| Romeo and Juliet | |
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| Directed by | Franco Zeffirelli |
| Produced by | John Brabourne Anthony Havelock-Allan |
| Screenplay by | Franco Brusati Masolino D'Amico Franco Zeffirelli |
| Based on | Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Laurence Olivier |
| Music by | Nino Rota |
| Cinematography | Pasqualino De Santis |
| Edited by | Reginald Mills |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release dates
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October 8, 1968 |
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Running time
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138 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom Italy |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $850,000[1] |
| Box office | $38.9 million[2] |
Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 British-Italian romance film based on the tragic play of the same name (1591–95) by William Shakespeare.
The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography (Pasqualino De Santis) and Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati); it was also nominated for Best Director and Best Picture, making it the last Shakespearean film to be nominated for Best Picture to date (unless one counts Shakespeare in Love, which is an apocryphal retelling). Sir Laurence Olivier spoke the film's prologue and epilogue and reportedly dubbed the voice of the Italian actor playing Lord Montague, but was not credited in the film.
Being the most financially successful film adaptation of a Shakespeare play at the time of its release, it was popular among teenagers partly because it was the first film to use actors who were close to the age of the characters from the original play. Several critics also welcomed the film enthusiastically.[3][4]
Contents
Plot summary[edit]
In Verona, Italy, the longstanding feud between the Montague and the Capulet clans breaks out in a street brawl, broken up by the Prince of the city. The same night, two teenagers of the two families — Romeo (Montague) and Juliet (Capulet) — meet at a Capulet feast and become deeply infatuated. Later, Romeo stumbles into the secluded garden under Juliet's bedroom balcony and the two exchange impassioned pledges. They are soon secretly married by Romeo's confessor and father figure, Friar Laurence, with the assistance of Juliet's nursemaid. Unfortunately, another street duel breaks out between Juliet's first cousin Tybalt and Romeo's best friend Mercutio when Tybalt insults Romeo. Since Tybalt is Juliet's cousin and Romeo has just been married to Juliet, he sees Tybalt as family and refuses to fight him, leading Mercutio to be a loyal friend and fight for him. This leads to Mercutio's death. Romeo retaliates by fighting Tybalt and killing him, and is punished by the Prince with banishment instead of the death penalty. Romeo, however, sees his banishment as worse than death, as Verona is the only home he has known and does not want to be pulled away from Juliet. Friar Laurence eventually convinces Romeo that he is very lucky and should be thankful for what he has. Romeo and Juliet secretly spend their wedding night together and consummate their marriage.
Unaware of Juliet's secret marriage, her father has arranged for her to marry wealthy Count Paris. In order to escape this arranged marriage and remain faithful to Romeo, Juliet consumes a potion prepared by Friar Laurence intended to make her appear dead for forty-two hours. Friar Laurence plans to inform Romeo of the hoax so that Romeo can meet Juliet after her burial and escape with her when she recovers from her swoon, so he sends another Friar, John, to give Romeo a letter describing the plan. However, when Romeo's servant, Balthasar, sees Juliet being buried, under the impression that she is dead, he goes to tell Romeo and reaches him before Friar John. In despair, Romeo goes to Juliet's tomb and kills himself by drinking poison. Awakening shortly after he expires, Juliet discovers a dead Romeo and proceeds to stab herself with his dagger, piercing her abdomen. Later, the two families attend their joint funeral and agree to end the feud.
Production[edit]
Set in a 14th-century Renaissance Italy in varying locations:[5]
- The balcony scene: At the Palazzo Borghese, built by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 16th century, in Artena, 20 miles south of Rome.
- The church scenes: At a Romanesque church named St. Pietro in Tuscania, 50 miles northwest of Rome.
- The tomb scene: Also in Tuscania.
- The palace of the Capulets' scenes: At Palazzo Piccolomini, built between 1459-62 by Pope Pius II, in the city of Pienza, in Siena province.
- The street scenes: Also in Pienza.
- The fight scenes: In Gubbio, a town in the region of Umbria.
