The Taming of the Shrew

Rating:
Summary: This Shrew Remains Untamed
Review: It's very difficult to be very critical of such a roisterous, good-natured version of Shakespeare's rowdiest play, and in truth one has to admit that this is probably the first of the truly modern Shakespeare films. There are some real assets here -- Zefferelli's eye has never lighted on a landscape more beautiful, more seductive, and Nina Rota's score fits beautifully.

But Shakespeare, even on film, stands or falls on the acting. This version -- with one exception -- is filled with one-note performances (they're very GOOD notes, but single notes nonetheless). Let's deal with the exception first -- Elizabeth Taylor is a delightful, intelligent Katarina. Her development is exactly what Shakespeare obviously intended, and if her early scenes are a bit uniformly shrill, the case could be made that that's what the Bard wrote. In general, she's an admirable Kate.

Burton, however, is something else entirely. Despite his acknowledged skill with Shakespeare (his Hamlet was glorious), he takes a monochromatic approach to Petruchio, with an annoyingly stagey laugh running through virtually every scene. By halfway through the film, you tend to want him to get off screen so you don't have to listen to that "manly" laugh any longer. Unfortunately, much of Kate's dialogue was cut (the assumption being, I suppose, that Taylor would have trouble with the language) while too much of Petruchio remains.

The secondary characters, if cut from different bolts of cloth, are all a single color. Michael Hordern bumbles his way through Baptista the same way he did in countless other movies. Michael York and Natasha Pyne as the young lovers are efficient and attractive, but not particularly engaging. The suitors are a group of living cliches. Even the humor is raggedly overdone to the same degree in almost every scene.

There are things to appreciate in this movie, and there's no better Shrew available, but I'd recommend finding another of Shakespeare's comedies until a better version of this rowdy comedy comes along -- someone's bound to get it right soon.

Rating:
Summary: Oh Sweet Kate!
Review: Next to Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" , this is my favorite Shakespearian movie. I adore this movie and have loved it since I was a teenager. This movie has a greater meaning to me since I have recently been to Italy and visited Padua, where the setting of this tale takes place.

So onto Pauda during the Italian Renaissance, this tale of Kate and her love begin...

Did I say LOVE? Well, let's not begin there. Let's begin at the beginning, as J.R.R. Tolkien likes to say..

There once was a wealthy man with two beautiful daughters. The sweet and virtuous Bianca, so fair and trite. The other sister being as wicked and wild as the color of her hair...raven black.
Her name to all is Katherine (Elizabeth Taylor), but otherwise known to the small community as the wild "Kat".

Bianca, fair and true has fallen in love. Her father wants her married to a wealthy man, but Bianca has other plans. She wants to marry the young, handsome boy (Michael York) that caught her eye in the town square. But Alas, much to Bianca's dismay, her father says "Not till' your sister marries first!" I say, poor Bianca..because WHO in their right mind would marry such a wild and hateful woman?

Kate is wild indeed, spending her time torturing her sister with whips and abuse. She despises her younger sister for her vanity and spoiled ways. Bianca is truly one of literature's first "daddy's girl", maddening Kate futher with her "Oh Daddy!" weepy ways.

As revenge, Kate promises Bianca she will NOT marry just despite her. All hope seems lost. Bianca's many pursuers come up with a plan. They will indeed find someone who will woo and marry Katherine. The person they they have in mind is the stinky, obnoxious, fat, and loathesome Petruchio (Richard Burton).

Will the plan work? While Bianca and her suitors watch through literally closed doors, the wooing begins. Petruchio WILL have Kate as a bride, for her father has promised him a large sum of money if he wins her hand.

