The play on which the film is based is certainly misogynistic but that it is to be expected as it was written in the 1590s. That said, I can't say that I found the physical sparring between Petruchio and Kate funny, though the verbal sparring was often hilarious. The most notable omission from the film is the Christopher Sly frame story, which is a shame as the henpecked drunk serves as a great contrast to Petruchio.An accomplished Shakespearean actor who had previously played Hamlet on Broadway, Richard Burton is excellent as Petruchio, putting his excellent voice and beautiful accent to great use. In stark contrast to her then husband, Liz Taylor had never performed Shakespeare before but she does very well with the material and, as always, they had great on screen and, in this case, particularly intense chemistry. Burton and Taylor were of course famous for two tempestuous marriages so perhaps they could relate to the characters more than other actors would have! The supporting cast is generally very strong, particularly Michael Hordern as Kate's father Baptista, Cyril Cusack as Grumio, Michael York as Lucentio (in his first major film appearance), Alfred Lynch as Tranio and Vernon Dobtcheff as the Pedant. On the negative side, Alan Webb and Victor Spinetti are very over the top as Gremio and Hortensio respectively but neither of them play a big role.The crux of the play is Kate's speech in the final scene in which she says "thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign" and the way in which it is interpreted consequently determines the message of the relevant adaptation. The most common interpretations are either that Petruchio has successfully tamed Kate or that she is deceiving him into thinking that he has done so. Liz Taylor's delivery of the speech suggests that Kate is being sincere. However, the fact that she runs away laughing immediately afterwards belies this so I assume that the message that the screenwriters were trying to convey was that a strong man can be controlled by an even stronger woman without him realising it.Overall, this is an outrageously fun and extremely good adaptation which is very well directed by Franco Zeffirelli in his film debut. However, it is on nowhere near the same level as his version of "Romeo and Juliet" released the following year. As in that film though, the sets, costumes and locations are fantastic.

Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1967) was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Any director who selects The Taming of the Shrew in the 20th (or 21st) Century has a problem. How to you deal with a play that is basically about spouse abuse? We all know the basic plot-- Katharina is a strong-minded woman, therefore a shrew. Petruchio marries her for her money, and then subjects her to physical and psychological torture. Ultimately, she breaks, and becomes the docile, subservient wife that Petruchio wants her to be.Some directors have chosen to tell us that Katharina isn't really broken. She has learned to manipulate Petruchio so he thinks he's the master, but she knows that this isn't true. (Mary Pickford famously gave the speech about man as master, but then she winked.)Not so here. Elizabeth Taylor as Katharina appears to really mean it when she says that the husband is the master. Richard Burton, as Petruchio, appears to really desire and accept Katharina's defeat. It's painful to watch. (We'll never know what Shakespeare really thought about this. But we know, it would seem, what Zeffirelli thought.)There's a second plot, involving Katharina's sister, Bianca, but Zeffirelli brushes this aside. It's actually a pretty funny and interesting plot, but you'd never know it from this film.What we get instead is lots of "color." "See Padua the way it looked in the Renaissance. The crowds, the prostitutes, the petty criminals." (Note to Zeffirelli--this is Shakespeare, not a travelogue.)Burton was handsome, Taylor was beautiful, and the movie was pretty bad. If you want to see a Taming of the Shrew, see the Pickford-Fairbanks version. Fairbanks was handsome, Pickford was beautiful, and the movie was pretty good.

