Romeo and Juliet (1968/I)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Franco Zeffirelli

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play)
Franco Brusati (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 October 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The 1968 Royal Film Performance [UK Theatrical]

Plot:

When the now famous "star crossed lovers" of two enemy families meet, forbidden love ensues.

Plot Keywords:

Forbidden Love | Tragedy | Teenage Girl | Young Man | Secret From Mother

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Leonard Whiting	...	Romeo
Olivia Hussey	...	Juliet
John McEnery	...	Mercutio
Milo O'Shea	...	Friar Laurence
Pat Heywood	...	The Nurse
Robert Stephens	...	The Prince of Verona
Michael York	...	Tybalt
Bruce Robinson	...	Benvolio
Paul Hardwick	...	Lord Capulet
Natasha Parry	...	Lady Capulet
Antonio Pierfederici	...	Lord Montague
Esmeralda Ruspoli	...	Lady Montague
Roberto Bisacco	...	Paris
Roy Holder	...	Peter
Keith Skinner	...	Balthazar

Also Known As:

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)
Romeo e Giulietta (Italy)
Romeo y Julieta (Argentina) (Mexico) (Spain) [es]
Rómeó és Júlia (Hungary) [hu]
Roméo & Juliette (France) [fr]
Roméo et Juliette (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Romeo & Julia (West Germany) [de]
Romeo ja Julia (Finland) [fi]
Romeo och Julia (Sweden) [sv]
Romeo og Julie (Denmark) [da]
Romeo und Julia (West Germany) [de]
Romeu & Julieta (Brazil) [pt]

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

UK | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | South Korea:12 | USA:G (original rating) (Approved No. 21756) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | West Germany:12 | USA:PG (edited for re-rating) (1973) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Artena, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

BHE Films

Trivia:

During the sword fight scene when Mercutio throws a sword at Tybalt's feet, Mercutio's shadow is actually Franco Zeffirelli's shadow standing in for him because John McEnery was sick that day (according to Michael York's autobiography).

Goofs:

Continuity: The Prince's speech during the funeral includes the line "I...too have lost a brace (i.e. a pair) of kinsmen." In this version, only one of the Prince's kinsmen (i.e. Mercutio) is killed. Count Paris, the Prince's cousin who is slain by Romeo in the play, is left very much alive in this version. This may indicate that the film was trimmed before release, and that the death of Paris was actually cut. The souvenir program given out when the film first played in theatres indicates that plans were originally made for Paris to be killed by Romeo, just as in the original play (there is a reference to "the graveyard where Romeo slays Paris").

Quotes:

Tybalt: What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?
[draws sword]
Tybalt: Turn thee, Benvolio. Look upon thy death.
Benvolio: I do but keep the peace. Now, put away your sword or manage it to part these men with me.
Tybalt: [laughs] What? Drawn and you talk of peace? I hate the word as i hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. Have at thee, coward!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Freaks and Geeks: Discos and Dragons (#1.18)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

What Is a Youth

Keeps Some of the Poetry

Zefferelli is a sporadic master. Here he is in his prime. See how he understands how to direct groups, how to continue a motion from one frame to the next, how to use color to punctuate.

What has happened here is that he has hit on a formula that works toward the problem of moving Shakespeare (a verbal, intellectual event) into film (a matter of motion and image).

It works because the play can be cast largely in terms of crowds, sometimes mobs. Never have I seen this done so well.

Much of the verbal poetry is cut, and image poetry replaced in sufficient measure to satisfy. Mercutio is rightly seen as the heart of the play, balanced by the Nurse. Both are terrific.

Oh how I wish we could combine the cinematic skills of young Zefferelli with the Shakespearian insights of Branagh and the imagination of Greenaway to do, say a Lear. Bliss in the imagining.