Petruchio finds he must literally trap and force Kate into marriage. The scenes of his pursual of Kate are nothing short of comical-he even dares to call out the most famous words: "Kiss me Kate!", as she is slapping and hitting him. She finds him disgusting...shutting herself away in her room. Petruchio is so certain of his charm, that he waits at the altar for his beloved Sweet Kate to arrive...dressed like a clown to add insult to an already frightful situation...he awaits her arrival( and wait and wait he does). Bets are placed. Will she show? Has Petruchio tamed the wild shrew or will she leave him at the altar?

This is as far as I dare go...the comedy that insues from this point on is nothing short of hardy laughs. Sweet Kate (as he calls her) surprises everyone throughout the length of this sumptuously beautiful movie. She does not disappoint!

William Shakespeare has filled this wonderful of tales with proper sarcasm and all the right comedy one needs to fall in love with this movie. It is truly a classic. The setting, the elegant clothes, and of course the acting between Liz and Richard surpass many Shakespearian movies. I highly recommend this as one to own and enjoy forever.

Rating:
Summary: Burton & Taylor Are Pure, Fiery, & Feisty Sex Magic
Review: No wonder Burton and Taylor married and divorced many times. The sexual tension between them in this film can be cut with a knife. Taylor plays Kate, the beautiful, fiery, feisty, mean-spirited, unloved eldest daughter of a wealthy man. She has a beautiful & kind sister who has a string of beaus, but... the eldest sister MUST marry first. Enter Burton as Petruchio. Loud, boisterous, dirty, obnoxious and SEXY! He plans to tame Kate, marry her and be a rich man on her dowry. The famous tongue in the tail speech is given on their first meeting, which sets the mood for lusty, sweaty, swarthy fighting. All the while, the sexual tension builds throughout. Many fights & torments ensue... with a beautiful ending that I will not spoil. If you like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton or just the great and powerful Bard, himself, this is a great movie, directed by the great Franco Zefferelli that is a must see! "There is no other beast on Earth so horrible as man..." (Katharina, Taming Of The Shrew)

Rating:
Summary: Burton & Taylor Are Pure, Fiery, & Feisty Sex Magic
Review: No wonder Burton and Taylor married and divorced many times. The sexual tension between them in this film can be cut with a knife. Taylor plays Kate, the beautiful, fiery, feisty, mean-spirited, unloved eldest daughter of a wealthy man. She has a beautiful & kind sister who has a string of beaus, but... the eldest sister MUST marry first. Enter Burton as Petruchio. Loud, boisterous, dirty, obnoxious and SEXY! He plans to tame Kate, marry her and be a rich man on her dowry. The famous tongue in the tail speech is given on their first meeting, which sets the mood for lusty, sweaty, swarthy fighting. All the while, the sexual tension builds throughout. Many fights & torments ensue... with a beautiful ending that I will not spoil. If you like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton or just the great and powerful Bard, himself, this is a great movie, directed by the great Franco Zefferelli that is a must see! "There is no other beast on Earth so horrible as man..." (Katharina, Taming Of The Shrew)

Rating:
Summary: Accessible Shakespeare, Wonderful Movie
Review: Surely, part of the point of making movies of Shakespeare's plays today is to make them accessible to a public who wouldn't ordinarily come into contact with his work. I think where movies like Kenneth Branagh's 'Hamlet' fail is in their unwavering and admirable (if somewhat confusing) adherence to the original script. Franco Zeffirelli's 1967 production, starring Richard Burton as the chauvanistic and gold-digging Petrucchio, and Elizabeth Taylor as the waspish, unstable Katharina, is the opposite - it's a sort of 'Shakespeare Lite' version of the Bard's oroginal play, and for the subject matter, this works better. 'Taming' is a farcical comedy about a shrewish, willful spinster, and the gold-digging once-wealthy nobleman who marries her for money, but comes to realise her worth as a wife.