The best place for The Taming of the Shrew is in a DeLorean bound for the Stone Age. While I've never been known for my feminist principles even I was aggravated by the outdated plot of Shakespeare's battle of the sexes "comedy". Though produced in a period where women's rights were finally garnering attention, Zeffirelli's adaptation remains mostly oblivious to this fact. With the main gag being domestic violence this film was never going to be a smooth ride for Zeffirelli, yet he treats this issue with the delicacy of a troop of stampeding elephants.So here's the story: Kate (Elizabeth Taylor), a woman with some firepower -okay a LOT of firepower- is too hot for the men of Padua to handle. No big deal, right? Wrong! Until Kate is married off, her sister Bianca must remain single (shock horror!) much to the annoyance of her various suitors. First world problems, eh? Luckily, Petruchio (Richard Burton) a booze-loving, money-grabbing brute comes to town to 'thrive and wive', and that he does, Kate being his chosen victim . . . ahem . . . partner.The first scene of Kate and Petruchio together just goes to prove that when Zeffirelli is good he's good. He captures the brilliant wittiness, the sexual tension, the hint that these two could actually be good together. Sparks fly- along with the furniture. Never mind if Petruchio's flirting is practically sexual harassment-this exchange is an enthralling meeting of minds! Kate certainly gives as good as she gets and is a joy to behold in all her sharp-tongued glory. Yes indeed, things look very promising for Zeffirelli.However, we want serious conflict, drama, obstacles and boy does Petruchio deliver! Cue violence, torture and starvation. Be warned, this is no harmless S & M to spice up the honeymoon, this is Petruchio's disturbing 'taming' process. Naturally this taming concept is challenging to make funny thus the film promptly nosedives. Zeffirelli cannot skilfully navigate the abrupt change in direction. He attempts to continue the bawdy and boisterous tone of previous scenes and this is his downfall. Shockingly, domestic abuse humour just doesn't sit with a modern audience. Let the bra- burning commence!Unfortunately,one of the biggest lures of the film turns out to be one of its biggest turn-offs; Burton as Petruchio. He fails miserably in his misguided attempt to make Petruchio the lovable rogue. Burton's interpretation is no more than an abusive, drunken lout. Whether he actually falls for Kate is irrelevant because he is cruel and revels in her suffering. The taming is a source of entertainment for him which makes his treatment of his wife all the more derogatory and humiliating.Combined with his constant alcohol consumption and 'heh heh heh' chuckle (which is a form of torture in itself) he makes for a despicable and extremely irritating character.Despite the problematic domestic abuse Zeffirellli does create some much needed comedy thanks to the eccentric Hortensio (Victor Spinetti) who wears enough makeup to put Maybelline out of business. Rejoice some gender equality at last! His camp mannerisms and ridiculous high-jinks add light to an often disturbing tale. His general cluelessness makes him an endearing character, so much so that a What Hortensio Did Next spin-off would be greatly appreciated. Hilarious facial expressions and slap-stick humour make him quiet the scene stealer and his ingenious disguise (fake beard and glasses) as he woos Bianca is so bad that it is in fact pretty good. Undoubtedly, Hortensio provides a fun alternative to the overbearing Petruchio.Other highlights include the sumptuous set designs and costumes, particularly Katherine's stunning wedding dress. Certainly this is a visually beautiful film, it's just a shame the other elements didn't come together so seamlessly. Also, Taylor gives a powerhouse performance, executing Kate's infamous speech with great dignity and poise despite stomach-churning lines like 'Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper'. Indeed it's a relief to finally see her get the better of her husband when she speedily disappears after their kiss. Yet, strangely in spite of Kate's small triumph during the ambiguous finale the film's overall vision still seems to mock women's rights just as they were coming to the forefront of society.Shakespeare's play provides the perfect platform to make a statement supporting female independence yet Zeffirelli wastes the opportunity, reducing his adaptation to a sketch on physical and mental domestic violence. Considering the film's questionable tagline 'A motion picture for every man who ever gave the back of his hand to his beloved ... and for every woman who deserved it' it seems deliberately misogynistic rather than a lack of skill on Zeffirelli's part, especially given the brilliance of his 1968 Romeo and Juliet.With adaptations as awkward as this, it's no wonder The Taming of the Shrew remains one of the Bard's lesser loved works. Indeed, I never thought I'd see the day when a nineties teen flick was more female empowering than a supposed classic but you'd be better off watching 10 Things I Hate About You (with the added bonus of Joseph Gordon-Levitt!) as Zeffirelli simply doesn't do The Taming of the Shrew justice. Tabloid followers and Taylor-Burton fans will enjoy the antics but for anyone else avoid it like a playhouse in the plague!

Film Review: 'Taming of the Shrew 1967'In this adaption of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew Franco Zeffirelli creates an enjoyable classic comedy which is set in Padua, Italy in the 1500s. Zeffirelli's choice of cast suited the characters very well especially Elizabeth Taylor as Katharina and Richard Burton as Petruchio. These two fiery protagonists added excitement and action to this adaption of Taming of the Shrew. Zeffirelli added a great variety of music throughout the play by Nino Rota, also his choice of costumes allowed the audience to visualize back to the 1500s and get into the setting of the play. All of the characters are dressed in puffy, frilly and extravagant costumes in each scene throughout the play. This play is set in a small merchant village in Padua, where we meet a rich merchant called Baptista played by Michael Hordern, he is the father of the fiery shrew Katharina and the sweet, innocent Bianca (Natasha Pyne). Baptista is against his youngest daughter Bianca getting married until his oldest daughter Katharina is wed which he and the whole village think will never happen as she is referred to as a 'hot- tempered shrew'. It is clear Baptista treats his daughters very differently, he shows affection to Bianca with kisses and hugs, and it is clear he is afraid of Katharina as he tries to avoid her and stay out of her way. We see Baptista is only interested in money and not the happiness of his daughters as he agrees to let Petruchio, an arrogant, violent man marry Katharina. Katharina is a very fiery character in this play but because she has a temper and cannot control her anger her feelings are not considered by her father as he marries her off. Bianca is a very different character to Katharina; she seems to be 'daddy's girl' in this play, even Katharina agrees as she states to her father 'She is your treasure'. Bianca comes across as spoilt in the play as she has her own music tutor at their house. Lucentio is a student and the son of a wealthy merchant who poses as a tutor to gain access into the Baptista household and to get closer to Bianca. As the relationship between these two characters blossom it is clear they are in love with each other unlike Katharina and Petruchio who cringes at the thought of having to kiss him. In this adaption of Taming of the Shrew Zeffirelli does not focus much on the relationship between Bianca and Lucentio he makes it more about Petruchio trying to tame Katharina. In the film there is a very action packed scene between Petruchio and Katharina as he tries to 'woo' her and she attempts everything to get away from him. She tells him 'I would rather die than marry you'. One of his techniques to tame Katharina was locking her in her room for days until their wedding day. In the wedding scene Petruchio's choice of wedding attire is very controversial among the village he does this to show he is the dominant one in the relationship and he also does this to embarrass his bride to be. After the ceremony he rudely whisks her away from her family to his house outside of the city. She got no say on who she got marries to unlike Bianca. Bianca is allowed to marry the love of her life Lucentio as he is wealthy, Petruchio is allowed to marry Katharina as he was looking for a wealthy wife and Hortensio and another suitor of Bianca agreed to cover the costs for him as he tries to tame the 'shrew'. In the final scene there is a change in Katharina's personality, she comes across as happy for Bianca there is a moment when you think has Petruchio tamed her? After she wins the wager for him and lectures the other women on how they should obey their husbands at all times, Petruchio thinks he has finally tamed her. But she is trying to show that women can control men by pretending to obey them as she slyly exits unknown by Petruchio he is made chase after her. Showing she has not been tamed at all she is the same Katharina she has learn to outsmart Petruchio.