Romeo and Juliet [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Franco Zeffirelli Franco Zeffirelli

Overview

"William Shakespeare's classic tragedy of youthful yearning and forbidden love finds Juliet (Olivia Hussey) and Romeo (Leonard Whiting) as two star crossed lovers. The two come from families who for some reason harbor long standoing grudges against each other, and naturally the parents do not approve. Keeping the two teens apart only seeks to strengthen their love for one another. Romeo steals away to be with the fair Juliet at every opportunity as the two forsake family, friends and reason to be together. When Romeo suffers a fatal knife wound in a street fight, Juliet takes her own life rather than live without her young husband. Narrated by Laurence Olivier, the film was mercilessly panned in the Variety review upon its release, labeling the feature ""a tough sell."" Director Zeffirelli gained no small measure of personal vindication when the film became an international smash and introduced Shakespeare to a new generation of fans who related to the characters who actually portrayed their own age as Shakespeare intended. No one under 16 years of age was allowed to see the film without an adult, adding to the box office draw. Romeo and Juliet won Oscars for Best Photography and Best Costumes, and was nominated for Best Director and Best Picture. The movie spawned the hit romantic ballad ""A Time For Us."" Reading the slanderous Variety review, one has to wonder what the reviewer could have possibly been thinking when he dipped his pen in the venemous poison when he panned this classic love story."

Product Details

Release Date:	02/14/2023
UPC:	0715515281614
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	PG
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	2:18:00
Sales rank:	7,996

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Olivia Hussey	Juliet
Leonard Whiting	Romeo
Milo O'Shea	Friai Laurence
Michael York	Tybalt
John McEnery	Mercutio
Pat Heywood	The Nurse
Natasha Parry	Lady Capulet
Robert Stephens	Prince of Verona
Keith Skinner	Balthazar
Richard Warwick	Gregory
Dyson Lovell	Sampson
Ugo Barbone	Abraham
Bruce Robinson	Benvolio
Paul Hardwick	Lord Capulet
Antonio Pierfederici	Lord Montague
Esmeralda Ruspoli	Lady Montague
Roberto Bisacco	Count Paris
Roy Holder	Peter
Aldo Miranda	Friar John
Dario Tanzini	Page to Tybalt
Laurence Olivier	Narrator,Narrator of Prologue
Maria Fracci	Actor
Roberto Antonelli	Actor
Carlo Palmucci	Actor
Murray Head	The Chorus
Nino Rota	Composer

Technical Credits

Franco Zeffirelli

Franco Brusati

Masolino D'Amico

Franco Zeffirelli	Director,Screenwriter
John Brabourne	Producer
Anthony Havelock-Allan	Producer
Franco Brusati	Screenwriter
Masolino D'Amico	Screenwriter
Lord John Brabourne	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The unrepentant romanticism of Franco Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet works beautifully in translating William Shakespeare's tragic drama to the silver screen. The lyrical score of Academy Award-winner Nino Rota (The Godfather) and the voluptuous and magnificent period costumes by Danilo Donati combine with the sensuous and dusty cinematography of Pasqualino De Santis to evoke the Italian renaissance setting perfectly. Ever the traditionalist, Zefferelli took a consistently conventional approach to the production, with his only really daring move coming in the casting. For the first time in film, two teenage actors portray Shakespeare's tragic protagonists, and the employment of a cast rife with unknowns results in the film being a triumph of spirit and enthusiasm over technique. Simply put, neither Olivia Hussey as Juliet, nor Leonard Whiting as Romeo, are very skilled actors: Shakespeare's words are often garbled, and the actors' intonations are occasionally inappropriate. Still, Zefferelli manages to overcome his young star's lapses (their considerable physical charms help as well), not to mention the coincidence-filled and hole-ridden plot, to offer a film of great beauty, abundant energy, and deep sorrow. Furthermore, the desperate romanticism of the titular characters' final actions taps into adolescent society's deeply rooted rebelliousness that was finding popular expression at the time. Nominated for four Academy Awards (including Best Director and Best Picture), Romeo and Juliet was the winner of two, for Cinematography and Costume Design.