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Romeo & Juliet (TV) More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 11 reviews in total |
10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Alan Rickman is good, but others are too, 8 August 2000
Author:
Peter J. Cockerham (pjcockerham@hotmail.com) from Dallas, Texas
I was in high school when this was first broadcast on public television. I liked it better than what was then the latest movie version, because the movie cut out too many lines. I'll admit that Alan Rickman made an excellent Tybalt, but that's not the only memorable performance in that production. Michael Hordern was fine as Capulet. The big surprise for me was Celia Johnson as Juliet's nurse. She was such a wonderful actress that it more than made up for the fact that she was way too old for the part. (It was years later, after her death, I believe, that I saw her in her most famous role in the David Lean movie "Brief Encounter".) It's been over twenty years since I've seen that TV production and I don't think I'll ever forget it.
10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Romeo, Romeo, who cast you as Romeo?, 19 October 2001
Author:
Nozz from Israel
At times I wasn't sure if this was Romeo and Juliet
or Dudley Do-Right and Juliet. Sometimes Romeo seemed
wooden, sometimes awkward, sometimes trying woodenly
to be awkward. He seemed much older than Juliet, too,
which would be interesting if it were part of the play
but it isn't.
Much more affecting were Juliet herself, the Nurse, and
old
Capulet. Some of the staging was notably well handled,
including the whole Capulet ballroom scene. I couldn't
help comparing Mercutio and Friar Laurence unfavorably
with their Zeffirelli counterparts.
It was nice to get more of the dialogue than some other
film versions preserve, but on the other hand some of
the cuts took away familiar lines and such cuts are
always jarring.
9 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Not Good, 3 March 2007
Author:
tonstant viewer
Celia Johnson is good as the Nurse. Michael Hordern is good as Capulet,
though it's his usual neighing and whinnying and not a patch on his
King Lear. John O'Conor reads the verse well as Friar Laurence though
he never takes it anywhere. Alan Rickman is good as Tybalt, in the
first of his "yuk" roles that would make him famous. Christopher
Strauli's Benvolio is sympathetic.
The sets are pretty, if not stunning as in some of the other BBC
Shakespeare's.
And that's it. The rest is weak to dreadful. Rebecca Saire turned 15
during production, and hasn't a clue about how to act Juliet - she
opens her eyes real wide and whines every line in exactly the same way.
Patrick Ryecart is poorly matched to her, and his self-regard is
inexplicable. The Balcony Scene flows smoothly and uneventfully with
zero emotional or erotic impact. Their deaths come as a relief. If I
had a dagger, I would have offered it to them hours earlier.
Anthony Andrews is unspeakable as Mercutio, a great shock if you
remember his fine work in "Brideshead Revisited." He breaks the mirror
of Shakespeare's verse into a thousand shards of two or three words
each, and then shouts the fragments in as disconnected and
unintelligible manner as possible. In this production, Queen Mab
abdicates. Awful.
The director, Alvin Rakoff, shows only an intermittent gift of putting
the camera where it will show us what we want to see. The opening brawl
is notably incoherent. However there is humor when in a later fight,
Romeo apparently knees Tybalt right in the cobblers. Tybalt then grabs
the offended region. However did that get through?
R&J is a long play. This version is not recommended for classroom use,
or much else.
6 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Awful acting, 12 March 2007
Author:
Ollie21 from Australia
Have to admit, this version disgraces Shakespeare upfront! None can act except the nurse who was my fav! Juliet had good skills as a teen but she can't give emotional depth to her lines and we really can never connect to her. She's worse doing the scene when she is contemplating drinking the sleeping potion...god stop whining! I would have poured it in her mouth to shut her up! Anthony Andrews...yikes! Considering his other great movies (Brideshead Revisited, Ivanhoe, Scarlet Pimpernel), he's quite a shocker in this one. And don't get me started on Romeo...puhleasssssee! It's still good to see if you're on the hunt to see every Romeo and Juliet ever made in the history of film. Olivia and Leonard's version is still the best, followed by Leslie Howard's version and then the current Leo and Clare!
3 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
A performance worthy of the name!, 16 November 2009
Author:
tblack44 from Australia
I have noted with some surprise the extremely negative criticism of
many viewers who have commented on this version of Shakespeare's'
famous play, particularly with regard to Patrick Ryecart's portrayal of
Romeo. I can see how his performance could be considered wooden but in
my opinion he has managed, with some success, to bring about a much
more naturalistic depiction of the character.
Certainly, there are times when he should have perhaps brought out more
emotion in his performance (such as the ballroom scene) but, for the
most part, his understated portrayal works. His Romeo is a complex
character whose extreme emotional state is always writhing beneath the
surface and bubbles up beautifully when the occasion demands it.
Whether it be expressions of rage or love, Ryecart manages to get it
right what is perhaps the most faithful film version of this classic
tragedy.
Rebecca Saire, who for once has been well cast in a BBC production in
terms of her character's age, performed well as Juliet. Sweet yet
sensitive, and deeply in love : a classic portrayal in a classical
reading of Shakespeare.
