Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Romeo and Juliet
Directed by Franco Zefferelli
Written by Franco Brusati, Masalino D’Amico, and Franoco Zefferelli from Shakespeare’s play
1968/UK/Italy
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063518/reference
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Romeo: Thus with a kiss I die.[/box]

This dreamy, romantic, lush film has held up beautifully over the years.

Surely nobody needs me to explain the plot of this movie.  With Leonard Whiting as Romeo, Olivia Hussey as Juliet, John McEnery as Mercutio and Michael York as Tybalt.

When this first came out its big selling point is that the star-crossed lovers were played by actual age-appropriate teenagers and for being somewhat racy.  All the performances are good.  I like John McEnery’s Mercution best.  But the high points go to the fabulous Renaissance production and costume design.  The Nino Rota score is also a gem.  Beats the Norma Shearer-Leslie Howard version by a mile.  Recommended to Shakespeare lovers.

Romeo and Juliet won the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. It was nominated in the categories of Best Picture and Best Director.

Clip – Love at first sight

Dire Straits in Sydney – just because I love this song so much.