Romeo and Juliet
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Franco Zeffirelli
Murray Head
Keith Skinner
Richard Warwick
Dyson Lovell
Ugo Barbone
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Teenagers are cast in the roles of Romeo and Juliet in this version of Shakespeare's play.
Director
Franco Zeffirelli
Cast
Murray Head
Keith Skinner
Richard Warwick
Dyson Lovell
Ugo Barbone
Michael York
Bruce Robinson
Paul Hardwick
Natasha Parry
Antonio Pierfederici
Esmeralda Ruspoli
Robert Stephens
Leonard Whiting
Paola Tedesco
Roberto Bisacco
Roy Holder
Olivia Hussey
Pat Heywood
John Mcenery
Milo O'shea
Aldo Miranda
Dario Tanzini
Maria Fracci
Roberto Antonelli
Carlo Palmucci
Laurence Olivier
Crew
Margaret Anderson
Carlos Barbieri
Isa Bartalini
Giuseppe Bordogni
John Brabourne
Franco Brusati
Emilio Carcano
Masolino D'amico
Anna Davini
Pasquale De Santis
Danilo Donati
Christine Edzard
Antoni Fedeli
Alexander Fisher
Mauro Gavazzi
Richard Goodwin
Anthony Havelock-allan
Dyson Lovell
Reginald Mills
Renzo Mongiardino
Niccolo Perna
Lamberto Pippia
Luciano Puccini
Rinaldo Ricci
Nino Rota
Nino Rota
John Rushton
Albert Testa
Mario Tomassoni
Eugene Walter
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Film Details
Technical Specs
Articles
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Zeffirelli, who had worked as an assistant to film director Luchino Visconti, had been a stage and opera designer and director. He had directed several Shakespeare plays, including a version of Romeo and Juliet at the Old Vic in 1960. While working on his feature film directing debut, The Taming of the Shrew (1967), starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, he began discussing the possibility of making a film of Romeo and Juliet with a youthful cast, an idea enthusiastically supported by Burton, an experienced Shaakespearean actor. It was the era of youthful rebellion, and studio executives were looking for films that would attract young audiences. The Taming of the Shrew was a success, and Paramount agreed to take a chance on Romeo and Juliet, if Zeffirelli would agree to a low-budget production of $800,000.
Zeffirelli embarked on a worldwide search for unknown teenage actors who were beautiful and talented. (Some accounts say that he offered Romeo or another role in the film to Beatle Paul McCartney, but Zeffirelli doesn't mention it in his autobiography, and it seems unlikely, since McCartney was not an actor and was 25 at the time.) He finally chose 17-year old Leonard Whiting, and 15-year old Olivia Hussey. To compensate for their inexperience, Zeffirelli trimmed long speeches, used reaction shots, and gave them lots of movement. Michael York, who had made his film debut in Zeffirelli's The Taming of the Shrew, plays Tybalt.
During production of Romeo and Juliet at Rome's Cinecitta Studios, Laurence Olivier was filming The Shoes of the Fisherman at the studio. One of the greatest interpreters of the Bard, Oliver had a proprietary interest in anything Shakespeare. He dropped by the Romeo and Juliet set and watched filming, and asked if there was anything he could do in the film. Zeffirelli asked him to read the prologue, and Olivier agreed, but wanted to do more. So he dubbed Lord Montague, who was being played by Antonio Pierfederici in heavily Italian-accented English. Olivier was having so much fun that Zeffirelli recalled, he "insisted on dubbing all sorts of small parts and crowd noises in a hilarious variety of assumed voices."
Because of Romeo and Juliet's limited budget, Zeffirelli couldn't build elaborate sets at Cinecitta, as he had done for The Taming of the Shrew, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Interiors were shot on modest sets in the studio, but exteriors were shot in the Renaissance towns of Pieza, Gubbio, and Artena in central Italy. Nevertheless, the production quickly ran out of money. Zeffirelli appealed to Charles Bludhorn, head of Paramount's parent company, Gulf and Western. Bludhorn arrived at a screening of completed sections of Romeo and Juliet, trailing an entourage. He talked nonstop to his aides or on the phone, ignoring the film. Finally, Bludhorn's teenage son yelled, "Shut up, Daddy!" Startled at his son's reaction, Bludhorn asked him if he liked the film, and if he understood it. The boy said he did. That was all Bludhorn needed to hear. Additional funds were granted, and the finished film cost $1.5 million. Young people around the world loved it as much as young Bludhorn had, and it grossed $50 million.
Not all the teens that wanted to see Romeo and Juliet were allowed to do so, since the film included a controversial nude scene between the lovers, and was given a PG rating. And some Shakespearean purists were displeased with Zeffirelli's cuts in the play's text. But in general, the critics were as enthusiastic as the audiences. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made....it has the passion, the sweat, the violence, the poetry, the love and the tragedy in the most immediate terms I can imagine." Renata Adler of the New York Times added, "It is the sweetest, most contemporary romance on film this year." Nino Rota's score was also a big hit, and the film's soundtrack album was the fourth-best selling album of the year. Henry Mancini's instrumental version of the film's love theme was a top single. Romeo and Juliet was nominated for four Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. It won two Oscars®, for Pasqualino DeSantis' cinematography and Danilo Donati's costume design.
Romeo and Juliet has remained popular over the years, and there are rumors that Paramount may re-release it theatrically. At a sold-out 40th anniversary screening on Valentine's Day in San Francisco, audiences broke into spontaneous applause after the balcony scene. Olivia Hussey, who attended the screening, told the audience that she still gets e-mails from 12-year olds who love the film. "Even today, the film still appeals. To see the way young people still react to it is inspiring."
Producers: John Brabourne, Anthony Havelock-Allan
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Screenplay: Franco Brusati, Masolino D'Amico, Franco Zeffirelli; William Shakespeare (play)
Cinematography: Pasqualino De Santis
Art Direction: Emilio Carcano, Luciano Puccini
Music: Nino Rota
Film Editing: Reginald Mills
Cast: Leonard Whiting (Romeo), Olivia Hussey (Juliet), John McEnery (Mercutio), Milo O'Shea (Friar Laurence), Pat Heywood (the Nurse), Robert Stephens (the Prince), Michael York (Tybalt), Bruce Robinson (Benvolio), Paul Hardwick (Lord Capulet), Natasha Parry (Lady Capulet), Antonio Pierfederici (Lord Montague), Esmerelda Ruspoli (Lady Montague), Roberto Bisacco (Paris)
C-138m. Letterboxed.
by Margarita Landazuri
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Location scenes filmed in Tuscany, including Pienza, in Tuscania, Artena, Gubbio, and at the Borghese Palace. Opened in London in March 1968; released in Italy in 1968 as Romeo e Giulietta. Original running time: 152 min.
Miscellaneous Notes
1968 Golden Globes for Best English-language Foreign Film and Most Promising Newcomers (Hussey and Whiting).
Voted Best Director and One of the Year's Ten Best English-language Films by the 1968 National Board of Review.
Released in United States Fall October 8, 1968
Released in United States on Video February 1, 1989
Re-released in United States on Video July 18, 1995
Re-released in United States on Video September 10, 1996
Released in United States March 1977
Released in United States January 2003
Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (Retro) January 9-20, 2003.
Released in United States Fall October 8, 1968
Released in United States on Video February 1, 1989
Re-released in United States on Video September 10, 1996 (pan & scan and wide screen version)
Released in United States March 1977 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Double Vision-Two different classics made from the same story) March 9-27, 1977.)
Released in United States January 2003 (Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (Retro) January 9-20, 2003.)
Re-released in United States on Video July 18, 1995