The Taming of the Shrew is a 1967 historical romance comedy film directed by Franco Zeffirelli , based on William Shakespeare 's play about a courtship between two strong-willed people in 16th-century Italy. The film stars Elizabeth Taylor (who also produced) as Kate and Richard Burton as Petruchio , who were both nominated for BAFTA Awards for their acting. It features Cyril Cusack , Michael Hordern , Michael York , and Victor Spinetti in supporting roles.
31-434: Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli OMRI KBE ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈfraŋko ddzeffiˈrɛlli] ; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of
62-492: A fashion designer, and Ottorino Corsi, a wool and silk dealer from Vinci . Since both were married, Alaide was unable to use her surname or Corsi's for her child. She came up with "Zeffiretti", which are the "little breezes" mentioned in Mozart's opera Idomeneo , of which she was quite fond. However, it was misspelt in the register and became Zeffirelli. When he was six years old, his mother died and he subsequently grew up under
93-611: A product of "that Jewish cultural scum of Los Angeles which is always spoiling for a chance to attack the Christian world." Zeffirelli was a highly conservative Catholic, and served two terms in the Italian senate as a member of Silvio Berlusconi 's centre-right Forza Italia party. He was criticized by members of the gay community for upholding the Catholic Church 's position on homosexuality and by others for support of
124-557: A scene painter in Florence, he was introduced to Luchino Visconti , who hired him as an assistant director for the film La Terra trema , which was released in 1948. Visconti's methods had a deep impact on Zeffirelli's later work. He also worked with directors such as Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini . In the 1960s, he made his name designing and directing his own plays in London and New York City and soon transferred his ideas to
155-417: Is an ill-tempered shrewish woman but a lusty young nobleman, Petruchio , takes on the challenge of taming and marrying her. A subplot involves the wooing of Bianca by several suitors including handsome Lucentio, foppish Hortensio, and elderly Gremio. Sources: The film was originally intended to be a vehicle for Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni . Taylor and Burton put over a million dollars into
186-624: Is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries. A Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic since 1977, Zeffirelli also received an honorary British knighthood in 2004. He was awarded the Premio Colosseo in 2009 by the city of Rome. Zeffirelli was born Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli in the outskirts of Florence , Tuscany , Italy. He was born after an affair between Florentine Alaide Garosi,
217-734: The Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze in 1941 and, following his father's advice, entered the University of Florence to study art and architecture. After World War II broke out, he fought as a partisan with the Italian Resistance , before he met up with British soldiers of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards and became their interpreter. After the war, he re-entered the University of Florence to continue his studies, but when he saw Laurence Olivier 's Henry V in 1945, he directed his attention toward theatre instead. While working for
248-703: The Coronet Theatre in New York City on March 8, 1967, starting its regular run the following day. The Taming of the Shrew grossed $ 8 million in North America, earning $ 3,540,000 in theatrical rentals during 1967, making it the 25th highest grossing picture of 1967 . The film grossed $ 12 million worldwide. The film received positive reviews from modern critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 83% of professional critics gave
279-748: The Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival . In November 2004, he was awarded an honorary knighthood by the United Kingdom. Zeffirelli received criticism from religious groups for what they call the blasphemous representation of biblical figures in his films. He also roused accusations of antisemitism for describing Martin Scorsese 's The Last Temptation of Christ as
310-640: The Metropolitan Opera in New York, including La bohème , Tosca , Turandot and Don Giovanni . When the new Metropolitan Opera opened at Lincoln Center, he directed its first production, Samuel Barber 's Antony and Cleopatra , starring Leontyne Price. In 1996, he was awarded an honorary degree for services to the arts by the University of Kent at a graduation ceremony held in Canterbury Cathedral . In 1999, he received
341-512: The Church's position on abortion , which extended to calling for capital punishment for women who had terminated a pregnancy. He roused controversy again when he told a newspaper in 2006 that he had not suffered any harm from sexual abuse by a priest as a child. In 1996, Zeffirelli came out as gay, but thereafter preferred to be discreet about his personal life. Zeffirelli said that he considered himself "homosexual" rather than gay, as he felt
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#1732771815166372-717: The Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( Italian : Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana ) is the most senior Italian order of merit . It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic , Luigi Einaudi . The highest-ranking honour of the Republic, it is awarded for "merit acquired by the nation" in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers. The post-nominal letters for
403-696: The North American box office in 1969. It was re-released in 1973 and earned $ 1.7 million in rentals. Film critic Roger Ebert , for the Chicago Sun-Times , wrote: "I believe Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet is the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made". After two successful film adaptations of Shakespeare, Zeffirelli went on to religious themes, first with a film about the life of St. Francis of Assisi titled Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972), then his extended mini-series Jesus of Nazareth (1977) with an all-star cast. The latter
434-490: The Shrew , Zeffirelli's native Florence was devastated by floods . A month later, he released a short documentary, entitled Florence: Days of Destruction , to raise funds for the disaster appeal. Zeffirelli's major breakthrough came the year after, when he presented two teenagers as Romeo and Juliet (1968). It made Zeffirelli a household name – no other subsequent work by him had the immediate impact of Romeo and Juliet . The film earned $ 14.5 million in domestic rentals at
465-539: The United States. He began his career in the theatre as assistant to Luchino Visconti. Then he tried his hand at scenography. His first work as a director was buffo operas by Gioachino Rossini . He became a friend of Maria Callas and they worked together on a La traviata in Dallas , Texas, in 1958. Of particular note is his 1964 Royal Opera House production of Tosca with Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi . In
