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Romeo und Julia [VHS]

Format: VHS Tape
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 321 ratings
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Product details

  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.64 x 4.96 x 1.18 inches; 4.94 ounces
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00004RQ5V
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 321 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
321 global ratings
This 2023 DVD is ironically inferior to the 2000 DVD release.
3 out of 5 stars
This 2023 DVD is ironically inferior to the 2000 DVD release.
If you have the 2000 release DVD copy of this film, there is no need to purchase this new 2023 Criterion Collection edition.It adds nothing of value and the audio/visual is inferior to the 2000 edition. The colours on this new release are darker, less vibrant. Some portions from the film look as though they were filmed on someone's smartphone as they were viewing the 2000 edition on their TV screen.The Blu-ray edition may be better; I cannot say for sure.
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Top reviews from the United States

Raffy
5.0 out of 5 stars R&J Forever!
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2024
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Cinematic Shakespeare for the Ages. The greatest Shakespearean film adaptation brilliantly realized by director Franco Zeffirelli. Renaissance Italy in gorgeous array, the Beauty of Youth in full display, a lush, exquisite musical score by Nino Rota and a romantic balcony scene that makes the heart quiver. R&J stirred up a controversy for casting unknown teen actors (Sir John Gielgud was a 40-yr-old Romeo!) in the lead roles. It was also criticized for "slaughtering Shakespeare" but has stood the test of time in becoming a beloved Classic film. Zeffirelli retained the best of Shakespeare's poetically rich text while deftly balancing it with the visual art form of cinematic storytelling. Truly a work of art.
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Jolena
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this version
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2024
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Beautiful quality. Highly recommend
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Todd Bulgarelli
5.0 out of 5 stars Viewed in High School English Classes
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2024
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Viewed in high school English classes throughout the English-speaking world (I first saw it around the age of 15, back in 1990), this film is perhaps the best introduction to people who would otherwise be reluctant to read Shakespeare.
At more than two hours and fifteen minutes in length, some sections of the written material had to be cut in order for the film to avoid three hours or more in duration, but all the high points of the original play are there, for the most part retained in Shakespeare's original verse.
Aside from Olivia Hussey's and Leonard Whiting's oft-remarked upon legendary performances, Michael York as Tybalt was memorable in his own right. But as it should be, Hussey and Whiting stole the show, and, in my opinion at least, the story as portrayed in this film as well as in the actual play is more Juliet's than Romeo's:
Which is groundbreaking, considering that the source material was written some 400 years ago, in much more patriarchal times.
The scenery of this film is also its own character: the Italian city of Verona,, adorned in all the regalia of the play's Renaissance setting.
When showing to a young audience, the only objectionable material would likely be the "morning after" scene with a partially-nude (backside) Whiting and (topless) Hussey; the original PG rating would probably be a PG-13 today. Interviews with both Whiting and Hussey from 1967 and 2016 are included on this Criterion release, and in both, these actors state they had no issues with the aforementioned scene, aside from initial nervousness. Contemporary legal action has so far been unsuccessful, as the scene was not a sex scene and has been considered to fall within the acceptable range of artistic license. Honestly, scenes such as this appear only to be an issue within the English-speaking world; but, nevertheless, parents will have to decide for themselves if this film is age-appropriate for their children.
I myself think the film-- like the play --will and should remain a classic, untouched.
Just a beautiful, beautiful film.
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B. Wells
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Bard
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2023
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I first saw Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet as a precocious 13-year-old in a college-town movie house that no longer exists. We hadn't yet studied Shakespeare in my local middle school but, like most kids that age, I was aware of his work, and of the most famous lines uttered by his characters. I was intrigued when I first saw the trailer for the film. The fact that the lead actors were drop-dead gorgeous and not much older than me sealed the deal. I had to see it! And so I entered the theater not expecting to understand much of Shakespeare's dialogue but fully anticipating a bounty of lush beauty on display. I was not disappointed in 1968 and was not disappointed in 2023 when I received the 4k digital restoration Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

As is the case with most Criterion releases, Romeo and Juliet looks beautiful, there are interviews with the lead actors (from both 1967 and 2016), a chat with the late director (courtesy of a 2018 documentary), and an essay from a noted (Shakespeare) scholar. I was tempted to remove one star for the absence of a commentary track that one would normally expect to accompany a film of this caliber, but I just can't do it: Zeffirelli's production, and this 4k restoration are too exquisite for me to complain about the commentary missing from this release.

Zeffirelli's movie itself will always be a treasure for me, not the least because it prompted a certain self-awareness that I hadn't previously considered at the young age of 13. Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey make a perfect Romeo and Juliet. True, their approach to Shakespeare's dialogue is rather modern in its delivery but, for me, especially as an adolescent, that fact made the play all the more accessible, and I actually understood what all the fuss was about. The supporting cast is splendid, particularly John McEnery as Mercutio, Pat Heywood as Juliet's nurse, and Milo O'Shea as Friar Laurence. Michael York and Bruce Robinson are also in fine form as, respectively, Tybalt and Benvolio.

