Oct 031978
 
four reels

Romeo (Patrick Ryecart) and Juliet (Rebecca Saire), the children of warring families, fall in love and secretly marry.  When Tybalt (Alan Rickman), a cousin of Juliet, is killed by Romeo after he slays Romeo’s friend, Mercutio (Anthony Andrews), the…  Well, you know what happens.

This stage-like presentation was the first version of Romeo and Juliet that worked for me.  I’m happy to say that I’ve seen many more live and cinematic versions over the years and found a good many that have the right elements, but in 1978, this was a revelation.

Certainly, it is far from a perfect adaptation.  Shot as a stage play, almost no use is made of the advantages of film.  The sets are claustrophobic, the camera work simplistic, and the music repetitive.  The fight scenes, which would be barely acceptable in a live performance, are embarrassing.  It is also a very standard adaptation.  Everything has been done many times before.  There are no new insights into why the characters do what they do, and most of Shakespeare’s bawdier lines are recited as if they are normal conversation (a common flaw—making Shakespeare socially proper).

Additionally, Ryecart is an unexciting Romeo, demonstrating none of the passion the part requires.  He is also too old.  (See my review of three other versions of Romeo and Juliet for my thoughts on the importance of age in the play).

But with all that, it still works, due to a few fine casting choices.  John Gielgud is always welcome, even in so small a roll as the Chorus, and Michael Hordern, who specialized in confused characters who somehow retain their dignity, gives depth to Capulet.  Alan Rickman (who has impressed me over and over in such films as Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Dogma, and Galaxy Quest) is an intense and wonderfully oily Tybalt.  I can’t think of any other performance that made me so gleeful at Tybalt’s death.  Then there is Anthony Andrews as Mercutio.  Mercutio is a difficult role that almost no one gets right.  He should be slightly manic, the quirky high school/college clown with something to prove, but too often he just comes off as a nut.  Andrews walks the line and succeeds in making him likable if still exasperating.

But successful secondary performances, no matter how superb, can’t make Romeo and Juliet sing.  It is Rebecca Saire who does that.  Age appropriate, she imbues Juliet with innocence, intelligence, a desire to please, and passion.  She makes Juliet what she needs to be, a near-fourteen year old girl.  The party scene is the best I’ve seen (well, her part of it anyway) as Juliet cautiously flirts with Romeo.  She swept me into the tragedy.

A good cast can overcome all flaws in a production of Romeo and Juliet (and any Shakespearian play).  With a better Romeo, this would be the definitive version.

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