Customer Reviews

Romeo & Juliet

5 star:		(249)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I saw this film approximately 20 times during my college years. Franco Zeffirelli's production was revolutionary for 1967, in using teenage actors for the tragic Romeo and Juliet, and his choices were perfection: the young Olivia Hussey is a heartbreakingly beautiful, vulnerable and courageous Juliet, while Leonard Whiting is a sensitive, poetically handsome and appealing Romeo. Zeffirelli's career as a director of opera is put to spectacular use here--each scene is meticulously crafted to be an accurate representation of an actual Renaissance scene. Stunningly beautiful clothing, furniture, food, glass, sculpture--it is an overwhelming feast for the eyes. The backgrounds are the preserved medieval towns of Northern Italy, and the gorgeous settings, such as the Borghese palace for the balcony scene, give the entire film the appearance of an animated Renaissance painting. Zeffirelli took some liberties with Shakespeare's original script,excising some of it for the sake of brevity, but unless you are a die-hard Shakespeare purist, it is a minor flaw in this unforgettable film. The other key roles are acted to perfection by classically-trained performers like Robert Stephens, Michael York and John McEnery (a fiery and very exciting Tybalt and Mercutio). I never saw it in a theater without the sound of many girls weeping aloud by the end of the film--I was often one of them. Leslie Howard was a better actor, and Leonardo DiCaprio/Clare Danes are more contemporary, but if you love beauty, this is THE quintessential Romeo and Juliet on film. END

I was practically forced to see this movie in High School. When our English teacher announced that we would be watching Romeo & Juliet, the entire class sighed. About 30 seconds into the flick, Olivia Hussey graced us with her angelic presence. Sweet Lord in heaven I don't think I've EVER seen a more beautiful woman. My male counterparts were in awe. Unlike other sexy stars today who are actresses in their own mind & couldn't win a certificate of completion in a sock puppet show...Olivia Hussey was FANTASTIC. Let's not cut the rest of the cast short. Zeffirelli took a big risk casting no names in the title rolls, but Whiting & Hussey had a chemistry that looked so damn believable it appeared more as a reality based docudrama than acting.

It has been 12 years since I first saw the picture & it still mesmerizes me. I cannot channel surf past this movie without watching it in its entirety. 1/2 way through, 10 minutes remaining...it doesn't matter. It may have something to do with the major crush that I STILL have on Olivia Hussey...(God how old is she now??? 51???) Really though, the movie is fantastic. Give it a chance. If it is your first Shakespeare film, you will not be disappointed. If you're a teeny bopper who was drawn into Baz Luhrmann version mainly due to Leonardo's box office draw, Please see the real thing. I'm not knocking Baz, but "Aint nothing like the real thing baby."

For never was a story of more woe. Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. (Not Decaprio) ;)

Franco Zeffirelli's Oscar winning 1968 Romeo And Juliet is a revolutionary masterpiece! This is a flamboyant and very popular adaptation of the famous Shakespearean tragedy, in which actual teenagers play the leads. Two young lovers, who come from feuding families, desperately wish to stay together. They go to a gentle friar for help, and, in hopes their wedding will end the conflict, he comes up with an ingenious plot to unite them. However, when a miscommunication destroys their plans, they make a tragic decision - a decision that brings peace, but too late to help the lovers themselves.

Olivia Hussey is the heartbreakingly beautiful, vulnerable, and courageous woman, who shines as sweet Juliet. Leonard Whiting's poetic good looks, sensitivity, and cleverness, make his portrayal of young Romeo seem unparalleled. In addition, Michael York is outstanding as the feisty Tybalt, John McEnery is brilliant as lively punster Mercutio, and Milo O'Shea is absolutely wonderful as the ever so bright, Friar Lawrence.

Zeffirelli's career as an opera director is put to spectacular use here. Each scene is meticulously crafted to be an exact replica of the Renaissance with stunningly beautiful clothing, jewels, furniture, food, glass, and sculpture - it is an overwhelming feast for the eyes. The preserved medieval towns of Tuscany, and the lovely Borghese palace where the balcony scene is set, give the film the look of an animated Renaissance painting. Zeffirelli took some liberties with Shakespeare's original script for the sake of brevity, but unless you are a die-hard purist, this is a minor flaw.

