The Taming of the Shrew (1967)

Director:

Franco Zeffirelli

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play)
Paul Dehn (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

8 March 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A romantic film amorously devoted to every man who ever gave the back of his hand to his beloved...and to every woman who deserved it!

Plot:

Brutish, fortune-hunting scoundrel Petruchio tames his wealthy shrewish wife, Katharina.

Plot Keywords:

Merchant | Love | Suitor | Padua | Shrew

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Katharina
Richard Burton	...	Petruchio
Cyril Cusack	...	Grumio
Michael Hordern	...	Baptista
Alfred Lynch	...	Tranio
Alan Webb	...	Gremio
Giancarlo Cobelli	...	The Priest
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Pedant
Ken Parry	...	Tailor
Anthony Gardner	...	Haberdasher
Natasha Pyne	...	Bianca
Michael York	...	Lucentio
Victor Spinetti	...	Hortensio
Roy Holder	...	Biondello
Mark Dignam	...	Vincentio
Bice Valori	...	The Widow
Tina Perna
Alberto Bonucci	...	Nathaniel
Milena Vukotic		(as Milena Vucotich)
Alfredo Bianchini
Valentino Macchi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roberto Antonelli	...	Philip (uncredited)
Salvatore Billa	...	(uncredited)
Lino Capolicchio	...	Gregory (uncredited)
Liana Del Balzo	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Gianni Magni	...	Curtis (uncredited)

Directed by
Franco Zeffirelli

Writing credits
William Shakespeare		(play "The Taming of the Shrew")
Paul Dehn		(screenplay) &
Suso Cecchi D'Amico		(screenplay) &
Franco Zeffirelli		(screenplay)

Produced by
Richard McWhorter	....	executive producer
Richard Burton	....	producer (uncredited)
Elizabeth Taylor	....	producer (uncredited)
Franco Zeffirelli	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Nino Rota		(music composed by)

Cinematography by
Oswald Morris		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Peter Taylor

Production Design by
John DeCuir		(as John De Cuir)
Lorenzo Mongiardino		(as Renzo Mongiardino)

Art Direction by
Giuseppe Mariani
Elven Webb

Set Decoration by
Luigi Gervasi		(set decorations)
Dario Simoni		(set decorations)
Carlo Gervasi		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Danilo Donati		(costumes designed by)

Makeup Department
Alexandre	....	hairstylist: Elizabeth Taylor (as Alexandre of Paris)
Ron Berkeley	....	makeup artist: Richard Burton
Alberto De Rossi	....	makeup artist
Giannetto De Rossi	....	makeup artist
Grazia De Rossi	....	hairdresser
Agnes Flanagan	....	hairdresser: Elizabeth Taylor
Frank La Rue	....	makeup artist: Elizabeth Taylor (as Frank Larue)

Production Management
Roberto Cocco	....	unit manager
Guy Luongo	....	production supervisor
Richard McWhorter	....	production manager (uncredited)
Daniel Micheletti	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Albino Cocco	....	assistant director
Carlo Lastricati	....	assistant director
Rinaldo Ricci	....	assistant director

Art Department
Giantito Burchiellaro	....	sketch artist
John DeCuir	....	associate designer (as John De Cuir)
Ken Muggleston	....	props
Giovanni Natalucci	....	set designer
Fernando Valento	....	construction manager
Italo Tomassi	....	scene painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Aldred	....	dubbing recorder
Janet Davidson	....	dubbing editor
Aldo De Martino	....	soundman
Graham Harris	....	dubbing editor
David Hildyard	....	sound mixer
Mario Ottavi	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Augie Lohman	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Doug Ferris	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Gerald Larn	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Nino Cristiani	....	operator
Luciano Trasatti	....	cameraman
Bob Penn	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Piero Servo	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gloria Musetta	....	wardrobe
Irene Sharaff	....	costume designer: Elizabeth Taylor

Editorial Department
Carlo Fabianelli	....	editor: Italian version
Franca Silvi	....	editor: Italian version (as Franka Silvi)
Liberata Zocchi	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Carlo Savina	....	conductor

Other crew
Maurice Binder	....	main title graphics
Elaine Schreyeck	....	continuity

Thanks
William Shakespeare	....	acknowledgement: without whom they would have been at a loss for words

Production Companies

• F.A.I. (as F.A.I. Films Artistici Internazionali)
• Royal Films International (as Royal Films International, Inc, Production)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (presents) (as Columbia Pictures Corporation)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1967) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1968) (Austria) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• Cinema Classics (1975) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia Pictures Television Distribution (????) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar (2000) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (USA) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Pioneer Entertainment (1990s) (USA) (video) (LaserDisc)
• Sony Pictures Television International (2011) (worldwide) (all media)

Other Companies

• Casa D'Arte Cerratelli  costume house
• Leclabart  wigs by: Elizabeth Taylor's
• Maggi and Rochetti  wigs furnished by
• Sartoria Farani S.t.L.  costume house (as Satoria Farani )
• Sartoria Safas  costumes by: Elizabeth Taylor's (as Sartoria S.A.F.A.S.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (1973 UK re-release) | Mono (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | USA:Approved | Australia:G | Finland:S | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

F.A.I.

Trivia:

The previous film version of The Taming of the Shrew (1929) featured Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks who, like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, were married at the time. Pickford's and Fairbanks's marriage, however, was quickly deteriorating, while Burton's and Taylor's would not end (the first time) for another seven years.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Petruchio asks for Katharina's hand, he makes a globe rotate. But the continents are perfectly drawn on it while the action is clearly set in the 15th century.

Quotes:

Petruchio:I've come to wive and wealthily in Padua. If wealthily, then happily, in Padua.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Greatest American Hero: The Hit Car (#1.2)" (1981)

A fun, witty, exuberant treatment of Shakespeare

This is a film version of a Shakespeare play the way Shakespeare would have wanted it to be seen - as funny and entertaining. The gorgeous colour in the sets and costumes reminds us that this story is taking place in sunny Italy - maybe it takes an Italian director to realize and bring out that light-hearted joyfulness. The actors are all wonderful, so natural in their roles that the Shakespearean verse sounds like believable daily conversation. Richard Burton is perfect as Petruchio, a self-confident, swaggering lout at the beginning, who in a way undergoes his own "taming" process to become a loving husband, proud of his wife and delighted with the happiness ahead of them. Elizabeth Taylor as an actress is not really up to the demands of Shakespeare, but she certainly looks her part, and on the whole does pretty well, especially as she is given a lot of action rather than speaking in this film, until the very end. Zeffirelli does wonderful things with the visuals - the scene at the beginning, when what appears to be a solemn church service suddenly erupts into a wild carnival can be seen as a joking reflection of the typical viewer's reaction to this happy treatment of Shakespeare; where we expect to be bored by solemn, po-faced reverence in the presence of Art, we suddenly find ourselves swept away in a merry romp. And the recurring glimpses of a huge grotesque blonde woman continually attended by her small, dark-haired pretty sister, always scaring away the latter's possible suitors is a witty summary of the main story we are watching. This movie is a great introduction to Shakespeare for anyone who hasn't seen his plays before, and a perfect antidote for anyone who's been intimidated into thinking that Shakespeare is "too hard" for anyone but experts and scholars to understand.