Casting[edit]
According to Franco Zeffirelli's autobiography, Paul McCartney was originally asked to play the part of Romeo.[6]
Main characters
- Leonard Whiting as Romeo
- Olivia Hussey as Juliet
- John McEnery as Mercutio
- Milo O'Shea as Friar Lawrence
- Pat Heywood as The Nurse
- Robert Stephens as The Prince
- Michael York as Tybalt
- Bruce Robinson as Benvolio
- Paul Hardwick as Lord Capulet
- Natasha Parry as Lady Capulet
- Antonio Pierfederici as Lord Montague
- Esmeralda Ruspoli as Lady Montague
- Keith Skinner as Balthasar
- Roberto Bisacco as Paris
- Laurence Olivier as Chorus (uncredited)
Reception[edit]
The film earned $14.5 million in domestic rentals at the North American box office during 1969.[7] It was re-released in 1973 and earned $1.7 million in rentals.[8]
Film critic Roger Ebert has written: "I believe Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet is the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made".[9]
According to ratings aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, the film is positively reviewed by 97% of critics.[10]
Soundtrack[edit]
Two releases of the score of the film, composed by Nino Rota, have been released.[11][12]
"Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet"[edit]
The film's love theme was widely disseminated, notably in "Our Tune", a segment of BBC disc jockey Simon Bates's radio show. In addition, various versions of the theme have been recorded and released, including a highly successful one by Henry Mancini, whose instrumental rendition was a Number One success in the United States during June 1969.[13]
There are two different sets of English lyrics to the song.
- The film's version is called "What Is a Youth?", featuring lyrics by Eugene Walter, and sung by Glen Weston. This version has been released on the complete score/soundtrack release.
- An alternate version, called "A Time for Us", featuring lyrics by Larry Kusik and Eddie Snyder. This version has been recorded by Johnny Mathis and Andy Williams, among others. Josh Groban performed "Un Giorno Per Noi", an Italian version of "A Time for Us".
- A third version is called "Ai Giochi Addio", featuring lyrics by Elsa Morante, and has been performed by opera singers such as Luciano Pavarotti and Natasha Marsh.
In popular culture[edit]
Thom Yorke cites the film as one of the inspirations for the Radiohead song "Exit Music (For a Film)", which was written specifically for the ending credits of the 1996 film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. Said Yorke, "I saw the Zeffirelli version when I was 13, and I cried my eyes out, because I couldn't understand why the morning after they shagged, they didn't just run away. The song is written for two people who should run away before all the bad stuff starts. A personal song."
Kevin and Paul go to see the film in the episode "Wayne on Wheels" in season three of The Wonder Years.
Celine Dion referenced this film, in particular the "hand dance" scene, in the video for her 1992 single "Nothing Broken but My Heart".
Japanese manga artist Rumiko Takahashi referenced the Zeffirelli film in two of her manga and anime works. In one episode of Urusei Yatsura, devious troublemaker Ryoko Mendou invites the series' male protagonist, Ataru Moroboshi, to have a "Romeo and Juliet" rendezvous with her, and wears a dress based on Hussey's from the film. Later, Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 featured a storyline in which the lead characters, Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo, are cast as Romeo and Juliet in a production of the play at their high school. Takahashi designed Ranma and Akane's costumes for the play with Whiting and Hussey's outfits in the Zeffirelli film in mind.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ Alexander Walker, Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974 p399
- ^ "Romeo and Juliet, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
- ^ Adler, Renata (9 October 1968). "Movie Review - Romeo and Juliet (1968)". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (15 October 1968). "Romeo and Juliet". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ Liner notes (back cover) from Romeo & Juliet: Original Soundtrack Recording, 1968, Capitol Records ST 2993
- ^ "Did You Know?". IMDb. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- ^ "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15
- ^ "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 60
- ^ Ebert, Roger (15 October 1968). "Romeo and Juliet". RogerEbert.com. Roger Ebert. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ "Romeo and Juliet (1968)". RottenTomatoes.com. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ "Romeo & Juliet: Nino Rota: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ "Nino Rota Romeo & Juliet Soundtrack HDtracks high resolution audiophile music downloads". HDtracks.com. 1999-12-04. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ Bronson, Fred (1992). Billboard's Book Of #1 Hits (3rd ed.). New York, New York: Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 255. ISBN 0-8230-8298-9.
- ^ The storyline spans chapters 74 through 77 of the manga and episode 39 of the anime titled Kissing Is Such Sweet Sorrow! The Taking of Akane's Lips. http://www.furinkan.com/ranma/misc/index.html
External links[edit]
- Comprehensive webpage on Romeo & Juliet at the Wayback Machine, featuring magazine articles and film reviews (archived).
- "Virtuoso in Verona" — 1968 review in Time (magazine)
- Romeo and Juliet at the Internet Movie Database
- Romeo and Juliet at AllMovie
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