496-454: The auspices of the English expatriate community and was particularly involved with the so-called Scorpioni , who inspired his semi- autobiographical film Tea with Mussolini (1999). Italian researchers found that Zeffirelli was one of a handful of living people traceably consanguineous with Leonardo da Vinci . He was a descendant of one of da Vinci's siblings. Zeffirelli graduated from
527-458: The cinema. Zeffirelli's first film as director was a version of The Taming of the Shrew (1967), originally intended for Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni but featured the Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in their stead. Taylor and Burton helped fund production and took a percentage of the profits rather than their normal salaries. While editing The Taming of
558-534: The film Withnail and I on Zeffirelli. In 2018, the American actor Johnathon Schaech alleged that Zeffirelli sexually assaulted him during the filming of Sparrow ( Storia di una capinera , 1993). Zeffirelli's son Giuseppe "Pippo", adopted by the filmmaker as an adult, issued a statement at the time denying the allegation. Zeffirelli died at his home in Rome on 15 June 2019, aged 96. Order of Merit of
589-664: The film a positive review, based on 23 reviews with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus states: "It may not be reverent enough for purists, but this Taming of the Shrew is too funny – and fun – for the rest of us to resist." The film screenplay cuts most of the subplot of Lucentio and Bianca, and the entire Christopher Sly framing device. Other scenes are trimmed of dialogue, or have lines moved from one to another. The film also adds additional scenes, with little or no dialogue, focusing on Kate and Petruchio. Taylor plays Kate's final, controversial speech without any obvious irony (such as Mary Pickford 's wink in
620-654: The first day of shooting again, as she did not think her performance was up to scratch. Zefferilli assured her it was, but she was persistent, and on the last day of principal photography, the entire first day was shot again. Rotislav Doboujinsky was Head of the film's Specialist Design Department. The film's premiere was the Royal Film Performance at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on February 27, 1967, attended by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon . It had its US premiere at
651-419: The first time a rank higher than Knight. The minimum age requirement is normally 35. The Knight Grand Cross with Collar is awarded only to heads of state . The Taming of the Shrew (1967 film) The Taming of the Shrew premiered with a Royal Film Performance on 27 February 1967. At the 40th Academy Awards , it was nominated for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction - Set Decoration . Burton
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#1732771815166682-840: The lead role. His adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë novel Jane Eyre (1996) was a critical success. Zeffirelli frequently cast unknown actors in major roles: Leonard Whiting (Romeo in Romeo and Juliet ), Graham Faulkner (St. Francis in Brother Sun, Sister Moon ) and Martin Hewitt (David Axelrod in Endless Love ). Zeffirelli was a major director of opera productions from the 1950s in Italy and elsewhere in Europe as well as
713-535: The liberty of the citizens) encircling the head of Italia turrita on the reverse. The six degrees with corresponding ribbons are as follows (with numbers to 2 June 2020): The order is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic , as head of the orders of knighthood, on the recommendation of the President of the Council of Ministers . Except in exceptional circumstances, no one can be awarded for
744-660: The order are OMRI . The order effectively replaced national orders such as the Civil Order of Savoy (1831), the Order of the Crown of Italy (1868), the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1572) and the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (1362). Investiture takes place twice a year – on 2 June, the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic , and on 27 December, the anniversary of
775-453: The production and, instead of a salary, took a percentage of profits. It was shot entirely at Dino De Laurentiis ' studios in Rome . Unlike her husband, Taylor had never performed Shakespeare before, and she was said to be very nervous prior to the beginning of the shoot. As she found her way into the role, and became more confident, she asked Franco Zeffirelli if she could shoot everything from
806-570: The promulgation of the Italian Constitution . However, those awards on Presidential motu proprio , related to termination of service or granted to foreigners, may be made at any time. The badge, modified in 2001, bears the inscription Al Merito della Repubblica encircling the national coat of arms on the obverse and the Latin Patriæ Unitati (for the union of the country) and Civium Libertati (for
837-559: The same year, he created Callas' last Norma at the Paris Opera. He also staged at the Vienna State Opera : Don Giovanni (1972), La Bohème (1963), and Carmen with Elena Obraztsova and Plácido Domingo in 1978. Zeffirelli also collaborated with Joan Sutherland , designing and directing her performances of Gaetano Donizetti 's Lucia di Lammermoor in 1959. Over the years he created several productions for
868-782: The same. A member of the Forza Italia party, he served as the Senator for Catania between 1994 and 2001. Films he directed included the Shakespearean adaptations The Taming of the Shrew (1967), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton ; Romeo and Juliet (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director ; and Hamlet (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close . His Biblical television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) won both national and international acclaim and
899-405: The term "gay" was less elegant. Zeffirelli adopted two adult sons, men with whom he had lived and who worked for him for years, managing his affairs. Director Bruce Robinson claimed to have been the target of unwanted amorous attention from Zeffirelli during the filming of Romeo and Juliet , in which Robinson played Benvolio . Robinson says that he based the lecherous character of Uncle Monty in
930-429: Was a major success in the ratings. He moved on to contemporary themes with a remake of the boxing picture The Champ (1979) and the critically panned Endless Love (1981). In the 1980s, he made a series of successful films adapting opera to the screen, with such stars as Plácido Domingo , Teresa Stratas , Juan Pons and Katia Ricciarelli . He returned to Shakespeare with Hamlet (1990), casting Mel Gibson in
961-593: Was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Comedy or Musical , and the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical . Burton and Taylor also received BAFTA nominations. This was one of three Shakespearen film adaptations directed by Zeffirelli, followed by Romeo and Juliet in 1968, and Hamlet in 1990. Baptista Minola is attempting to marry off his two daughters; however, he will marry off his youngest, Bianca only if someone will marry his eldest, Katherina . Katherina