The Film and Literature Group gathered on a hot Wednesday to see Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Taming of the Shrew. Based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name, Taming of the Shrew is described as “a comic look at male chauvinism and Women’s Lib in the sixteenth century.” Renaissance Italy, as recreated by Zeffirelli, provides the perfect backdrop for the reform of Katharina, the bad tempered, aggressive “shrew” played in fine form by Liz Taylor. Petruchio, as played by Richard Burton, is the fortune hunting wife- seeker from Verona who takes on the task of taming this shrewish woman.
This proved to be a busy but enjoyable film – lots happening in the background of each scene, the language of Shakespeare to decode and savour, plus a couple of different subplots woven into the transformation of Katharina. The concept of one human consciously working to “tame” another is a thought provoking concept and this film gives one lots to think about.
(For the trivia enthusiasts - a shrew is a tiny rodent that is extremely bad tempered!)
This proved to be a busy but enjoyable film – lots happening in the background of each scene, the language of Shakespeare to decode and savour, plus a couple of different subplots woven into the transformation of Katharina. The concept of one human consciously working to “tame” another is a thought provoking concept and this film gives one lots to think about.
(For the trivia enthusiasts - a shrew is a tiny rodent that is extremely bad tempered!)
