THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (1929):

In sixteenth Century Padua, Hortensio loves Bianca, the youngest daughter of Baptista. But Baptista will not allow the two to get married, until his eldest daughter, the extremely headstrong Katherine, is betrothed. This task seems impossible because of Katherine's shrewish demeanor. They believe their prayers have been answered with the arrival from Verona of the lusty Petruchio, whose father has just passed, leaving him to travel the world and marry. Having not yet met her, Petruchio agrees to court Katherine, when he is told of her beauty and wit. Petruchio is even more excited at the prospect of marrying this wildcat of a woman after meeting her. Katherine will have none of it, even if it means her sister's spinsterhood.

DVD-R is in English with no subtitles. Approx. 65 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW  (1980):

Shakespeare meets Monty Python meets Fawlty Towers in this BBC version of the bard's famous tale. If you can watch John Cleese act his way through the classic without waiting for some inappropriately sarcastic remark to blurt out of his mouth, then you're truly capable of having an open mind (though choosing him to play Petruchio seems to be really good casting in this case). Don't look for him to refer to the shrew as a dragon and don't expect to see Basil the Rat or anyone claiming they can't hear him, because they've turned off their hearing aid to save the battery. If only Manuel could be there to royally proclaim the verses in the English he learned from a book (more understandable than British English, anyway)!

DVD-R is in English with switchable English subtitles. Approx. 126 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!