Romeo and Juliet Part 1 - Sullivan

Yes! Now we’re in to the good stuff! Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s great plays, a true classic. It has been filmed many times and adapted to many different forms, including cartoons, ballets, and Broadway musicals. 

Only one of these is available to stream on Amazon Prime. It was filmed in 1982 by an operation called “Bard Productions, LLC” for the Shakespeare Video Society. It stars Alex Hyde-White as Romeo, Blanche Baker as Juliet, and Esther Rolle as the Nurse. 

The entire play (except possibly Friar Lawrence’s cell and the cemetery) is shot on one set, dressed as a marketplace, or an orchard, or Capulet's home, etc. The costumes appear to be a 1980s take on what Elizabethan Englishmen would have expected Italians to wear. The men are all wearing skin-tight leggings with contrasting codpieces that I have to mention because I found them very distracting (Dude! Put it away already! Get some pants, or maybe a kilt or something. Maybe a longer shirt!). Perhaps the ladies will appreciate it more than I did.

At the time this was made, Esther Rolle was probably the biggest name on the cast list due to her work on TV sitcoms. I liked her as the Nurse. The role appears to have been a little bit of a challenge for her, but her comic acting ability still shows through. Unfortunately she’s almost always stuck in scenes with Blanche Baker as Juliet. Baker seems to have learned her lines a few minutes before filming. Phonetically. Her Juliet is blank - expressionless - trancelike. She is so boring to watch, I had to start entertaining myself by watching for the shadow of the boom mic at the top of the screen. 

The redeeming star of this production is Dan Hamilton as Mercutio. I tend to think of Mercutio as a blowhard added for comic relief who gets one good speech and then dies. Dan Hamilton’s Mercutio is way more than this. There’s a deep backstory to this Mercutio. This Mercutio is a guy who’s been hurt by love. He’s angry, he’s itching for a fight, and he can’t help but use his natural charm and wit to diffuse what’s seething inside him. Your typical Mercutio steals a scene from Romeo. This Mercutio steals the entire production. 

Since this is the first Romeo and Juliet I’ve watched for this project, it is, by default, the best so far. I expect it to sink pretty quickly.

Here’s the ranking:

1: Dir. Larry Sullivan. Perf. Alex Hyde-White, Blanche Baker, and Dan Hamilton. Shakespeare Video Society, 1982. Amazon.com, 15 AUG 2013.