The Taming of the Shrew is a
1967The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:*December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
feature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening...
based on
a playThe Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a drunken tinker named Sly is tricked into thinking he is a nobleman by a mischievous Lord...
by
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
about a courtship between two strong-willed people. The film was directed by
Franco ZeffirelliFranco Zeffirelli is an Italian film director. He is also an opera director, designer and producer of opera, theatre, film and television, and a politician....
and stars
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
and
Richard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award and was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood...
as Shakespeare's Kate and Petruchio.
Baptista Minola (Michael Hordern) is attempting to marry off his two daughters; however, he will only marry his youngest, Bianca (
Natasha PyneNatasha Pyne , is an English actress.Pyne started her career at the Royal Court in a production of John Osbourne's Inadmissible Evidence and followed it in productions at the Lyric and Royal Shakespeare Company. She is best known for her role in the British television sitcom series Father, Dear...
), if someone will marry his eldest, Katharina (
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
).
The Taming of the Shrew is a
1967The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:*December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
feature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening...
based on
a playThe Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a drunken tinker named Sly is tricked into thinking he is a nobleman by a mischievous Lord...
by
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
about a courtship between two strong-willed people. The film was directed by
Franco ZeffirelliFranco Zeffirelli is an Italian film director. He is also an opera director, designer and producer of opera, theatre, film and television, and a politician....
and stars
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
and
Richard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award and was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood...
as Shakespeare's Kate and Petruchio.
Plot and cast
Baptista Minola (Michael Hordern) is attempting to marry off his two daughters; however, he will only marry his youngest, Bianca (
Natasha PyneNatasha Pyne , is an English actress.Pyne started her career at the Royal Court in a production of John Osbourne's Inadmissible Evidence and followed it in productions at the Lyric and Royal Shakespeare Company. She is best known for her role in the British television sitcom series Father, Dear...
), if someone will marry his eldest, Katharina (
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
). Katharina is an ill-tempered woman but a lusty young nobleman, Petruchio (
Richard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award and was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood...
), takes on the challenge of taming and marrying her. A subplot involves the wooing of Bianca by several suitors including handsome Lucentio (
Michael YorkMichael York, OBE is an English actor. He is more recently known among mainstream audiences for his role as Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers series of comedy films.-Early life:...
), foppish Hortensio (
Victor SpinettiVictor Spinetti is a Welsh comic actor.-Early life:Spinetti was born in Cwm, Wales of Welsh and Italian heritage from a grandfather who is said to have walked from Italy to Wales to work as a coal miner. His parents, Giuseppe and Lily , owned the chip shop in Cwm, over which premises the family...
), and elderly Gremio (
Alan WebbAlan Webb may refer to:* Alan Webb , , English actor* Alan Webb , , American track athlete* Alan Webb , English football player...
).
Production details
The film cuts much of the original dialogue, but allows more characterization. For example, much of the subplot of Lucentio and Bianca is cut, but at the same time, more characterization of Katharina and Petruchio is allowed.
The final, controversial speech is played seriously; however, Zeffirelli lets Kate have the "last laugh", humiliating Petruchio by leaving the banquet without him. This act of defiance thus gives a happy ending which implies that Kate's spirit is not broken, and that Petruchio has not succeeded.
Taylor and Burton put over a million dollars into the production, and instead of a salary, took a percentage of profits. The film was originally a vehicle for
Sophia LorenSophia Loren is an Italian film actress and an international sex symbol. In 1961, she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for Two Women, becoming the first actor to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance....
and
Marcello MastroianniMarcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni was an Italian film actor.-Personal life:Mastroianni was born in Fontana Liri, a small village in the Apennines, the son of Ida and Ottone Mastroianni, who ran a carpentry shop. Mastroianni grew up in Turin and Rome...
.
Awards
The film had two Academy Award nominations, for Best Costume Design, and
Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(
Lorenzo MongiardinoLorenzo Mongiardino was an Italian production designer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Mongiardino was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
,
John DeCuirJohn DeCuir was a Hollywood art director.He studied at the Chouinard Art School, joined Universal in the late 1930s, and by the mid-1940s was designing sets. In 1949, he signed with 20th Century Fox where he worked on productions noted for their elaborate sets...
,
Elven WebbElven Webb was an American art director. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for another in the category Best Art Direction. -Selected filmography:Webb won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction and was nominated for another:Won...
,
Giuseppe MarianiGiuseppe Mariani was an Italian art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The Taming of the Shrew.-Selected filmography:* The Taming of the Shrew -External links:...
,
Dario SimoniDario Simoni was a set decorator. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for another two in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
,
Luigi GervasiLuigi Gervasi was an Italian set decorator. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The Taming of the Shrew.-Selected filmography:* The Taming of the Shrew -External links:...
).
It also had two BAFTA Award nominatons for Best British Actor (Richard Burton), and Best British Actress (Elizabeth Taylor).
External links