Taylor and Burton are, as usual, wonderfully larger-than-life. Burton turns in a fine performance as Petrucchio, a devil-may-care fortune-hunter who decides to do whatever it takes to marry the wealthy Katharina. He is by turns bawdy, stern and comical, and his deep, sonorous voice and amazing screen presence save the character from becoming a hateful chauvanist - on the contrary, we find ourselves sympathising with Petrucchio at certain points in the film. Taylor, though her part is relatively small, gives a similar performance as Katharina, a manic, violent woman whose intelligence and fermininity eventually overcome her temper and win the favour of her husband. Like Petrucchio, the character of Katharina is, at least on paper, a nightmare of selfishness and bad-tempered outbursts, but it's Taylor's winning performance that gives her depth and sensitivity, and we end up rooting for her. The pair also display an excellent sense of comic timing, and scenes like their wedding, and Petrucchio's chasing Katharina, are lighthearted and enjoyable becuase of it.

The supporting cast are also strong, with an excellent performance by Cyril Cusack as Grumpio, Katharina's long-suffering father. Michael York's role is shorter than in the play but he does an admirable job of it nonetheless - dual identity being a favourite theme of Shakespeare's, in this production it's kept somewhat out of the spotlight, wisely, to allow Burton and Taylor to shine through.

As with all Zeffirelli's productions, 'Taming' is a visual feast - lush countryside vistas, complicated 16th-century Italian Villas and a succession of ever-more complicated costumes give the viewer the impression that we're watching a dancing rainbow. Zeffirelli's direction, as usual, is top-notch; in particular, the opening scenes where Katharina is raging behind closed doors is excellent.

The DVD-transition quality isn't as good as it should have been, but is still very good, and while the DVD won't win any awards for special features, it's still a worthwhile addition to your collection. A fun, lively romp through a relatively simple Shakespeare play, 'The Taming of the Shrew' is a must for Zeffirelli and Taylor fans, but is also a treat for anyone who enjoys intelligent comedy. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: There's a much better Shrew out there!
Review: Taylor and Burton lack the spark and the wit to make the Taming of the Shrew come to life. Please, if you want to see a good version of this, buy the one starring Marc Singer. The set is spare, but it has all the intelligence and fun that is absent from the Taylor / Burton rendition. I shared the Marc Singer version with my family over Christmas, and they all voted for it!

Rating:
Summary: There's a much better Shrew out there!
Review: Taylor and Burton lack the spark and the wit to make the Taming of the Shrew come to life. Please, if you want to see a good version of this, buy the one starring Marc Singer. The set is spare, but it has all the intelligence and fun that is absent from the Taylor / Burton rendition. I shared the Marc Singer version with my family over Christmas, and they all voted for it!

Rating:
Summary: Elizabeth Taylor is the best Shrew
Review: There may be many people across the years who act in this play, but there will never be another production like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton did. They are such confincing combatants -- they make the entire movie powerfully funny. A great Shakespearean comedy done very well.

Rating:
Summary: one of the best
Review: This delightful shakespearean comedy is worth owning! I personally consider it his best comedy. Light in spirit, it makes a great introduction to the bard for teenagers. This battle of the sexes is something we can all relate to.The plot is mainly between Kate, the oldest daughter of a wealthy merchant, and Petruchio a man who must marry a wealthy wife. Kate is too honest (or maybe too stubborn) to play the little games her 'perfect' sister is so adept and has no intention of marrying anyone. Petruchio (Burton) cannot take no for an answer. He must wed a wealthy wife or his impoverished household will starve.

Taylor can absolutely play the shrew, yet can make us sympathize with this least favorite daughter. Burton, sexy as always, classicly trained, was made to play Shakespear. Maybe it is the accent, but I could listen to him in rapt enjoyment even if he just read the dictionary.

The only downside to this video that I can find is that it is not letter box and it is not closed captioned. That aside, I highly recommend it, even for people who normally don't like Shakespear. Buy it, get some popcorn and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: One of the BEST MOVIES EVER
Review: This movie is one of those few that you can watch over and over and enjoy it more every time - SO FUNNY! Also very insightful about relationships!