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:

Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 10 wins & 16 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
Zu Yu Hua	...	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:

battle scar | crashing through a window | bloody face | knife fight | urban combat | 

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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 [Japan] Official site [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

Koriolan

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$61,136, 22 January 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$756,452, 27 May 2012

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,072,602, 12 August 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hermetof Pictures, Piccadilly Pictures, Icon Entertainment International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the characters wear present-day clothes, the film is set in ancient Rome. In the scene where Caius Martius tells his troops, "Make you a sword of me", you can see graffiti reading "Non illegitimi carborundum." This is mock-Latin and supposedly means, "Don't let the bastards grind you down."

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Goofs

When Aufidius and his soldiers enter their base, all of the previously right-handed soldiers, including Aufidius, wear their thigh-mounted holsters on their left legs, indicating the shot has been flipped.

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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

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 21 September 2011 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Cajesukarije
(Traditional)
Performed by Goran Bregovic for Kamarad Production

User Reviews

Shakespeare's Ancient Tragedy Brilliantly Told

Shakespeare's most complicated tragedy set in the early days of the Rome Republic gets an updated setting in Fiennes' movie. Using story-telling techniques combining CNN, CSI, and YouTube along with images of street demonstrations, riots, and urban warfare, Fiennes gives us a Coriolanus befitting our times, clarifying how the titular hero can fall from national hero to banishment in a matter of minutes on the whims of a fickle populous easily swayed by political spin-masters. Still, the mamma's boy element of Coriolanus' tragedy remains intact.

Though significantly cut, the text is pure Shakespeare, even in the mouths of TV talking-head pundits. Spoken by the likes of Fiennes and Brian Cox, the verse lifts what could have been a gimmickry telling of Coriolanus into a five-star Shakespearean movie.