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Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

September. 25,1968
|
7.6
|
PG
| Drama Romance

Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall in love against the wishes of their feuding families. Driven by their passion, the young lovers defy their destiny and elope, only to suffer the ultimate tragedy.

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Reviews

GamerTab
1968/09/25

That was an excellent one.

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Mjeteconer
1968/09/26

Just perfect...

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AshUnow
1968/09/27

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

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Aiden Melton
1968/09/28

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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leethomas-11621
1968/09/29

Powerful portrayals by the young leads. Film works best at showing the youth of the tragic teens and how their simple desires are thwarted in the complicated mire of the adult world. But direction is over-the-top with too much emoting and overuse of the zoom lens. Gorgeous production though. Last 20 minutes truly heart-breaking and Zefferelli quickly ends it once the deaths have occurred.

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JohnHowardReid
1968/09/30

NOTES: One of Renata Adler's selections for her "Twenty Best Films of 1968" in The New York Times. Bosley Crowther placed the film in his "Ten Best". Nominated for prestigious Hollywood awards for Best Motion Picture (lost to Oliver!); Best Cinematography (won!); Best Costume Design (won!); Best Directing (lost to Sir Carol Reed for Oliver!). Number 6 in the Film Daily's annual poll of over 500 American film critics for the Ten Best Films of the year. Number 8 on Archer Winsten's "Ten Best" list for The New York Post. Number 5 on the Filmfacts composite list. Best Performance by a Juvenile Actress, Olivia Hussey - Film Daily annual poll. (In the same poll, Leonard Whiting placed second to Alain Cohen in The Two of Us). With an amazing domestic rentals gross of $14.5 million, Romeo and Juliet placed 8th on the U.S./Canadian list of the most successful films of 1969. Oddly, the movie failed to duplicate this colossal success elsewhere, not even in England. COMMENT: Superb performances by John McEnery, Michael York (almost unrecognisable). Long on music, atmosphere, photography, sets, if a little short on acting. Mind you, Hussey and Whiting are excellent. Both handle the post-synching like veterans, with no apparent dichotomy between voice and lip. It is the more experienced actors who are embarrassed by the Italian post-synching, particularly Milo O'Shea, whose voice is rarely in register, and Juliet's father, whose voice is occasionally out of synch. The duels are staged with rare vigor and the medieval Veronese atmosphere is superbly captured even if the photography is noticeably studio rather than natural-source lit. The young players manage their lines with rare authority. While purists might argue about truncating the text, there is no doubt that Z's stylish direction and lush production values approach has given Shakespeare another rather commercial cinema success. The duke has stepped straight out of Medici - what a pity his performance is so stiff. He and Mr O'Shea (whose synching improves a bit as the film progresses) are the main acting blots on the film.

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Dr.AnDrei
1968/10/01

The famous director Franco Zeffirelli,two Oscars and one Golden Globe nominated ,Emmy and BAFTA winner,gave life to the William Shakespeare's tragedy,published in 1597. Considered by many critics The best screening of the classic love story between Romeo and Juliet ,the Zeffirelli's movie won two Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design and three Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film, Most Promising Newcomer - Female(Olivia Hussey) and Most Promising Newcomer - Male(Leonard Whiting). The Zeffirelli's masterpiece transpose the tragedy of Shakespeare on the big screens,in an amazing way,just like the original story.Look what Florin Potra (Romanian) says: Choosing Romeo and Juliet at the age which we find in the book[..]. At the end of the movie,we know that we saw a good one,that transpose amazing the thrilling love story,contoured by love and hate.

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oOoBarracuda
1968/10/02

I was finally able to finish House of Cards so I could get started on my movie list for March; better late than never, right? I chose to watch first perhaps the best known and most imitated work of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. I chose the 1968 adaptation directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey in the titular roles. I selected this adaptation because everything I had read indicated that it was the most faithful adaptation. I wanted to start out my month of Shakespeare strong, and this version of Romeo and Juliet did not disappoint. I'm almost certain that everyone knows the story. The classic tale of forbidden romance ending in tragedy. Teenagers from two competing families unexpectedly fall in love. Romeo Montague (Leonard Whiting) spots Juliet Capulet (Olivia Hussey) while attempting to create a ruckus at a Capulet gathering. Unable to get the young girl out of his mind, Romeo seeks her out under the cover of darkness. Unbeknownst to him, Juliet saw him at the party too and has also fallen instantly in love. At her balcony, Romeo professes his love to Juliet and vows that she will remain the only woman in his heart. Juliet obliges and agrees she will not seek the company of any other men. The problem for their budding romance is their families' years- long feuding. The Capulets and Montagues are hopelessly divided and any romance intermixing the two families would be received as betrayal. In secret, their relationship presses on, culminating in a secret marriage. Juliet is then promised in marriage to a man of her father's choosing. Devastated by the thought of marrying another, and unsure what to do about her predicament, Juliet drinks a potion which will render her with the appearance of being dead. Her co- conspirator, Friar Lawrence (Milo O'Shea) is to get a message to Romeo about the plan. The goal was for Juliet to appear dead long enough to be entombed, then, regain consciousness and run away with Romeo. Romeo never receives the message, and believing Juliet to be dead, poisons himself. When Juliet awakes, sees Romeo has died, kills herself, unwilling to live a life without his love. Obviously, a heavy story involving two teens engaging in a forbidden love, this version of Romeo and Juliet was incredibly faithful to the Shakespeare play. This faithful adaptation bogged down the story with heavy period dialogue. There was also a problem with sound throughout this film. In several scenes, especially high-intensity ones, the speech being heard didn't match the actor saying the words, which was a bit distracting. The sound in the opening battle scene was so off, it was almost comical. The camera work throughout the film made it very dated. Many techniques reeked 1960's and made the film a bit less visually appealing. There were high points to the film. I quite enjoyed the theatrical feel of the film. I enjoy watching plays, and like a movie that can recreate that feeling. The acting was also very well done. Romeo and Juliet showed a wonderfully reserved chemistry on-screen. The actors had to appear hopelessly in love, yet must hide their love from others, no small task, especially for younger actors. Although I don't know how many more times I will see this film, it did prove an exceptionally faithful adaptation of the bard's magnum opus.

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