Romeo & Juliet
by Franco Zeffirelli
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DVD details
Actor: John McEnery, Leonard Whiting, Milo O'Shea, Olivia Hussey, Pat Heywood (II)Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Brand: HUSSEY,OLIVIA
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 138 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-05-23
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Romeo & Juliet
DVD Review: Romeo and Juliet
Summary: 4 Stars
The acting in this film is wonderful. The drama lines are delivered as one would expect, with class. The action scenes are played out well, though there was no as much blood as a sword thrust to the heart might actually cause, but this is family television. It is a very good introduction to Shakespeare, and the cast all realizes they are first and foremost Shakespearian actors.
This version far surpasses any other production of Romeo and Juliet. The veiwer gets the sense of the frustration, the romance, the hopes that hings might change, and the let down of realizing the tragedy involved in this in inevitable. Love conquers hearts but it can't change other people's attitudes towards something as personal as a blood feud. This movie hits home the depth of Shakespeare's stage play and is one of the better movies of the 1960s.
DVD Review: Romeo & Juliet
Summary: 3 Stars
Great classic and still good today. Just wish they could have improved the sound when they put it on DVD. Still worth it though. Thanks for the good price.DVD Review: Romeo & Julliette
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this when I was about 12 or 13 in school for English literature class. I was so moved and touched by it's beauty and the loveliness of the main actors. I have never seen it again despite looking for it. so, when I saw it was for sale I had to own it to show it to my son who is approaching 12 years now.DVD Review: i love this movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
i own the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet, but i felt like watching this 1968 version. so i got it and let me just say i love this one! it is the best version i think ever made of the famous play. (and i love Leo Dicaprio) so for me to say this is amazing! i loved it so much i watched it about five times since i got it! five stars! DVD Review: "Cupid, He Rules Us All"
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1968 Franco Zeffirelli wowed critics and audiences alike with his filmed version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He cast two unknown actors in the title roles. Romeo was played by Leonard Whiting, who captured the angst and anti-war sentiment of his generation while juxtaposing it with his all-consuming passion for Juliet. And Olivia Hussey plays Juliet to perfection by endowing her with innocence, naivety, intelligence and loving conviction. The rest of the cast is also superb especially John McEnery who lends a manic energy to Mercutio, Milo O'Shea who plays the difficult role of Friar Laurence, Pat Heywood who is spectacular as the Nurse, Michael York as the violent Tybalt and Bruce Robinson plays the loyal Benvolio. The film features a phenomenal score composed by Nino Rota. The production design is fantastic and the costumes are all lavishly created and provide the film with a sense of authenticity (even if not historically accurate). The fight choreography, though simple when compared to today's standards, is exciting and well rehearsed.
"Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes...
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows...
Do with their death bury their parents' strife."
For those few who aren't familiar with the story (Go read it!), it tells the tale of Romeo, son of Montague and Juliet, daughter of Capulet. The two youths fall in love only to discover that they are sworn enemies. They hide their love from their feuding parents and are hastily wed in secret. But Juliet is to marry another, at the command of her father and Romeo is banished from Verona for killing Juliet's cousin Tybalt. Just as it seems that there's no hope that the two lovers will be united, a Franciscan Friar offers Juliet a draught, which when taken gives off the appearance of death and once her family believed her to be dead she would be free to rejoin Romeo. But Romeo hears rumor of his beloved's demise and sets off for the mausoleum where her body rests. There, too distraught to live, he drinks a vial of poison and dies but not before giving Juliet one last kiss. When the draught wears off Juliet finds her true love's body. She is so determined to be with him that she plunges his dagger into her own heart, thus either ending her anguish or reuniting them in the afterlife. When the Capulets and the Montagues discover the tragedy that has befallen them, they put aside their ancient feud and are united in grief.
"A glooming peace this morning with it brings.
The Sun, for sorrow, will not show his head,
For never was a story of more woe...
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
Though Zeffirelli takes some liberties with William Shakespeare's text (numerous lines of dialogue are omitted or altered, the confrontation between Romeo and Paris is removed, and the scene where Romeo goes to the apothecary to buy the poison is for some reason left out), he preserves the spirit of the tragic romance. The film is truly a classic and an example of acting at its finest.
Unfortunately the only DVD available is rather lacking. The film has not been restored or remastered in any way and the audio track is only in 2.0. There aren't really any special features except for English subtitles, scene selection and a theatrical trailer. With this year marking the 40th anniversary of the film hopefully we can expect a more worthy DVD release, but if not this one is available at most retailers for a very reasonable price.
Also recommended:
Romeo & Juliet (original soundtrack with dialogue from the film)
Romeo & Juliet (Nino Rota's original score without dialogue)
Warner Bros. Shakespeare Collection
Description of Romeo & Juliet
Shakespeare's classic play of tragic love between members of opposing families.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG
Release Date: 12-DEC-2003
Media Type: DVD
Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was unique in its day for casting kids in the play's pivotal roles of, well, kids. Seventeen-year-old Leonard Whiting and 15-year-old Olivia Hussey play the titular pair, the Bard's star-crossed lovers who defy a running feud between their families in order to be together in love. Typically played on stage and in previous film productions by adult actors, the innocent look and rawness of Whiting and Hussey resonated at the time with a burgeoning youth movement from San Francisco to Prague. The tragic romance at the center of the story also clicked with anti-authority sentiments, but even without that, Zeffirelli scores points by validating the ideals and passions of strong-willed adolescents. Less successful are scenes requiring the actors to have a fuller grasp of the text, though the best thing going remains the unambiguous duel between Romeo and Tybalt (Michael York). Lavishly photographed by Pasquale de Santis on location in Italy, this Romeo and Juliet brought a different tone and dimension to a story that had become tiresome in reverential presentations. --Tom Keogh
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