The Taming of the Shrew
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Movie Reviews of The Taming of the Shrew
Movie Review: Its just a movie.
Summary: 2 Stars
And that is all it is. You get the Taylor and Burton being their big star selves. You get very good supporting performances. You get a signature big plush production from Franco Zeffirelli. You also get a very skimpy serving of Shakespeare to go with the heaping plate of stars and stuff. I would be surprised if I did an actual count and found half the text in the movie script. Large sections of the primary story line and even key speeches, such as Kate's final speech about duty to husbands are hacked up or omitted. I am not a purist or completist, still I was amazed at how much star pandering and material production value tromped all over the play. It does manage to be funny from time to time. But taken as a whole this movie is for fans of Taylor, Burton, and good looking movies for their own sake.
Fortunately, one can do better, much better.
If you want to see Taming of the Shrew with great acting, great direction, broad humor, and most of what Shakespeare wrote, I recommend the Broadway Archive DVD of William Ball's San Francisco ACT production with Marc Singer. This is the best and funniest production I have ever seen. (Yes, it is actually funny.) I urge you to get it while you can, there is no better. I plug it here because I do not think it is well known and it should be. I was overjoyed to find that this production that I saw on PBS(do not let any politicians kill PBS) before there were VCR's was not lost to the public forever.
Movie Review: The Taming of the Shrew
Summary: 5 Stars
Taming of the Shrew by Franco Zeffirelli allows its viewers to experience the epoch, in which the drama develops. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor bring the drama and the essence of comedy to this production. Again, Zeffirelli invited us through this espectacular production to be part of his own experience and luxury that overwealms ourselves. Movie Review: wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
This is probably my favorite Shakespear redition. I love to see Burton and Taylor play off of each other.Movie Review: Beautiful but stupid
Summary: 2 Stars
The color cinematography in this Zefferelli opus is gorgeous, but the depiction of Katherine, the "shrew" of the title, is utterly ludicrous. Poor Liz Taylor spends the first hour with virtually no dialogue beyond scrams of rage. Why mount a movie of one of Shakespare's comedies if you're going to gag one of his most enchantingly verbal women? Listen to a cast recording of "Kiss Me, Kate" instead; at least Cole Porter used some of the Bard's language.Movie Review: My problem is with Shakespeare, not the movie.
Summary: 2 Stars
The movie is gorgeous to watch and listen to, and the acting is great. I would have enjoyed this movie a lot more if about a month ago I hadn't happened to have been reading some books on abusive men and their distorted perceptions of female realities. I know that Taylor & Burton are playing caricatures. The problem is, there is truth in caricatures. For some reason it is supposed to be funny when the man chases his hoped for bride, does a full body restraint on her, painfully twists her arm, makes what are essentially sexually harrassing remarks, acts like a fool on the wedding day and tricks her into being married, then keeps her from eating on her wedding night after an exhausting trip, rips up a dress she had her heart set on after he tempts her with it, and on and on.
Of course it is understood (as in the minds of abusive men and their, uh, "literature") that the woman really likes the rough and humilating treatment she is getting. It is also understood that while the woman's behavior means "she had it comin'" and warrants her being treated like property (which is exactly how Shakespeare has the new husband talk about his wife), the man's bufoonish, violent, alcoholic behaviors get no disapproval from anyone.
I just recently watched a John Wayne movie, McLintock. It seemed to me it might have been based on the Taming of the Shrew, which is why I have watched this movie. I was right. Same drunken loutish man who never improves in any way. Same shrewish woman who turns into a lamb after her husband abuses and humiliates her enough.
I give thanks to Heaven that we are told in Scriptures, "Be considerate of your wives or your prayers will not be answered" and that some men actually treat His daughters with love and respect.
The Taming of the Shrew is not a comedy to me, and I suspect to legions of women who have been "thus treated." It is more like a tragedy.