Coriolanus

"Nature teaches beasts to know their friends."

2011 2h 3m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 516

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Caius Martius, aka Coriolanus, is an arrogant and fearsome general who has built a career on protecting Rome from its enemies. Pushed by his ambitious mother to seek the position of consul, Coriolanus is at odds with the masses and unpopular with certain colleagues. When a riot results in his expulsion from Rome, Coriolanus seeks out his sworn enemy, Tullus Aufidius. Together, the pair vow to destroy the great city.

“Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

DarkroomSubscription

Lionsgate+ Amazon ChannelSubscription

Starz Apple TV channelSubscription

Howdy Amazon ChannelSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Cast

Ralph Fiennes
Caius Martius Coriolanus
Gerard Butler
Tullus Aufidius
Lubna Azabal
First Citizen (Tamora)
Ashraf Barhom
Second Citizen (Cassius)
Jessica Chastain
Virgilia
Vanessa Redgrave
Volumnia
James Nesbitt
Tribune Sicinius
Brian Cox
Menenius

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ralph Fiennes
Writers: John Logan, Temple Clark
Languages: English
Countries: Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 14% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ralph Fiennes, shot by Barry Ackroyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ilan Eshkeri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nicolas Gaster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler and Lubna Azabal carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ralph Fiennes directs. Barry Ackroyd behind the camera. Ilan Eshkeri scores. Nicolas Gaster cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 14% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 15 years ago.
3International production across 4 countries: Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Ralph Fiennes, shot by Barry Ackroyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ilan Eshkeri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nicolas Gaster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler and Lubna Azabal carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.".
9IMDB entry: tt1372686 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 21 themes, including "rebellion", "senate", "general", "politics".

The technical file

Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd
Original score: Ilan Eshkeri
Editing: Nicolas Gaster
Production design: Ricky Eyres
Costume design: Bojana Nikitović
Makeup / hair: Jo Drake
VFX supervisor: Angela Stanley
Sound: Rob Hughes
Stunt coordinator: Rowley Irlam
Runtime: 123 min · 2h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,700,000
Box office: $1,072,602
Return: 14% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Coriolanus (2011)

Awards

British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Ralph Fiennes

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-07-17
★ 6/10
This reminded me a little of Sir Ian McKellen’s 1995 reimagining of “Richard III” as Ralph Fiennes turns his hand to directing this Shakespeare story of power-lust and betrayal. It’s maybe not the most famous of the bard’s works, nor for my money is it one of his most original. The story itself has shades of “Julius Caesar” too it as it depicts the rise and fall of the eponymous dictator (Fiennes). It all starts when the grain-deprived masses of the city take to the streets and their leader, who holds most of these plebs in utter contempt, finds himself unexpectedly deposed by the council - upon which sits his own mother (Vanessa Redgrave) - and shown the Appian Way. Disillusioned and furious, he enters into his own equivalent of a Faustian pact and swears allegiance to his bitterest enemy “Aufidius” (the seriously over-challenged Gerard Butler). What chance he can galvanise his new ally into helping him regain what he has lost - and, probably more consistently throughout this internecine web of deceit and suspicion, can anyone really trust anyone else to keep their promises? This does look good, and the assembled cast are extremely competent at delivering some of the poignant and thoughtful dialogue contained in this political tragedy, but I felt that perhaps too much of the nuance had to be condensed out of this necessarily abridged story, and somehow the fact that it wasn’t stage-bound lessened the intensity of the characterisations. Though she looked entirely natural in her pseudo-Fascist uniform, I felt Redgrave lacked for emotion as she performed and Fiennes over-compensated for that with plenty of intensely photographed opportunities for his nostrils to flare and his Adam’s Apple to agitate. As is so often the case with these adaptations, they can’t be as long as the original and so have to compromise. This one did a little too much of that for my liking. Still, if it encourages folk to read his works, then it is film well used.

Production companies