Film review: Romeo and Juliet (1978) directed by Alvin Rakoff.

For this fine December Wednesday, I give to you another Romeo and Juliet film review. This time I am reviewing the 1978 BBC TV film version. This dramatic version includes a variety of cast including Alan Rickman as Tybalt, Jaqueline Hill as Lady Capulet, Rebecca Saire as Juliet and Patrick Ryecart as Romeo.

Now I am going to be completely honest when I say that out of all the Romeo and Juliet film versions I have seen, this one I did not seem to enjoy as much. There were little things that bothered me such as when Capulet's manner of doing things. I was not keen on this version of Capulet. One example is at the party and he slaps one of the women  after he hugs her. This is not in a violent way I might add but it did still bother me. That might be because of different attitudes at the time but it did bother me. Also I found that while Jaqueline Hill's Lady Capulet was significant, I struggle to remember Zulema Dene's Lady Montague. I understand that Lady Capulet speaks more in the play generally, but the way the two were presented was starkly different in my opinion.

For me the highlights of the play were the two young lovers - Patrick Ryecart's Romeo and Rebecca Saire's Juliet. They both shone throughout. From their initial meeting to Juliet at her father's mercy (I felt for her here), to Romeo's rage at Tybalt right until the ending in the Capulet chamber - these two were great. The emotion they both displayed made them capitvating characters. Alongside Alan Rickman's Tybalt and Anthony Andrews' Mercutio, they made the play something rather good.

I did also like the setting, which happened to be similar to that of the 1976 film version of the play, which I watched and reviewed as well. (Do check my previous blog post for that one.) While this film does not stand out to me as particularly interesting or at all that dazzling, it does have its good moments with some good performances. I am giving it a 4/10.


Until next time,


Thomas.

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