Review: The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
The 1967 film adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew , directed by Franco Zeffirelli, advances an interpretation of Petruchio and Katherina as a twisted but perfect match. Indeed, the relationship between Petruchio and Kate is Zeffirelli's primary interest. Elizabeth Taylor (Katherina) does an exceptional job capturing Kate's unruliness while keeping her a sympathetic character. Richard Burton (Petruchio) is slightly less original in performance, but provides an apt foil and scene partner for Taylor. The movie opens with a vibrant, paradoxical Padua: religious practice coexists with public drunkenness and revelry. Bakhtin's theory of the carnivalesque comes to mind as the inhabitants of Padua partake in unruliness in a merry, festive spirit. While this outdoor Padua is boisterous, it's all in good fun: for example, Bianca is unveiled by a young man in a prank that she clearly enjoys. It is in this spirit of merry social transgression that Petruchio is ...