The true shining star in this film is the delightful, Ms. Pat Heywood who steals the screen with each moment she graces it. She plays Juliet's Nurse and does so with such power, whimsy, and conviction that you simply must love her. Pat Heywood gave the commonly droll Nurse character life and vibrancy I have yet to see in a performance of this play live of filmed. In either case, the characters in this film play extraordinary parts and they do it with such poignancy!

I first saw Romeo and Juliet when it was released in 1968 - I had just turned 13. It ushered me into an uneasy adolescence, and it remains the only movie that has ever broken my heart. No other film has ever had so strong an impact on me, so perhaps I can't give an unbiased account. I later became a Shakespeare lover, and was forced to admit that this film is very flawed, but I owe even this revelation to Zeffirelli: his film introduced me to Shakespeare, and that's quite a gift. None of the significant critics of the time had a kind word to say about Romeo and Juliet. John Simon took Zeffirelli to task for his butchery of the text, and Stanley Kauffmann considered the acting, particularly of the title roles, abysmally amateur. They both made good points: Zeffirelli's cuts are sometimes baffling (he allows Romeo the line, "Thy wit is very bitter sweeting, it is most sharp sauce" which is the punchline to a page and a half of punning humour, EVERY WORD of which is omitted. He removes Romeo's murder of Paris, yet allows the Prince to say "And for winking at your discord too/I have lost a brace of kinsmen." [Brace means two, yet the Prince has now only lost one kinsman] Every word of Juliet's glorious potion speech is omitted: instead we hear only four words, borrowed from her earlier scene with Friar Laurence: "Love, give me strength.") And the young actors playing these star-crossed lovers don't always seem to know what their lines mean. In fact, there are only two performances that could successfully be transposed into a Kenneth Branagh Shakespeare film today: Pat Heywood's Nurse and Natasha Parry's Lady Capulet. Milo O'Shea (Friar Laurence) and Paul Hardwicke (Lord Capulet) are impossibly over-the-top (as was Jack Lemmon in Branagh's Hamlet ;-). John McEnery plays Mercutio interestingly but too often like someone who's smoked one joint too many at a Dead concert. But the principals are not bad. It's a centuries-old cliche that an actress isn't wise enough to play Juliet until she's old enough to play the Nurse. I guess the same could be said of Romeo, even if he doesn't mature during the course of the play as Juliet does. But who among us wants to see a couple of middle-aged actors impersonating a pair of teenagers? The line readings of Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting may at times seem naive, but they are beautiful, young, and believably in love, and they both have supremely expressive faces. They are also very talented, and Mr. Whiting in particular rises to tragic heights in both his "Oh, I am fortune's fool" reading and in his death scene. I'll never understand why the gifted Ms. Hussey, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Catherine Zeta-Jones (except with more expressive eyes), didn't have a major career. This movie also features expert (and Oscar-winning) cinematography and costumes, by Pasqualino de Santis and Danilo Donati. I mentioned critics above (Pauline Kael called Romeo and Juliet the "dustiest" movie ever made). In all fairness, and with all due respect to critics everywhere, I must add that every actor I've ever met has LOVED this movie. If you have a friend who is wary about Shakespeare, this is probably both the best play and movie. The play makes its points very quickly ("two-hour traffic") yet with great poetry. The movie leaves out some of the poetry, but it is SO very beautiful....

Like a lot of people my age, I first saw this as a 13 yr old student in the spring of '69...it had a huge influence on me then, one that has probably echoed through my life and my tastes in film (classics, Shakespeare, period movies, etc.) as I was at that very suggestable age.

In all fairness, this movie is 36 years old and yes, the teen stars would be in their 50s by now. This means some aspects of the film are unavoidably dated...how couldn't they be? It was intended to be a Romeo and Juliet for the hip baby boom teenagers of the 60s! Visually, it exploited the similarity in "hippie" clothes and Beatle hairstyles to very real styles of the late 15th century, right down to the girls with their hair parted in the center and worn long and straight. (Check out ANY high school year book from the late sixties and early seventies!) At the time it came out, this was a revolutionary and remarkable idea; also casting real teenagers in the parts.

