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.

Director:

Ralph Fiennes

Writers:

John Logan (screenplay), William Shakespeare (play)

Stars:

Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes, Lubna Azabal

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 10 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gerard Butler	...	Tullus Aufidius
Ralph Fiennes	...	Caius Martius Coriolanus
Lubna Azabal	...	First Citizen (Tamora)
Ashraf Barhom	...	Second Citizen (Cassius)
Zoran Cica	...	Citizen
Milos Dabic	...	Citizen
Nicolas Isia	...	Citizen
Zoran Miljkovic	...	Citizen
Marija Mogbolu	...	Citizen
Milan Perovic	...	Citizen
Nenad Ristic	...	Citizen
Lawrence Stevenson	...	Citizen
Marko Stojanovic	...	Citizen
Tamara Krcunovic	...	Citizen
Olivera Viktorovic	...	Citizen

Storyline

The citizens of Rome are hungry. Coriolanus, the hero of Rome, a great soldier and a man of inflexible self-belief despises the people. His extreme views ignite a mass riot. Rome is bloody. Manipulated and out-maneuvered by politicians and even his own mother Volumnia, Coriolanus is banished from Rome. He offers his life or his services to his sworn enemy Tullus Aufidius.

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Plot Keywords:

shakespeare in modern dress | fight | senate | bandage | scar | 

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Taglines:

Nature Teaches Beasts to Know Their Friends

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some bloody violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Official site [uk]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

Koriolan

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$61,136 (USA) (20 January 2012)

Gross:

$756,452 (USA) (25 May 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hermetof Pictures, Magna Films, Icon Entertainment International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fierce fight scene between Gerard Butler and Ralph Fiennes took two days to shoot.

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Goofs

In the Senate, while General Cominius praises Coriolanus, in a close-up of Menenius on his right hand side a coat-of-arms of Republic of Serbia (doubleheaded eagle with crown) can be seen. The Senate scenes were filmed in the Serbian parliament building.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Second Citizen: Before we proceed any further, hear me speak. You are all resolved rather to die than to famish?
Gathered Citizens: [in unison] Resolved.
Second Citizen: First, you know Caius Martius is chief enemy to the people.
Gathered Citizens: We know it.
First Citizen: Let us kill him. And we'll have corn at our own price.
Second Citizen: We are accounted poor citizens, the patricians of good. The leanness that afflicts us, the object of our misery, our suffering, is a gain to them.
Gathered Citizens: Aye.
Second Citizen: Let us revenge this with our sticks, ere we become rakes.
First Citizen: No more talking on it. Come!

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Connections

References Red Dragon (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Cajesukarije"
(Traditional)
Performed by Goran Bregovic for Kamarad Production

User Reviews

The language makes the play.

I couldn't disagree more with the review that slates Shakespeare's text as 'too wordy for modern audiences'. Viewers may find it challenging, but even those who haven't read his work should appreciate his superb capacity for character, metaphor and sheer innovation. To reduce the play to just the plot with some poor, clichéd and genuinely meaningless Hollywood script is to deprive it of its value, and to do a great disservice to its literary status. The responsibility for understanding the language (which I staunchly believe has a timeless relevance), lies with those who struggle to do so, not with the text itself. I cannot disagree strongly enough with the implication that we should dumb-down Shakespeare.