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I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This 1967 film, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name, was perfect for Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who were three years into their marriage when they made it.Due to the nature of the storyline (man tames independent woman and turns her into a meek and subservient wife), this is one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, but it is also – for my money – one of his funniest. I consider myself to be a feminist, but that doesn't preclude me from enjoying this play immensely – and happily I loved every minute of this adaptation.Liz Taylor plays the wild natured Kate, and Richard Burton is the lusty, arrogant Petruchio, who determines to marry her for the dowry, and tames her by treating her badly – his methods include refusing to allow her to eat, turning up to their wedding in ragged clothes, and taking off soon after the wedding. However he starts to genuinely fall for her, and actually ends up being tamed himself.Burton was used to the classics, and had performed in Shakespeare adaptations prior to making this film. It shows – he fitted right into the part and carried it off with ease. Taylor had not done anything like this before, and was apparently very nervous. She certainly pulled it off – as beautiful as she undoubtedly was, I never really rated her as much of an actress, but she captured Kate's wild spirit, and later her more peaceful demeanour, perfectly.The supporting cast are excellent – a young Michael York is Lucentio, the man who hopes to marry Kate's sister Bianca, who is forbidden from marrying any young man until her sister is married, and Cyril Cusack is great as Grumio (Petruchio's friend), and Victor Spinetti as Hortensio – another potential suitor to Bianca – is extremely funny.The film is very colourful, and extremely witty, with genuine laugh-out-loud moments, and lots of physical comedy. I enjoyed it thoroughly from beginning to end, would certainly recommend it, and will definitely watch it again in the future.

Zeffirelli triumphs once again with his version of The Taming of The Shrew by William Shakespeare. The 1967 film version of this play directed by Franco Zeffirelli is one that captures many similarities and differences between this film and Shakespeare's original play text. This film is set in Italy and is based around the marriage of two sisters who come from a wealthy family. Their father declares that until his eldest daughter Katharina is wed he shall not allow any man to pursue his younger daughter Bianca. Katharina's character in this film is very similar to Shakespeare's original portrayal of her, she is fiery, sharp tongued and ill-tempered just as she is in Shakespeare's original play text. In contrast to Katharina is her sister Bianca, Bianca is portrayed as a perfect and obedient character in this film as well as in Shakespeare's original text, however over the course of the film the characters of Katharina and Bianca develop and they change into completely different people to who they were at the beginning of the film and this is another similarity these characters have with the original text of the play. The character of Petruchio is represented in the same manner in which Shakespeare had originally portrayed him. Petruchio is driven by money in this film as he was in the original play text and he loves the idea of taming his shrewish wife Katharina. Zeffirelli makes multiple references to this element of his character for example he dangles things in front of her that she wants and establishes that he will decide if she gets them or not. There are many similarities between this film and the original play text however there are also some significant differences, for example Zeffirelli excludes the opening scene of the play from the film. This doesn't impact the film too greatly though even if we don't know it's a play within a play, as elements of this first scene in the play are seen in the first scene of the film as there is the drunkard tied up in the cage which may represent Cristopher Sly.Another difference between Zeffirelli's film version of this text and the actual play text itself is the comedy that is present throughout the entirety of this film. There are plenty of examples in the film of where comedic references are present one example is at both wedding scenes and both are by instigated by Petruchio, another example is when Petruchio is chasing Katharina around her house, another example is in the scene with Lucentios father just before the wedding. Petruchio seems to be at the heart of most of the comedic scenes in this film which makes him differ from Shakespeare's original portrayal of him in the play text. Zeffirelli's choice in casting for this film was spot on again as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton are outstanding playing the characters of Katharina and Petruchio. There is undeniable chemistry between the two of them and as the film draws to a close this becomes more and more noticeable. Zeffirelli also does an exceptional job of capturing the colour and comedy present at the time in Italy. The costumes for one were outstanding and kept very much with the time capsule in which this play is set, the differences in the costumes of ordinary daily life to the ones at the wedding is captured with phenomenal detail in this film and Zeffirelli does an exceptional job in showing the differences between the two. The differences in costume between a poor woman and a wealthier woman are also present throughout this film as we see Katharina and Bianca in much more luxurious dresses than the less well-off women in this film. The comedic references that are made throughout this film are extremely precise within which time this play was set, for example in the very opening scene when there are people making fun of the drunkard. All in all I believe Zeffirelli's adaptation of "The Taming of The Shrew" by William Shakespeare is outstanding as he focuses on the little details such as the traits in which the characters present throughout the film, the development of Katharina's character, the comedic references throughout the film, the casting choices and the costume design.