Franco Zeffirelli originally produced this kind of a Romeo and Juliet on stage in '62, casting Judy Dench (yes, the "M" from the newer Bond movies...she was a young hottie 40 years ago), and using the same kind of pseudo real Renaissance setting. This '68 film followed his highly successful version of Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

The costumes and location filming in R&J are still gorgeous and hold up very well. Few movies set in this Renaissance period even today are so accurate. Danilo Donati's costumes are just amazingly beautiful. (A whole generation of brides were married in high-wasted dresses after seeing this.) Nino Rota's musical score is lush and beautiful, slightly resembling his score for the Godfather. You still catch the theme from R&J on the radio sometimes (or in elevators); it's the ultimate in romatic scores.

Olivia Hussey, 16 at the time of filming, is radiantly beautiful and has a wonderful, husky voice. She does a remarkable job despite her youth and lack of acting experience. I think she has influenced the way Juliet's have been cast and acted for the last 30+ years -- even Baz Luhrman has obviously seen and been affected by her. There is a BBC version of the play in which the actress virtually mimicks her line readings. Sadly, I think she was typecast from this role and never went anywhere careerwise. The last things I saw her in were pathetic horror films, like Pscho 4. I don't think Hollywood knew what to do with her lush, delicate beauty.

Leonard Whiting is much less successful. Franco Zeffirelli is gay, and his intepretation of Romeo is clearly meant to be homosexual or at least bisexual. Leonard Whiting was a handsome, but slightly effeminate boy and he's not got nearly the grasp of the material or the acting ability of Olivia Hussey -- they seem mismatched. There is a subplot interpretation of Mercutio as having some kind of sexual attraction or relationship with Romeo. It is interesting, but unbalances the story a bit.( I didn't notice this when I was a teen, but as an adult viewing the film it is absolutely glaringly obvious.)

I notice a lot of debate as to whether THIS or the Baz Luhrman film of '96 is the definitive version...I think that's stupid. Shakespeare has been around a long time. This is his most produced play. There is room for LOTS of difference interpretations. I have seen many others on the stage. And there will be billions more in the future. I like Baz Luhrman's version, although I think his creative inventiveness (which is wonderful) flys out of control by the end of the film; however it's good and interesting, a visionary treatment and it's very worthwhile to view BOTH of these films to get a sense of what it is to try and film Shakespeare.

Zeffirelli's version offers a very pared down script, lots of authentic looking visuals and very exciting and well-staged fight sequences; plus gorgeous costumes and music. Olivia Hussey's Juliet is absolutely a classic, moving interpretation that I have never seen performed better on stage or in film.

In short -- anyone who loves Shakespeare, or Romeo and Juliet, or lush period flicks, will totally be absorbed in this beautiful film. It's also a wonderful, easy-to-take, never-boring, introduction to Shakespeare and from there, his other works. Would I have become a Shakespeare buff at such an early age without having been introduced to the material this way? I doubt it!

Franco Zefirrelli's 1967 film was revolutionary in using teenaged actors to play the two most famous lovers of all literature. Olivia Hussey is heartbreakingly beautiful, a vulnerable and courageous Juliet, while Leonard Whiting's poetic good looks make him a sensitive and appealing Romeo. Zefirrelli's career as an opera director is put to spectacular use here--each scene is meticulously crafted to be an exact replica of the Renaissance. Stunningly beautiful clothing, jewels, furniture, food, glass, sculpture--it is an overwhelming feast for the eyes. The preserved medieval towns of Tuscany, and the lovely Borghese palace where the balcony scene is set, give the film the look of an animated Renaissance painting. Zefirrelli took some liberties with Shakespeare's original script for the sake of brevity, but unless you are a die-hard purist, this is a minor flaw. I saw this film a dozen times in the theater, and never without the sound of girls weeping by the end--I was often one of them. Leslie Howard was a better actor, and Leonardo DiCaprio/Clare Danes more modern, but if you love beauty, this is THE quintessential Romeo and Juliet on film. END

We are currently reading R+J in my English Lit class. We were given the chance to view two films: Zeffirelli's classic and Luhrmans version. Zeffirelli's blew me away. I love the fact that finally the two characters are played by people of the correct age, people who would actually understand how Romeo and Juliet were feeling, how they would react. The various productions with twenty-somethings in the lead role just do not seem to have the same naivity, innocence and "first-love" that is essential. Olivia Hussy and Leonard Whiting capture it perfectly.

