Of all the cinematic adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, none look better than Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet". The sets, the costumes, and the cinematography are bright and colorful, while the cast radiates with youth and energy. The film was also aided by a memorable score by Nino Rota, composer for several Fellini films and who would later be best known for his score of "The Godfather".

"Romeo and Juliet" was the third consecutive Shakespearean play for Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, following a British television production of "Much Ado about Nothing" and a big-budget Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton vehicle, "The Taming of the Shrew". Zeffirelli would later tackle "Othello" and "Hamlet", but his most successful adaptation was clearly "Romeo and Juliet", one of the biggest grossing films of the year.

Zeffirelli made several bold moves with "Romeo and Juliet" that paid off handsomely. Unlike "Shrew", the film was cast with largely unknowns (Michael York would become a star only later) that were very close in age to the characters. While this created greater realism, it put quite a burden on the leads, who had to deliver whole paragraphs of tongue-tangling seventeenth-century dialogue. (Sometimes the young actors take the melodrama too much to heart, giving exaggerated performance.) There's also a morning-after scene with some nudity, which was probably a surprise to most 1968 filmgoers.

The story is well known, loaded with tragedy that could always have been so easily averted. It takes place in renaissance Italy. Romeo Montague (Leonard Whiting) and Juliet Capulet (Olivia Hussey) fall in love, despite the fact that their families are bitter enemies. Their heavy romance is threatened by the discord, which is especially promoted by arrogant Tybalt (Michael York) and jester Mercutio (John McEnery). The story's greatest weakness has Romeo, seething with rage, avenging Tybalt's murder. It just doesn't fit his character. (80/100)



Recommended: Yes