Romeo & Juliet (1968/1996)
ROMEO & JULIET (PG)
D: Franco Zeffirelli
Paramount/BHE/Verona (Anthony Havelock-Allan, John
Brabourne & Richard Goodwin)
UK/Italy 1968
152 mins
Romance
W: Franco Brusati & Masolino D'Amico [based on the
play by William Shakespeare]
DP: Pasqualino de Santis
Ed: Reginald Mills
Mus: Nino Rota
PD: Lorenzo Mongiardino
Cos: Danilo Donati
Leonard Whiting (Romeo Montague), Olivia Hussey
(Juliet Capulet), John McEnery (Mercutio), Michael York (Tuvalu), Pat Heywood (Nurse), Milo O'Shea (Friar Laurence)
Arguably the finest of the more traditional
adaptations of William Shakespeare's tragic love story, using a younger cast than previous versions to appeal to a younger audience, fitting in with the attitudes at the time of its
release.
The balletic style of the photography and direction
suit the film well, with meticulous attention to period detail and costumes.
Nino Rota's love theme also gained great commercial
success, becoming a hit record in many countries across the world.
8/10
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO +
JULIET (12)
D: Baz Luhrmann
20th Century Fox/Bazmark (Gabriella Martinelli & Baz
Luhrmann)
US 1996
120 mins
Romance
W: Craig Pearce & Baz Luhrmann [based on the play by
William Shakespeare]
DP: Donald McAlpine
Ed: Jill Bilcock
Mus: Nellee Cooper, Craig Armstrong & Marius de
Vries
PD: Catherine Martin
Leonardo DiCaprio (Romeo Montague), Claire Danes (Juliet
Capulet), Brian Dennehy (Ted Montague), John Leguizamo (Tybalt Capulet), Pete Postlethwaite (Father Laurence), Paul Sorvino (Fulgencio Capulet), Diane Venora (Gloria Capulet)
William Shakespeare's name needs to be dropped from the
title post haste, this isn't Shakespeare, this is Baz Luhrmann's Romeo plus Juliet, set in the wastelands of a post apocalyptic future where rival gangs duel with guns, except they're still
called swords as the characters have creative licence with the Bard's lingo.
The production designers take the credit here for their
vision of an alternative present day Earth, while the pretentious director pats himself on the back over how original he is, except he isn't very original at all.
This is a GCSE production of West Side Story, minus the
Sondheim music and lyrics which are replaced with a more modern soundtrack (for the mid-1990's, at least).
The teen appeal is strong with this version, especially
amongst liberal art students, but it really isn't any hipper than Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film, which stuck to the more traditional, classic approach to Shakespeare's immortal
text.
I'll understand my opinion on this being an unpopular one,
but I really didn't care for this movie at all.
5/10