A must see

While this movie has been around a long time, it also has a timeless theme that will never be outdated. New versions of attempts at making this movie have failed as this version was so well thought out, amazing mixture of photography and wonderful music and then of course there always is Olivia Hussey. She made the movie the classic it is, with her stunning beauty and innocent looks and actions, yet she put all her feelings into the movie and is totally beleivable in all scenes. I well remember the chill that went down my spine when I first saw her and her superb acting and one of the two climaxs of the movie when she and Romeo first meet at the dance and of course the famous balcony scene which is one scene I can replay in my head at any time and remember the magic of it. I cannot think how many times I have seen this DVD, but it is one that I will never grow tired of. I wish I had the proper words to explain the impact of this great movie, but it is one that you must experience on your own.
Tedd Riggs

Franco Zefferelli, Italian director best known for his visually lavish films (Hamlet, Othello, La Traviata) assembled the best cinematic elements to produce the finest interpretation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy of forbidden love. Romeo and Juliet is not only the Bard's most memorable and popular tragedy, but it is the most human, applying to everyone who has ever felt the experience of falling in love and being young. In the 60's, when this film was made (1968) to be exact, this idealism about love and rebellion against an authority that forbade such love, appealed to so many. The milieu of the 60's itself is quite clear in the film. Leonard Whiting (Romeo) looks like a Beatles singer and is the first young actor to actually portray a young man in love. Before this, it was always an older experienced actor portraying an 18 yr old Romeo. Olivia Hussey, 15 yrs old at the time of the film, is the perfect Juliet- passionate and convincing. The cinematography that Zefferelli delivers is outstanding. He captures the Shakespearen spirit, mostly in the detailed, historically accurate Renaissance costumes, the scenes of Italian streets and market places, mansions, churches, tombs, scenery, masks, fountains, furniture and music. Although the dialogue and script of Shakespeare's play is shortened for reasons of time, the movie nevertheless entertains us and compels us.

The tragedy is all too familiar. Romeo is hopelessly in love with Juliet, although they come from the feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets (the play never specified the reason of the feud). Against the overwhelming opposition, Romeo and Juliet marry in secret. But when Juliet's father engages her to marry the Count Paris, and Romeo is exiled for the death of Tybalt, things look grim for the lovers. Juliet takes a vial that weakens her body so that she appears dead. Romeo, when seeing that Juliet is inside the family tomb, takes poison himself and dies. Juliet awakens to figure out her mistake and that Romeo is dead. She then stabs herself. The Montagues and Capulets learn of the tragedy and repent their foolish ways, making peace after so many years of bitter rivalry.

On DVD, the theatrical experience that a generation of people saw on the big screen in 1968 returns to be enjoyed by the present generation. Romeo and Juliet is a masterpiece, both in the artistic sense and as a film. It surpasses even the MTV remake by the avant garde director, Baz Luhrman. Five stars and very good ratings for this one of a kind film about the eternally star crossed lovers.

There are few things on this planet that bring me joy and at the same time sadness. Romeo and Juliet is one of them. No other movie besides this have I felt so much over fictinous characters in my entire life. I have been told and learned that love is beautiful and when you see your soulmate it is magical, but I learned myself what true love is. I wa so tied into this epic of a movie that I told myself it was real, this wasn't a movie. It felt real, as if I was watching it in live action not just on a screen. Everything was perfect in this movie. The clothing made it more realistic, the actors were selected as if by God for these parts, the music and the scenery. the scenery was just breath taking and made everything imaginable. If shakespeare as alive today, I think he would be very, very fond of this movie. In fact, I think he would love it and be very proud. Romeo and Juliet is a play which can be extorted in different ways to suit the directors need, Zeffirelli took this play and created a in-living-colour masterpeice. I am so jelous that my father, who was a freshman in high school when this came out, was able to on a field trip go to hollywood to see this in theaters. This is my favourite movie for many reasons, one of them being it makes me bawl so hard I practically melt away my face, it makes me understand love in a different view (i'm fifteen.) and I have fallen in love with Shakespeare's work. I think of Shakespeare is a shear genuis. How could someone think of a story like this? I know I couldn't, could you? I think the direct quite,"For never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo." sums up everything perfectly.