Customer Reviews
Lovely... and a great teaching resource - By: ms kitka, 03 Jan 2008 
I teach GCSE drama in a rough Saff London Comp & get the students hooked with Baz Lurhrmann's modern version of it & then to teach them more of what Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote the play, I show them this one by Zeffirelli - it works a treat. It is beautifully done, universal in its themes & appeal & the acting is rivitingly good - especiallly the very young & beautiful Olivia Hussy, though Michael York as a petulant Tybalt is equallly good.
Beautiful Film with Splendid Theme - By: Black Prince, 25 Mar 2007 This is a beautiful film. When first I saw this film on television I thought Olivia Hussey wondrously vulnerable & quite the part as a 16-year old playing the 13-year old Juliet. Olivia Hussey is such a beauty that one can seriously imagine a Montague hazarding death to woo such a girl.
This is such a film of real depth & richness that I find it one of my very favourite. I have purchased it on VHS, now DVD, because I feel it is the essential Romeo & Juliet
Saw the film when it was first released - By: Worldlife, 22 Mar 2007 As a young man I was converted to Shakespeare by seeing this film directed by Franco Zeferelli. The magic for me was that instead of actors declaiming lines I felt I was involved with real people, places & circumstances.
Yesterday the film was shown on ITV3 & had 28 minutes of advertisements added to the 2hr 11 minutes running time.
Editing the film at fast speed made me appreciate the ballletic movements of the cast location filming
Alas after editing I found the original recording from satellite had no sound on it.
Even although it was now a silent movie I was delighted to see again the beauty of the costumes, use of colour & the exquisite & careful composition. So pleased to find I could purchase a commercial DVD version at the low price of £5.97
Zeferelli's version of La Traviata could be a moving experience for those who say they don't like or understand opera
Zeffirelli- The Bard's Ambassador - By: JWBlatchley, 07 Dec 2006 Bravo Zeffirelli! A dramatic & visual spectacular which brings both Shakespeare's great tragedy & renaissance Italy to vibrant life. The Shakespeare buff should delight in this superbly crafted re-telling which, by it's intelligent presentation, fabulous costume, memorable music & inspired locations, should also ensnare & enchant the tyro audience.
There is much to praise here. The dramatic sense & interpretation is excellent. The casting is bold & imaginative, particularly in the probably quite daring selection of little-known & youthful leading players (Hussey & Whiting) who rise above their years & experience to give a rare & authentic sense of the impulsively destructive core theme of this tragedy; they are convincingly headlong lovers, blooming with youth & energy, superbly athletic, sexy, rash & naive. There is excellent support from a very competent cast, especiallly Michael York's proud & disdainfully quarrelsome Tybalt, & his counterpoise in John McEnery's passionate & dashing Mercutio. The settings are the finest that Italy can offer, the costume magnificent, the music can stand alone as entertainment in itself... in sum this is not just about Shakespeare's dialogue, it is also an audio-visual feast in its own right, a riot of colour & action. The duel between Mercutio & Tybalt is a masterpiece... manhood on display, cockscombs up, bella figura strutting a very public stage; gentlemanly sparring descending to an almost accidental fatal stroke. This is very credible public behaviour for proud young bucks trained to arms & lacking employment. Compare this, then, with the true, unbridled rage of the Tybalt/Romeo fight... Romeo transformed from arbitrator to enraged aggressor, Tybalt pushed to the brink by not only by his quarrel with the Montagu clan but also the knowledge of what he has done. Excellent interpretation, real fire.
If there are faults in this production, it would be churlish to give them much weight in view of the overalll effect. The text & plot is somewhat contracted & simplified, but the integrity of the play remains intact & only the truly ascetic mind will object.
For me the lasting impression is of a timeless presentation of Shakespeare's great tragedy coupled with a persuasive portrayal of what life may have been like in the great Italian city-states; enlightened Renaissance art & culture veneered over lingering Medieval superstition & male egotism. Art & order with barely contained lust, violence & sudden death just below the surface, civilisation merely skin-deep. I hope to see it equallled; I do not expect to see it surpassed.
A masterpiece! - By: H. Mcinulty, 22 Apr 2006 Romeo & Juliet- a gripping, romantic film, I wanted it to continue forever, truly worthy of alll the oscars ever awarded! All the characters show their passion, love, hate, gaiety, betrayal, war, lust, content & distress in such a way that enchants me! The best characterization must definitely be juliet. The young Olivia Hussey was marvellous as was Natasha Parry & Leonard Whiting.