I am assuming that most people know the plot of R&J so there's no need for me to go into that. Shakespeare wrote the play somewhere around 1595 and there's a good reason why it's still beloved after 425+ years. While Macbeth is my favorite of Shakespeare's plays, Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet is my favorite filmed version of any of the Bard's works, and the closest to my heart.
20 people found this helpful
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Jackzap7
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Restoration in this Criterion Release
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2023
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I bought this as a Valentine's Day gift for my wife (at her request) and she was thrilled with it. The movie is restored and looks much better than on her old DVD. I think Criterion should have included more extras, including a commentary track. Criterion also should have included a substantial booklet, maybe with excerpts from the play, rather than slim fold-out insert. And for a colorful movie, the red monotone cover seems rather strange indeed. Still, the restoration itself deserves 5 stars, so that's what I'm giving it.
14 people found this helpful
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Renee Fizer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased with the blu ray.
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2023
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I was so happy to see this FINALLY got a blu ray release I could get my hands on. This has been my favorite movie for years.

The transfer is nice, doesnt feel like you're watching an old VHS. Everything looks good. And the movie is great!
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Sean Curley
5.0 out of 5 stars A long overdue addition to the Blu-ray format, an essential Shakespeare film.
Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2023
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Although released on DVD early in the history of the format, Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 opus "Romeo and Juliet" was long considered one of the biggest omissions from the Blu-ray format, more than a decade into its widespread adoption. This is perhaps less surprising since Paramount has long heinously mismanaged its catalogue titles (it look until very recently for "Roman Holiday" to get a release). But all that is in the past, as the Criterion Collection has come through with its customarily well-made edition of one of the best cinematic Shakespeare adaptations (which has also become a classroom learning staple over the decades).

Having seen many such translations of the Bard's work to film, nothing made in 1968 had come close to the vivacity and cinematic qualities that Zeffirelli and his crew brought to the text here, though some that followed would arguably eclipse it (and it makes for a fascinating compare-and-contrast with Baz Luhrmann's 1996 modernized take). This was the first version of "Romeo and Juliet" that really captured the youthfulness of the main characters, which is so essential but so often lost in the past when screen versions followed the stage and gave the parts to adults. On a production level, the film has held up exceptionally well, and it's a wonder that Nino Rota's enduring score did not even earn an Oscar nomination when the Academy otherwise did not ignore the film.

As you would expect from Criterion, the disk looks great, and the accompanying special features are useful (if maybe not as elaborate as they have achieved for a few other films).
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Dino
5.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgisch moment
Reviewed in Belgium on May 10, 2024
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Leuke film op,en top nostalgie
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Elisa Pigliapoco
5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo prodotto
Reviewed in Italy on February 23, 2024
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DVD di ottima qualità. Arrivato in orario ed in perfette condizioni.
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Minak34
5.0 out of 5 stars l'éternel amour Impossible
Reviewed in France on November 24, 2018
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Roméo et Juliette est Uns de mes premiers films qui
m'as fait découvrir cet autre monde , celui du cinéma , le monde de l'imaginaire augmentée
et aussi mes premières Emotions face a cette fabuleuse histoire d'amour impossible merveilleusement Interprété Par Olivia Husset et Léonard Whiting un personnage m'avais marqué c' était la Nounou de Juliette
J'avais 10 ans quand j'ai vu ce film au Ciné-club de la pension ou j'étais interne
Le Cinéma étais mon moyen d'évasion préféré ...
Avec le temps la version de Franco Zeffireli du drame de Shakespeare reste la meilleur , celle de Baz Luhrman fidèle au texte originel est la version et vision de ce drame amoureux collée a cette époque ( 1997 ) pleine de doutes , de fureurs plombé par désenchantement ambiant et généralisé la passage a L'an 2000 étais attendu et plein de Phantasmes , bien que
La dernière réalisation de Roméo &Juliet mis en scène par Carlos Carei avec Douglas Booth et Hailee Steinfeld n'est pas inintéressante avec une petite mise au goût du jour le texte est pratiquement respecté mais préféré la version originale sous titrée car la VF est pas terrible Les décors sont somptueux les acteurs sont bons
Mais il faut le reconnaître , tout comme Une Etoile Est Née chaque génération fait Un Roméo Et Juliette
Et Puis Roméo Et Juliette est un drame amoureux intemporel comme beaucoup d'oeuvre de William Shakespeare qui peux être mis a toutes les sauces et interprétations .. C'est la tout le génie De William Shakespeare ....
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Shadowfax
5.0 out of 5 stars Was my first inspiration to write poetry back in High School
Reviewed in Canada on December 26, 2023
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The Criterion Collection Blu Ray version of Romeo and Juliet came just before Christmas and worth every penny. I was hoping the price might drop but this was the best price that I could find with free delivery, even on eBay. I am very happy with the purchase and this movie was a great acquisition for my movie collection.
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