Taming Of The Shrew Franco Zeffirelli S Adaption In The 1967 Movie
Submitted by brenda79 on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
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Taming Of The Shrew Franco Zeffirelli S Adaption In The 1967 Movie
The Taming of the Shrew
Many versions of William Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew" have been brought to fruition in cinema, but director Franco Zeffirelli's adaption in 1967 was the most popular one. One of main dynamics of its popularity is induced by the recruiting of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor for the two leading roles of Petruchio and Katherine (Kate). Another reason was Zeffirelli's eye for luxurious period costumes and elaborately furnished almost fairy-tale sets. Furthermore, the movie had won two Oscar nominations for costumes and art direction a well-earned recognition. However, this movie was not admired by academics who were outraged that seventy-five percent of Shakespeare's original lines were discarded (Holderness 2002, p130). This essay will consider Zeffirelli's handling of the play in Act 4, Scene 3 by discussing how he neglected or brought out certain aspects of Shakepeare's script.
Act 4, Scene 3, begins with Pertruchio waking up hung over, to the clanging and clashing of household staff amidst laughter and a woman's voice chirping from an outer room. This is done via Zeffirelli's signature "naturalistic and pictorial treatment" (Aspinall 2002, p339). Petruchio walks out to the top step to find Kate knowledgeably advising the staff as she bustles gaily from one area to another, concentrating in the dinning room and kitchen the same locales off limits to Shakespeare's Katherine. The scene focuses on the cooperative dusting and lowering of a massive chandelier with Kate dressed in a humble house frock and a turban cheerfully making use of her dust-catching ornament.
This sight represents the household Kate' that Petruchio had promised to turn Kate into in Act 2, Scene 1, "am born to tame you, Kate and bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate, conformable as other household Kates". (2.1.269-271). This wish had indeed come true but only in the physical sense as Kate was...
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