Crappy film

Brilliant and touching

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This is one of the Thames production of Shakespeare's plays which were produced in the late 70s and early 80s. They were of uneven quality; some were quite good, others average, and some were simply awful.This reviewer includes this production of Romeo and Juliet as one of the better ones. There are several reasons for this assessment.One, it is a complete production, or, certainly one of the most complete versions on film. Since it is complete or near-complete, it includes both the tragic elements of the play, plus the comic, which were many.Two, there is real chemistry in the two major protagonists. The two actors, Christopher Neame and Ann Hasson, positively exude two people who are punch-drunk in love.Three, Ann Hasson is a perfect Juliet. In Shakespeare's play Juliet is fourteen years old. Hasson has a youthful face and appearance and pepper's the role with the extreme emotionality of a preteen.Four, the overall production works, and works well. Let's face it, familiar passages from Romeo and Juliet have been parodied for good reason, and these same lines in a weaker, less confident manner would simply sound hokey and wrong. From the lips of these two actors, there is a real urgency and legitimacy in their words, and hearing these oft-repeated lines the words sound fresh and new. It is a pleasant surprise.

It's wonderful to see the complete play done, with no scene omitted. There are some wonderful performances in this production, especially by Clive Swift as Friar Lawrence. And I love Patsy Byrne as the Nurse (though it's difficult to get her other nurse role, from Blackadder, out of my head). But Ann Hasson as Juliet is less than stellar. And this production overall seems a bit flat, though there are several excellent moments. Sampson and Gregory are appropriately playful at the beginning. And the timing is great on Sampson's "No, sir" after hearing from Gregory that the law would not be on their side. That made me laugh out loud. In this production Romeo says "I have left myself" rather than "I have lost myself." I prefer "left," which was an emendation in 1875. The servant speaks his bit about the list of names directly to us, then drinks from his master's cup before exiting - a nice touch. Juliet's first scene, with Nurse and Capulet's Wife, is fairly dull, static, the three of them simply seated outside. In Act I Scene iv, Mercutio says his "True, I talk of dreams" almost as if to himself, lost in serious thought, rather than pointedly at Romeo. At the party, I love the way Capulet delivers his lines about how he once wore a visor. He makes it clear that he knows they're crashing the party, and that it's okay. Romeo speaks his first lines about Juliet while standing in the open, rather than quietly to himself, which doesn't quite work. The Chorus doesn't enter the scene at the end, but is in his own, unspecified location. In the balcony scene, Juliet says "that which we call a rose/By any other word would smell as sweet," following the Second Quarto. Something about Ann Hasson's voice doesn't quite work in the balcony scene. I'm not exactly sure what it is. Juliet speaks the line, "Parting is such sweet sorrow," and Romeo says, "Sleep dwell upon thine eyes." Friar Lawrence speaks his opening lines to himself, not to us. (You'll recognize Clive Swift from Keeping Up Appearances.) This scene is great between Friar and Romeo. I like that Romeo stresses "today" in the line "That thou consent to marry us today," showing the urgency his new love or infatuation has created. Ann Hasson is kind of weak in her scene with the Nurse (Act II Scene iv). She plays the scene all in the same way, not finding the various layers. That scene is one of my favorites from the play, and in this production Ann's performance makes it rather flat and uninteresting. In Act III, there is the sound of flies buzzing throughout the scene before the fight (also there are church bells, which were used in an earlier scene too - these sounds are distracting). In the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, Tybalt makes a move and Mercutio calls it out I like that Tybalt actually uses a move that was mentioned earlier, but I'm not sure I like the added line. The fight is playful, neither clearly wanting to truly hurt the other. But then suddenly Tybalt does draw blood, hitting Mercutio's arm. Added is a moment where Mercutio plays dead. However, the fatal blow comes just before Romeo comes between them, so the blow does not come under Romeo's arm, and the play suggests. Some harsh lighting in Act III Scene ii makes Juliet look forty years old after she scolds Nurse for speaking ill of Romeo. Act III Scene iii is really good, though the camera angle on Friar's closeup was poorly chosen. At the beginning of Scene v, Romeo is already up and dressed, rather than in bed with Juliet. He does then lie down with her. We don't see Juliet's reaction when Romeo says she bids him to die, and that's the moment when she changes from wanting him to stay to urging him to go. We need to see that on her face. This is an uneven scene anyway, because Christopher Neame's performance is much better than hers. However, Ann Hasson is really good in her reaction to Nurse's advice to marry Paris. That is one of her best moments. She is also pretty good in Act IV Scene i, with Paris and the Friar. Why do we hear birds chirping while Juliet gives her speech before drinking the sleeping potion. The sound effects in this production are often distracting. Patsy Byrne is wonderful as the Nurse when she goes to wake Juliet. In Act V, the apothecary is a bit too full in body for the line "Famine is in thy cheeks." The actor seems much too healthy for the part of the poor apothecary. In the tomb, Juliet says "For I will not away" before the Friar leaves.By the way, I'm in the middle of a three-year Shakespeare study, and I have a blog with my thoughts and reviews on a dozen or so film adaptations of Romeo And Juliet. For anyone who might be interested, the site is Michael Doherty's Personal Library on blogspot, and the entry is titled, "Shakespeare Study: The Tragedy Of Romeo And Juliet."

The acting here is fairly good. It's not really great as it doesn't stand out. The thing I really liked about this production is the costuming and scenery. These are important to me to help understand the play as Shakespeare intended. In this production the street scenes take place with street people around to give the feeling that the scene really is on the street. The scenes indoors likewise show what indoors would show in the time period. The dance scene is done showing many people dancing, though Rosaline is not shown as she is in some productions. Costumes were not cheaply done. Nobility are arrayed in very fine apparel.As far as the acting is concerned, I didn't feel there were any standout performances, except perhaps Christopher Biggins as a Capulet servant who can't read, a good comical part. Biggins did a good job of pulling off the comedy of his part. The Nurse and Peter are supposed to be comical characters and they try at it, but don't come off as well as in other versions of Romeo and Juliet. The parts of Romeo & Juliet are delivered fairly well, but don't stand out. Juliet's father, Capulet, seems just a bit effeminate, rather inappropriate for so domineering a father, husband and lord of the house. Tybalt should be much more antagonistic and sly. Here he is certainly willing to fight, but it almost seems as if it was Mercutio that was the antagonist in the fight between he & Tybalt. Mercutio does a good job in his incessant talk at nothing, which is as his character is supposed to be. He rambles and makes it seem natural.Lastly, the credits are lacking. The most notable omission is that there is no credit for Benvolio. Lady Montague and Peter are missing as well in the credits. Many of the other credits are missing in the film, but are filled in by IMDb.