Julie Taymor Movies
Set against the anti-war protests, rock & roll revolution, and mind-expanding psychedelia of the 1960s, Julie Taymor's hallucinogenic musical follows the arduous journey of star-crossed lovers Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) as they and a small group of musicians are swept up in the raging waters of the volatile counterculture movement. Guided through their journey by a pair known only as Dr. Robert (Bono) and Mr. Kite (Eddie Izzard), Jude and Lucy are eventually forced to find their way back to one another after being split apart by powerful forces beyond their control. The music in the film consists exclusively of songs made popular by the Beatles during the time period depicted in the movie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, (more)
- 1999
This film is part of an award-winning series that introduces children to the creative process. The filmmakers visit with musicians, painters, photographers, sculptors, actors, and dancers to get inside their creative minds. The featured artist is New Orleans music giant Allen Toussaint. Composer, producer, singer, and piano player in the Professor Longhair tradition, Toussaint is a musical force with 40 years of experience behind him. Honored with a Louisiana Lifetime Achievement Award and as New Orleans Entertainer of the Year, he is a regular performer at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and venues throughout the world. He brings his unique talent to this program in which he and several children work together to compose a tune at the piano. Then, with the help of fellow musicians Bobby McFerrin and Jane Ira Bloom, he leads a swinging improvisation. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This episode of PBS's Behind the Scenes series exposes children to the crafts of live theater through the work of director Julie Taymor. Taymor describes the importance of the theater tradition, and expresses the energy she finds there. The video shows how stage sets are built, how actors learn their lines, and how costumes are prepared. Taymor also explains how the stage lighting and sound are handled by the crew. The important role of director is also discussed. This video is recommended for children age seven and older, as well as their parents. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- 1999
This award-winning PBS series examines the creative process of artists in different mediums. Here, the late sculptor Nancy Graves reveals how she creates a sense of "anti-gravity" in her colorful sculpture collages, which look as if they are about to tip over. Hosts Penn and Teller offer a series of visual illusions to help explain balance, employing both tightrope walker Brian Dewhurst and a teeter-totter. They throw in some sight gags to keep the video moving. Graves' finished sculpture, a sort-of-clock, is a textbook example of the laws of physics at work, even though it looks like a prop out of Alice in Wonderland. ~ All Movie Guide
- 2001
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In the wake of the devastating national tragedy of September 11, 2001, a stunned America was forever changed. Realizing the importance of a national dialogue in understanding the cause for the terrorist attacks and planting the seeds that would begin the long and painful healing process, award-winning journalist Bill Moyers sat down with a diverse group of key experts to discuss the sensitive issue a mere 36 hours after the fall of the World Trade Center. Through conversation with such guests as authors Robert Jay Lifton and Tamim Ansary, Moyers captures a nations grief and hope while simultaneously creating an unforgettable snapshot of a key moment in world history. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
After being attached to a number of actors, directors, and producers, this long-gestating biography of one of Mexico's most prominent, iconoclastic painters reaches the screen under the guiding hand of producer/star Salma Hayek. Hayek ages some 30 years onscreen as she charts Frida Kahlo's life from feisty schoolgirl to Diego Rivera protégée to world-renowned artist in her own right. Frida details Kahlo's affluent upbringing in Mexico City, and her nurturing relationship with her traditional mother (Patricia Reyes Spindola) and philosophical father (Roger Rees). Having already suffered the crippling effects of polio, Kahlo sustains further injuries when a city bus accident nearly ends her life. But in her bed-ridden state, the young artist produces dozens upon dozens of pieces; when she recovers, she presents them to the legendary -- and legendarily temperamental -- Rivera (Alfred Molina), who takes her under his wing as an artist, a political revolutionary, and, inevitably, a lover. But their relationship is fraught with trouble, as the philandering Rivera traverses the globe painting murals, and Kahlo languishes in obscurity, longing to make her mark on her own. Frida was directed by Julie Taymor, whose Broadway production of The Lion King won her international acclaim. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, (more)
The documentary Lights! Action! Music! consists primarily of interviews with composers, directors, and actors who explain the many challenges involved in writing original music for motion pictures. Among the many famous names who appear on camera or whose work is used during the film are Francis Ford Coppola, Carter Burwell, Rachel Portman, and Spike Lee. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1993
This performance of Igor Stravinsky's opera, Oedipus Rex features the Tokyo Opera Singers and the Shinyu-Kai Chorus. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Across the Universe's Julie Taymor shakes up Shakespeare with her adaptation of The Tempest, retrofitting the fantastical tale with a female lead, casting Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren in what is usually the male role of Prospero. The storyline follows the newly coined Prospera (Mirren), an exiled magician who uses her powers to call upon a tempest to bring her enemies to the island she's been forced to call home, not knowing that it will bring a suitor to her daughter, Miranda (Felicity Jones). The Miramax production also stars Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Ben Wishaw, and Felicity Jones. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, (more)
One of William Shakespeare's lesser-known plays, Titus Andronicus was staged in New York by award-winning theatrical director Julie Taymor in an acclaimed 1995 production, before her widely praised Broadway version of The Lion King. Taymor revisits that production for her first motion picture, with the addition of a star-studded cast. Roman General Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins) has returned from defeating the Goths in a bloody battle, but the victory has left him with mixed feelings, as the war took the lives of several of his sons. Titus is reminded by his first-born son Lucius (Angus Macfadyen) that their faith demands the sacrifice of an enemy prisoner as a gift to the gods for their victory. Titus chooses the eldest son of Tamora (Jessica Lange), the Queen of the Goths, who has since been taken hostage by Titus's troops. Tamora pleads for her son's life, but Titus goes ahead with the sacrifice. She then becomes the lover of the new emperor of Rome, Saturninus (Alan Cumming), a weak-willed and corrupt man. Tamora uses her connection to the throne for her own ends: in retaliation for the death of her son, Tamora and her surviving sons, Chiron (Jonathan Rhys Myers) and Demetrius (Matthew Rhys), brutally rape Titus's beloved daughter, Lavinia (Laura Fraser). This act sets in motion an ever-tightening spiral of revenge and retaliation that leaves few of the participants unscathed. The supporting cast includes Colm Feore as Marcus, Harry Lennix as Aaron, and James Frain as Bassianus. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, (more)