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.

A director seeking a path into Shakespeare's most controversial play, The Taming of the Shrew has the importance of being one of Shakespeare's most modified compositions of work. Nevertheless this play is very problematic, as Shakespeare's wife-taming narrative, in conjunction with the protagonists' inquisitive reticence regarding her disposition, makes it a challenging play to implement today, as ideas about a forgotten historical background as well as ideas of gender and marriage have changed considerably since the 1500's. Set in 1850, Shakespeare's play tells the tale of the penniless Petruchio who comes 'to wive and thrive' as he ensnares Katherina, a rough, stark mad, obstinate shrew, then sets about viciously pulverizing her morale, in the effort of 'taming' her and re-establishing his wealth. At first, Katherina is a reluctant partake in the liaison, but Petruchio hits her with several psychological afflictions—the "taming"—until she transforms into a submissive, devoted and perfect wife. The subplot presents a contest amongst the admirers of Katherina's more enticing sister, Bianca. 'The Taming of The Shrew' is the foundation for a sub-genre of "Shakesploitation" flicks, whereby they cite Shakespeare in films, such as '10 Things I Hate about You' (dir.Gil Junger, 1999), which is based on 'The Taming of the Shrew', presenting a Shakespearean subject as a theme. The Taming of the Shrew commences with a framing scheme, identified as the Induction, whereby a roguish nobleman deceives a drunken character, Christopher Sly into thinking that he is in fact a lord. The nobleman then has the play enacted for Sly's amusement, describing it as a comedy-a practical joke, juxtaposing the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet with a Shakespearean comedy, characterized by a universal classification that has some fundamental procedures and melodrama techniques: a witty and light-hearted nature; ingenious prose and humorous teasing; trickery, disguises, youthful love that must conquer some type of struggle; incidents of mistaken identity; household drama; unforeseen events; and numerous scenarios that ultimately amalgamate– which consistently encompasses the reunion of a household and/or a marriage. The Taming of the Shrew has an alluring outlook on relationships, on authority, on sexual roles and on marriage. Yet, because of the era in which it was composed, The Taming of the Shrew is a production whereby sequences of objectionably exploitive actions are carried out on a woman. By placing a contemporary framework around Shakespeare's play, the audience has to try to recognize the dilemmas presented to us, as a contemporary audience, in an approach that is humorous, passionate and intriguing. Franco Zeffirelli's big screen interpretation of Shakespearean comedy is portrayed in a humorous and pleasurable manner. The stunning coloring in the apparel and stage sets point out to us that the adventure is presenting itself in sunny Italy - perhaps it takes an Italian director to appreciate and succeed in accomplishing that airy merriment. Zeffirelli's cast are pleasing and believable in their characters' roles in that the Shakespearean lyric resembles a natural everyday discussion. Richard Burton plays Petruchio; an arrogant, boastful lout in the opening, in some ways goes through his own taming measures, in becoming a devoted companion, satisfied with his wife and looking to their future ahead. Elizabeth Taylor, who plays Katherina, is not really up to Shakespearean standards, nonetheless she undoubtedly looks the part, and considering for the most part, she provides a great deal of action in place of conversational dialogue within the film, prior to the ending scene. Zeffirelli creates magnificent effects with the graphics, such as the act at the beginning of the film, when he gives the impression of there being an earnest religious ceremony taking place, which unexpectedly breaks out into a chaotic festival. This can be viewed as a humorous observation of a quintessential audiences' response to the joyful approach to Shakespeare's work; whereby the audience expect to be uninterested by the intense, humorless worship in the presence of Art, as the audience unexpectedly notice themselves swept away in a cheerful frolic. The frequent sights of a large incongruous fair-haired woman constantly accompanied by her petite, well-mannered attractive sister, all the time discouraging her sisters potential admirers is a clever analysis of the drama being viewed.