Rating: PG
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 10/19/1968(Italy)
Release Date: 05/23/2000
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English
Sound: 1/5.1
Run Time: 138 Minutes
Flags: Mild Violence, Adult Situations, Suitable for Teens
Distributor/Studio: Paramount
Director
Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 version of
Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet was touted at the time of its release (successfully, if the box-office receipts are any indication), as something of a "youth trip" movie. This is because
Zeffirelli broke the long-standing tradition of casting over-aged, sometimes grey-haired players in the title roles. Seventeen-year-old
Leonard Whiting plays
Romeo, with 15-year-old
Olivia Hussey as
Juliet. The youthfulness and inexperience of the leading players works beautifully in the more passionate sequences (some of these breaking further ground by being played in the nude). Among the younger players are
Michael York as
Tybalt and
John McEnery as Mercutio. The duel between
Romeo and
Tybalt starts out as a harmless, frat-boy exchange of insults, then escalates into tragedy before any of the participants are fully aware of what has happened. Photographed by
Pasqualino DeSantis on various locations in Italy,
Romeo and Juliet was one of the most profitable film adaptations of
Shakespeare ever produced. Its most lasting legacy is its popular main theme music, composed by
Nino Rota.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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