La Mégère apprivoisée

I wont go as far as to say I did not enjoy this film adaptation of "Taming Of The Shrew", but I will say that its a production of hits and misses. Richard Burton is perfectly cast as the blustery and bellowing Petruccio. He shows film audiences the vast talent for Shakespeare that he possessed. Elizabeth Taylor on the other hand was woefully miscast.All of Burton's strengths (command of language,natural delivery) are Taylor's weaknesses. She is just uncomfortable delivering Shakespeare's words. However,the action scenes(Petruccio's "wooing" of Kate) are very enjoyable. A strong supporting cast helps the film greatly. In particular Alan Webb's fussy old Gremio,Victor Spinneli's foppish Hortensio and Sir Michael Hordern's comiclly downtrodden Baptista. Unfortunately many of Shakespeare's funniest lines wer trimmed for the film and scenes not in the text added. This was truely dissapointing and distracting. Zefferelli had more success with his adaptations of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet".

This is a great Shakespeare movie that the man himself would surely approve of. It has just the right mix of action and dialogue and if the light dims a little during the scenes without the Burtons, certainly Michael Hordern keeps his brightly lit. Michael York and Natasha Pyne are inexplicably weak after their brilliant early moments. But maybe it just is that the two main performances are so captivating, we really only wish to see them. Some find fault with the acting of Elizabeth Taylor but I'll hear none of it. Her early scenes of wild madness are fantastic as are her slightly less confident scenes as she finds herself the object of the chase. The scene I remember most from my original 60s cinema viewing is that of the pair wrestling on the bed of feathers having fallen through the roof. Watching this again at a BFI South Bank, London screening in a packed audience I can surely see why. Pure electricity as the snarling/alluring, struggling yet desiring 'shrew' begins to succumb to the power of the male above her. Great moments, great music, excellent sets and a tremendous if controversial final speech.

This is a lavish presentation of William Shakespeare's classic comedy, highlighted by the ideally cast coupling of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the pivotal roles. Hers was the questionable characterization, but Ms. Taylor keeps "Katharina" well within her range, and sparks the original role with an appealing update. Burton balances with a fine interpretation of "Petruchio". The bombastic Burtons are only hindered by the relatively slight material; some of this humor doesn't transcend the centuries, although much is appreciated. Director Franco Zeffirelli and several in this company soon went to work on "Romeo and Juliet" (1968), which was a greater use of their skills.

******* The Taming of the Shrew (2/27/67) Franco Zeffirelli ~ Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Michael York, Natasha Pyne

This is a film version of a Shakespeare play the way Shakespeare would have wanted it to be seen - as funny and entertaining. The gorgeous colour in the sets and costumes reminds us that this story is taking place in sunny Italy - maybe it takes an Italian director to realize and bring out that light-hearted joyfulness. The actors are all wonderful, so natural in their roles that the Shakespearean verse sounds like believable daily conversation. Richard Burton is perfect as Petruchio, a self-confident, swaggering lout at the beginning, who in a way undergoes his own "taming" process to become a loving husband, proud of his wife and delighted with the happiness ahead of them. Elizabeth Taylor as an actress is not really up to the demands of Shakespeare, but she certainly looks her part, and on the whole does pretty well, especially as she is given a lot of action rather than speaking in this film, until the very end. Zeffirelli does wonderful things with the visuals - the scene at the beginning, when what appears to be a solemn church service suddenly erupts into a wild carnival can be seen as a joking reflection of the typical viewer's reaction to this happy treatment of Shakespeare; where we expect to be bored by solemn, po-faced reverence in the presence of Art, we suddenly find ourselves swept away in a merry romp. And the recurring glimpses of a huge grotesque blonde woman continually attended by her small, dark-haired pretty sister, always scaring away the latter's possible suitors is a witty summary of the main story we are watching. This movie is a great introduction to Shakespeare for anyone who hasn't seen his plays before, and a perfect antidote for anyone who's been intimidated into thinking that Shakespeare is "too hard" for anyone but experts and scholars to understand.

There is no denying Franco Zeffirelli's visual sensibility, nor his dramatic strength. He takes this Shakespearean comedy, chops and cuts and edits the text to his liking, and regurgitates a wonderful film. If one were to watch the film without sound, it would still be entertaining, that is how well Zeffirelli put it together. But it wouldn't be enough without a terrific Kate, and Elizabeth Taylor, certainly in her prime in 1967, more than fills the bill. She hams it up when hamming is appropriate to the moment, and plays it with more subtlety when that is required. She is well matched by Richard Burton as Petruchio. He is good, but there is something not quite there. I think perhaps he seems more jaded and a tad less calculating than I'd expect in the role. I think I prefer the more caustic performance of John Cleese in this role.

I can't help but wonder what Zeffirelli would've done with an operatic version of this play.