William Shakespeare | Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Franco Zeffirelli entered the Shakespeare on film category with a bold move: he cast Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, two unknown teenagers, as Romeo and Juliet. The startling fact was that they were the approximate age of the characters. What resulted was a film that is still cherished as the most romantic and poignant of all the films of this play. Zeffirelli, long a director and producer of operas based on Shakespeare's plays, used his Covent Garden production as a guide for this interpretation. His eye for historical accuracy and authenticity is a hallmark of all his Shakespeare films, but especially in this one that requires so many changes of scene and place. Hussey and Whiting may have been inexperienced, but their innate innocence shone through their performances. Zeffirelli created a hot, Italian world, which he knows intimately, and his caring for his subject is obvious. So powerful is the film that it set a standard that would not be challenged until 1996. A must-see. - J.R. Costa

Cast: Romeo: Leonard Whiting; Juliet: Olivia Hussey; Mercutio: John McEnery; Friar Laurence: Milo O'Shea; The Nurse: Pat Heywood; The Prince: Robert Stephens; Tybalt: Michael York; Benvolio: Bruce Robinson; Lord Capulet: Paul Hardwick; Lady Capulet: Natasha Perry; Lord Montague: Antonio Pierfederici; Lady Montague: Esmeralda Ruspoli; Paris, Roberto Bisacci; Peter: Roy Holder; Balthasar: Keith Skinner; Samson: Dyson Lovell Gregory: Richard Warwick; Narrator Prologue and Epilogue: Laurence Olivier (uncredited).

Director: Franco Zeffirelli; Writers: Franco Brusati, Maestro D'Amico, William Shakespeare, Franco Zeffirelli. Producers: John Brabourne, Richard B. Goodwin, Anthony Havelock-Allen; Production Companies: BHE Films, Dino de Laurentiis Cinematograifica (IT), Paramount Pictures, Verona Produzione (IT).

Colour. Runtime: 138 mins.