Romeo and Juliet 1968

In 1968 a film version of Romeo and Juliet was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and for my money it is the best, and is also one of the finer Shakespearean film adaptations, regardless of play. Though made during the time of hippie counterculture, it is strictly traditional (save for some bits of partial nudity), unlike say the "hippie" Hamlet that starred Nicol Williamson and Marianne Faithful.

There are a number of things that are admirable about this film, perhaps none more than it seems essentially Italian, even if the cast is almost entirely British. The photography, by Pasqualino De Santis, brims with the heat and dust of Renaissance Verona, and the costumes, by Danilo Donati, tie in with the overall palette of umbers, ochres, and oranges. Also, the leads are age appropriate. Both Leonard Whiting, as Romeo, and Olivia Hussey, as Juliet, were teenagers, and Hussey in particular captures the youthfulness of a character who is supposed to be only thirteen years old. Even more, Natasha Parry, as Lady Capulet (who seems to have a touch of Lady MacBeth here) seems age-appropriate, as the text specifies that she was a mother at an earlier age than Juliet is at the time, which would mean she could be no older than twenty-six.

The production is so rich that you can almost smell and taste the various flavors of the composition. And there's passion in the actors' performances. Whiting, who has Tiger Beat good looks, acquits himself nicely, and Hussey is, well, sexy as Juliet. It's easy to see why Romeo goes bonkers upon clapping eyes on her. I also liked John McEnery as Mercutio, who makes him a bit deeper than most productions, Milo O'Shea as Friar Lawrence, and Michael York as Tybalt.

As with any film of Shakespeare, and as I mentioned below, cuts are made. Zeffirelli, for example, spares the life of Paris, who in the play gets killed by Romeo in front of the Capulet tomb. It's not known whether this was a deleted scene or just some compassion for the poor stiff. Also, a few lines are dropped here and then that are puzzling, such as "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!" And as with the '36 version, Friar Lawrence's big speech on plants and herbs is nowhere to be found.

I've seen this film several times. When we were rehearsing the play in college are director screened it for us, and ended up using a thing or two. He called it "stealing from the millionaire." Or, as Woody Guthrie said about folk music, "Plagiarism is part of all culture."