On another note I watched Claire Bloom's video on her life as Shakespeare female characters and it is a decent film. It shows lots of clips and still shots from the productions she was actually in and she gives insights into how she got her roles. She is a fascinating woman who gives amazing insight into the Shakespearean characters she has played. If you are writing on any of the female characters I would recommend watching the film. It's on Netflix.
Now onto the film adaptation I watched.
I must say, I knew that the acting style for the 60's was going to be different from ours today, but I didn't bet on how different. I noticed that the promotion for the film and the opening credits were all directed towards Elizabeth Taylor. I felt good that the film would be more geared to a feminist viewing at that point. The 1940's-60's had a lot of pro-feminine ideas and the woman's rights movement was well underway. Women had the right to vote, so I wanted to see if a more feminist approach would be used. I paid very close attention to the acting during the performance because I wanted to see how much of the focus was on Katherina and what happens when Petruchio 'tames' her.
I was pleased that the acting style was close to Singing in the Rain, a musical produced a few years earlier, because that is what I was expecting it to be similar too. It is a very theatrical performance that focused on very distinct and over-exaggerated facial expressions. The movements were less life-like and more stylized. They represented an expression rather than being the expression. The comic relief was very stylized as well, but that is what you expect in this kind of film. They seemed to stay with the script as they spoke, but they took away or de-emphasized the end rhymes which are prevalent in the script and harder to make natural. Even when they used rhyming verses, it was done so well that it was not extremely noticeable. All the actors seemed very grounded in the style of acting that they were performing. No one was more realistic than another. They seemed to all be around the same level of over-the-top.
Elizabeth Taylor seemed to have the most important role. She is the foremost character on the cover and her name appeared in the opening credits for her costume and hair dressing. All the other characters were under the general umbrella of production, Ms Taylor seemed to be the only one with all the special treatment. So needless to say I watched for how that trickled into the film itself. While Shakespeare devotes a greater amount of his play to Petruchio and some of the other male characters, I found that in this version Katherina definitely held the stage when she was on camera. Even if the other characters were talking and she was watching through a peep-hole, the film focused on Katherina at the window peering through instead of direct focus of the speaking actors. She didn't seem to really upstage them, she just had obvious preference. (and honestly, would you rather watch a couple smelly old men talk and brag or watch the pretty and entertaining Elizabeth Taylor?)
Ms Taylor delivered her lines with spite and bile when it was her turn to speak and she delivered all her lines very deliberately. She did a very good job of making the shrew dislike-able, but pitiable. I really felt for her when she was yelling at Bianca about all her lovers, I could hear and see the jealously on Katherina's face. It's easy to be the shrew and just be cruel and spiteful, but Elizabeth made much more go on inside the character. When Petruchio was boasting of his love for Katherina and chasing her around the cotton mill, I could feel the repulsion of Katherina. At the same time, she was a little pleased that she finally had a suitor and one that would stand up to her at that. She was curious and peeved at the same time, and those are hard emotions to express at the same time.
This film really went where I wanted it to, because at the end after Katherina has been broken, she hasn't lost her spirit. When I read it, I pictured this completely obedient Katherina, who still had a way with words, but who was very much tame. In this version, Katherina is still very feisty. She expresses that her husband is her lord and governor and she owes him everything, but when it is time to make their exit, she has already left. Petruchio kind of looks around stupidly before he manages to get his head together and chase after her. I liked that she retains her essential character, but becomes a much better human being. The almost loving/affectionate looks that she exchanges with Petruchio when they see the little children squabbling shows a new side to her.
I really don't believe that Shakespeare would have been anti-feminist if he had been around at this time. He has a way of creating these feisty and intelligent woman and by placing in their sphere of influence they have a huge affect. As much as Petruchio has tamed Katherina, she has tamed the bachelor in him.
I was pleased that the acting style was close to Singing in the Rain, a musical produced a few years earlier, because that is what I was expecting it to be similar too. It is a very theatrical performance that focused on very distinct and over-exaggerated facial expressions. The movements were less life-like and more stylized. They represented an expression rather than being the expression. The comic relief was very stylized as well, but that is what you expect in this kind of film. They seemed to stay with the script as they spoke, but they took away or de-emphasized the end rhymes which are prevalent in the script and harder to make natural. Even when they used rhyming verses, it was done so well that it was not extremely noticeable. All the actors seemed very grounded in the style of acting that they were performing. No one was more realistic than another. They seemed to all be around the same level of over-the-top.
Elizabeth Taylor seemed to have the most important role. She is the foremost character on the cover and her name appeared in the opening credits for her costume and hair dressing. All the other characters were under the general umbrella of production, Ms Taylor seemed to be the only one with all the special treatment. So needless to say I watched for how that trickled into the film itself. While Shakespeare devotes a greater amount of his play to Petruchio and some of the other male characters, I found that in this version Katherina definitely held the stage when she was on camera. Even if the other characters were talking and she was watching through a peep-hole, the film focused on Katherina at the window peering through instead of direct focus of the speaking actors. She didn't seem to really upstage them, she just had obvious preference. (and honestly, would you rather watch a couple smelly old men talk and brag or watch the pretty and entertaining Elizabeth Taylor?)
Ms Taylor delivered her lines with spite and bile when it was her turn to speak and she delivered all her lines very deliberately. She did a very good job of making the shrew dislike-able, but pitiable. I really felt for her when she was yelling at Bianca about all her lovers, I could hear and see the jealously on Katherina's face. It's easy to be the shrew and just be cruel and spiteful, but Elizabeth made much more go on inside the character. When Petruchio was boasting of his love for Katherina and chasing her around the cotton mill, I could feel the repulsion of Katherina. At the same time, she was a little pleased that she finally had a suitor and one that would stand up to her at that. She was curious and peeved at the same time, and those are hard emotions to express at the same time.
This film really went where I wanted it to, because at the end after Katherina has been broken, she hasn't lost her spirit. When I read it, I pictured this completely obedient Katherina, who still had a way with words, but who was very much tame. In this version, Katherina is still very feisty. She expresses that her husband is her lord and governor and she owes him everything, but when it is time to make their exit, she has already left. Petruchio kind of looks around stupidly before he manages to get his head together and chase after her. I liked that she retains her essential character, but becomes a much better human being. The almost loving/affectionate looks that she exchanges with Petruchio when they see the little children squabbling shows a new side to her.
I really don't believe that Shakespeare would have been anti-feminist if he had been around at this time. He has a way of creating these feisty and intelligent woman and by placing in their sphere of influence they have a huge affect. As much as Petruchio has tamed Katherina, she has tamed the bachelor in him.
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