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Reviews
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales: The Taming of the Shrew (1994)
This animated tale, released in 1994 is an adaption of William Shaekespeares play 'The Taming of the Shrew'.
An Animation Which Does Not Tame Your Laughter
BBC's animated tale 'Taming of the Shrew' was released in 1994 and directed by Aida Zyablikova. Animation is generally associated with children, so it can be hit or miss, whether a mature audience would like it. As it was released in 1994, the animation would be different back then, to what we are used to now. Another area, which I was worried about, was how they would treat Shakespeare's play, 'Taming of the Shrew'. The play is a comedy, but it does contain, in my opinion some adult issues, especially between the characters of Petruchio and Kate(Katerine). So these were my concerns before I had even watched the film. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it as the film focused more on the comedy of the play. There are some great comedy scenes , one of my favorite's is where we first meet Kate. Her sister, Bianca and her father are talking to two suitors, when Kate comes running in, between the two men, knocking them to the ground. She does not apologize, as it was her deliberate intent to knock them over. Her attitude and unwillingness to be like her sister Bianca, is where the comedy lies. Kate and Bianca are total opposites. This is evident as Kate does not care for a suitor, while Bianca can not wait to be married and in love. There are some other funny scenes, between Kate and Petruchio. Mentioning Kate and Petruchio, their relationship is the main focus in the film. From the outset, when they first meet, the viewer knows that this relationship, is not the same kind of relationship that we see in the every day romantic comedy. It is clear from the outset, that there is no love and passion, between the two characters. In fact, they do not even get along, as they have a heated exchange on wordplay in their first encounter. Petruchio and Kate are strong characters in the play and this is represented by their costumes in the film. On first glance of Kate, it is hard not to miss her, with her red hair and bright red dress. Red is a very rich and powerful color, which would be attributed to a fiery type of person. So there is this immediate association of Kate being a fiery, stubborn character. On the other hand, our first glimpse of Petruchio, is of him dressed head to toe in black. In film and particularly in animation, the color black, is generally associated with evil, so if a character is fully clothed in black, the audience can make a quick association, that this character is the villain of the film. This helps to move the film along, as the use of stereotypes explain the actions of particular characters. It is also interesting to note, that these are the only two characters,which wear costumes in strong colors. The rest of the characters are dressed in light pastel colors, which suggest that they are only minor characters, as they do not stand out to us on the screen. Also the type of costumes they wear are the stereotypical costumes that are worn in Shakespearean plays, so the audience know that this film, is an adaption of one of his plays. This is also aided by the use of Shakespearean language and the orchestra which sets the mood for the film. As the film is an adaption of the play 'Taming of the Shrew', is does not cover everything. This brings me on to some of the criticism, which I would have. There is not doubt, that I enjoyed the film, however, as it focused on the relationship between Petruchio and Kate, it did not spend a lot of time on the storyline of Bianca. They summarized the whole story for Bianca in one scene, which I thought could have been developed more. As I am a fan of romance, it did not let the audience see the development of the relationship between Bianca and Lucentio. In the play, there is another story running along side this, which is that of the Lord playing a trick on beggar, Christopher Sly. They did have the scene at the beginning of the film, but as you become engrossed in the story of Petruchio and Kate, you forget about this other story. So I would recommend that you do remember that there are two story lines to this film, so that by the end, you are not left wondering, who the other people are, that you have not seen till now. All in all, though, I would definitely recommend this to anyone. It is an animation, but it is not too childish and is enjoyable. It might not be for everyone, but I do think that if you want to watch something that will make you laugh and enjoy, then this is the film for you.
Romeo Must Die (2000)
'Romeo Must Die', where Romeo swaps swords for martial arts.
'Romeo Must Die', where Romeo swaps swords for martial arts.
This action, martial arts film was released in 2000, where Andrey Bartkowiak made his debut as a director. It stars Jet Li and Aaliyah, who play Han Sing and Trish O'Day, respectively. The storyline focuses on Han, who seeks to avenge the killing of his brother. On his journey to finding out the killer, he falls for the daughter of a businessman, who is carrying out a major money deal with his father. As the film is categorised in the genre of action, you may think that it is not for everyone. However this would be a wrong assumption to make. The film does have a lot of scenes, which showcase the amazing martial art moves of Jet Li, but there are also other scenes which show emotional sides to the characters, which is why I really like this film. There are underlying themes in the movie, concentrated around the emotion of Love. The first, is the romantic love between Jet Li's character Hans and Aaliyah's character, Trish O'Day. This brings me to the title of the film, 'Romeo Must Die'. The name 'Romeo' has connotations with the character of Romeo in William Shakespeare's, 'Romeo and Juliet'. There are parallels between the character of Romeo in the play, and Hans in this film. When Romeo meets Juliet, he is instantly in love with her, this is the same with Hans and Trish, after their first meeting, he seems smitten by her. Trish comes across as a strong, determined woman, who does not always see eye to eye with her father. This is like Juliet, who acts rebellious towards her father, when he arranges that she is to marry Paris. In the film, it appears that Mac, who is Mr. O'Day's right hand man, is similar to the character of Paris and seems to think he has a chance with Trish. The most interesting similarity between the play and the film, is that Han's family are at war with Trish's family. This war between families adds another dimension to the film, which is not expected in this genre. This dimension is that of being human, which makes the film realistic to the viewer. Action films often concentrate solely on the action, with a bit of a storyline, where the main characters survive anything that is thrown at them. It is almost as if they are indestructible. However in this film, it combines these fight scenes, with a main storyline containing emotional scenes as well. These scenes of emotions, are at the core of the second type of Love, which is family love. This is mostly demonstrated through the father- son relationships in the movie. The relationship Isaac O'Day and his son, Colin have is one of love and protection. This is in contrast to Hans and his father, Ch'u Sing, where there seems to be tension and resentment, over the reasons why Hans went went to prison . These family dynamics also centre around the term loyalty. It is clear from the beginning where loyalty lies within the two families. However, as certain events occur, you begin to question the loyalty of some characters. It is worth mentioning, that as it is mostly an action film, there are some disturbing scenes, which the viewer may find distressing. I would like to mention that I thought the way the director showed these graphic scenes, was unique, as I never seen that been done before in film.
So what else can the viewer expect, well there are car chases, fighting, guns and shooting. As some of the content in the film, is quite heavy at times, it is balanced out with the emotional scenes, and also some comical scenes. These comical scenes come mostly in the form of the character of Maurice, played by Anthony Anderson. One is where he is in a music store, with headphones on. He gets so into the music, that he ends up knocking records of the wall. In conclusion, the film does have everything that you would want in any film, a hint of romance , comedy and a lot of action, martial arts. If there was one critique to this movie, it would have to be that unlike Romeo and Juliet, we do not see the passionate scenes between Hans and Trish, but it could also be argued that a relationship is not just based on the passion. In this way, the director may want the viewers to enjoy the growing chemistry between Hans and Trish, with a view to the audience believing that by the end of the film, there is a happy ever after for the two characters. This critique aside, I would definitely recommend this film. The best way to watch this film is to have an open mind when viewing it, as you will enjoy it. It is not one of those films, where you have figured out what's happening next, there are a lot of shocks and surprises along the way. I would also go on to say, that after watching the film, it has made me see Jet Li as more than just a martial arts professional, but an actor. This is down to the main reason that the film is not just about fighting, but love, family and loyalty.