13 thoughts on “TBT: The Taming of the Shrew (1967)

  1. Shakespeare always knew which side his bread was buttered on.
    There is a lot that could be said about the depiction of Italians in English drama, most of it not very flattering. “The Revenger’s Tragedy,” which was filmed only once that I know of, and that as a post-blowup piece, wasn’t any nice to the Italians than Shakespeare.
    My ex could date any movie in seconds by looking at the hair and makeup.

  2. I think one of the great questions is who tamed whom? Kate has actually tamed Petruchio by letting him think he’s tamed her. You just know Bianca is going to make Lucentio’s life a hell.

    1. That seems to be the interpretation this film takes — Kate’s final speech is delivered straight, but she walks right out, leaving him in the lurch. HAH.

      1. Indeed. And she delivers that last speech in such a way that you know she hasn’t really been subdued.

  3. I remember reading an interview with someone involved,(Micheal York?) who said Burton and Taylor were in a genuine disaggrement when they filmed the fighting scene and really hit each other hard. And Burton managed to give Taylor a beautiful blue eye, so they had to stop filming for a few days.

    I do love this movie and always interpreted it as Kat isn’t the least subdued in the end. :)

    Not a costume movie, but I really liked the modern version with Rufus Seawell and Shirley Henderson.

    1. Considering the Medicis hired the landsknechts, it’s understandable to confuse ragged and mismatched Italian costumes for looking German. Petruchio is supposed to dress in ragged and mismatched clothes on their wedding day to embarrass his wife. As Donati already created a very colorful palette for the movie, they had to push Petruchio’s wedding costume even further. It fits the overall look and environment created for the film.

  4. Then, for laughs and giggles, there was the version done as an episode of “Moonlighting” with Bruce Willis as Petruchio and Cybil Shepherd as Kate. The costumes were pretty wild, but it’s a hilariously fun romp!

  5. My favorite movie ever! The casting was perfect, and the costumes so sumptuous! I found them really inspiring, even if they aren’t 100% accurate.

  6. One possible interpretation of Taming of the Shrew is that Petruchio isn’t trying to subdue Kate’s mind or spirit–just her bad temper. Kate’s not just a strong woman who speaks her mind…this is someone who PHYSICALLY ASSAULTS some poor music teacher because he had the nerve to CORRECT HER TECHNIQUE. (In short–for doing his job!) Could have given the poor guy a concussion–or maybe even killed him! So maybe Petruchio is showing Kate “THIS is what it’s like to live with someone like you–someone who flies into a rage over every little thing.”

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