In terms of the other memorable cast members, Alan Rickman did a good
(but not a great job) as Tybalt, and I think that certain other
reviewers have overpraised his performance due simply to his later
celebrity. There is more to the character than his being simply broody
(something which seems to be Rickman's essential reading of every role
he plays). Anthony Andrews was as crazy and eccentric as I imagine
Mercutio being; and if there ever was a faithful portrayal of an
Elizabethan father, Michael Hordern pulled it off with gusto. Celia
Johnson was great as a well-meaning and loving yet overly fussy Nurse.
I enjoyed this production as a faithful version of the text without the
overly dramatic nature of later film versions (particularly
Luhrmann's). I feel that the director has come as close as possible to
a reading that Shakespeare would recognise. An admirable recreation of
a beloved classic as ever there was one!
3 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Shakespeare Should be Rolling in his Grave, 26 May 2008
Author:
Katani Tribbianni from Denver, CO
For my first taste of Shakespeare on stage, I cannot believe what these
people did to a perfectly good play.
-Let's start off with the good bit, shall we?-
Alan Rickman is alright, although some of his dialog could have been
delivered with more feeling. The rest of the actors needed to pull it
together.
Romeo, Romeo, whyfore art thou not dead yet, Romeo? The actor, while
not only completely wooden and deadpan, could not read his lines with
any gusto at all. He was completely out of focus, had difficulty even
looking Juliet in the face, and absolutely NO grace with the lines that
he was given. Whoever cast him deserves to be punished. Juliet is
almost passable, but she gives no depth to her character,and seems to
be completely out of touch with the play. Mercutio was incredibly
creepy and completely out of character for the entirety of his dialog.
Benvolio was unfeeling and mercilessly choppy with his lines.
I was forced to endure this half-baked production of Romeo and Juliet.
The acting was stilted and the costumes were nothing short of
distracting. I have seen kindergarten puppet shows with more effort put
into them. I only wish that i could give this movie a rating of zero.
2 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Fab classical Shakespeare, 5 April 2009
Author:
Andy Croft from Australia
I am bias as I am Shakespeares biggest fan and not a big critic on the
various performances because I find every adaptation I see I enjoy
because of the variety. Which I think Shakespeare himself would also
enjoy the wide different attempts at his works. Who knows what is the
correct way to performance these classics. I enjoyed seeing Alan
Rickman in hid first TV role. I love the Geilgud voice and his
presence. If you are a true Shakespeare fan leave your eyes open and
your opinions wide as I truly believe the great man himself would do
exactly that 400 years on.
I like all the BBC Shakespeare collection.
Well done the Beeb !
8 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Loved it, 24 November 2004
Author:
davidandpamlee
Saw this Movie in College about 10 Years ago now in a Shakespeare class and Absolutely loved the movie and have been looking for this movie. It's an Old Movie and yes the special effects are not great but is very true to Shakespeare and what you see would be more like what it would have actually been like when Shakespeare wrote the Play. And I believe this is what the Director was trying for and accomplished. A movie true to Shakespeare true nature not a Hollywood version. So in essentially you have almost gone back in time and watch it as if Shakespeare himself was directing it. But your not going to get great special effects so if that what you looking for look more but if your looking for something that has stayed with the Nature and the spirit of Shakespeare this is your movie.
2 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Atrocious, 27 February 2010
Author:
Alain English from London, England
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Easily the best known of all the Shakespeare plays, it has been
seriously let down here. Shoddy direction, stagnant studio work and
erratic performances spoil a fine tragedy.
In the town of Verona, the Capulets and the Montagues have been feuding
for centuries but tragedy is imminent when Romeo (Patrick Rycart), a
Montague, falls in love with Juliet (Rebecca Saire), a Capulet.
Bloodshed soon erupts...
The studio work, especially in daytime scenes, seriously stagnates the
energy of the play. It's a story that, with it's energy, deserves to be
shot outdoors. Coupled with this the costumes are hideous, with too
many tights and ludicrous codpieces. The stage fighting looks
horrendous, with far too much stretching and running around to be
engaging.
Patrick Ryecart is too lightweight to be a truly effective Romeo. He
manages the character's intensity when the plot gets going but his
stately accent and bland, often inexpressive eyes limit his range. It
is very hard for the audience to relate to this Romeo. Rebecca Saire is
too youthful to be a good Juliet - she captures the character's naiveté
but a little more sassiness would have been welcome.
The supporting roles don't fare much better. Joseph O'Connor's Friar
Laurence is fine but too many of his best lines have been cut. Anthony
Andrews' Mercutio belongs on stage and not on camera. He gurns and
gesticulates excessively and looks rather ridiculous as a result. Alan
Rickman, underplaying his role, has virtually no presence as Tybalt. He
did develop an edge and intensity to deliver some fine screen
performances in later years, but that isn't in evidence here. The
Prince can be a fine role with his brief appearances but actor Lawrence
Naismith fails to give the part any authority on camera. Only Micheal
Hordern, in probably his best role in this series, comes out of this
with any dignity. His Capulet is well-played and a joy to watch.
See one of the other versions of this story instead.
10 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
Alan Rickman is the man, 11 February 2000
Author:
master_d (master_d_68@hotmail.com) from Meadowview, Virginia
I watched this in high school and thought it was okay, not great, a little over-acted, but okay. I am reviewing this because I just found out that Alan Rickman plays Tybalt in this. In my opinion Alan plays the role with gusto and power. Not over-acting like the other characters. God bless RickMAN. God bless you for saving this show. Too bad he had to die early...
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