Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of "Romeo and Juliet" has a reputation that precedes it. Fifty years ago, it was a smash hit and a critical darling that secured a Best Picture nomination. It was the first major production to use teenage actors in the main roles, newcomers Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. It was shot in Italy by a largely British and Italian crew, with the production company of the legendary Dino de Laurentiis. The main theme by Nino Rota was a popular instrumental piece that I heard often when I was younger.
Despite all this, I was not looking forward to watching the movie. Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" was never remotely one of my favorites. Honestly, I found it pretty tedious and difficult to relate to, both as a teenager who had to read the play for school, and as an adult. I'd enjoyed Baz Luhrmann's wacky modern-day retelling from the '90s, but wasn't especially impressed with it either. Everything seemed to happen so quickly and with so many histrionics - love declarations, marriage, feuds, duels, banishments, deceptions, and finally death. The kids marry less than 24 hours after they first meet and die three days after that. It was silly and absurd.
What I was missing, of course, was so much of the cultural and historical context - context that Zefirelli's version does a much better job of providing than any of the modern versions. With a dreamy Italian landscape full of beautiful architecture, and everyone decked out in Danilo Donati's colorful costumes, it was easier to accept that we were hundreds of years ago in the Renaissance era, when a girl could expect to be dutifully married off at thirteen, and matrimony was a strict prerequisite to physical affection. And while the rival families are more easily converted into Jets and Sharks, or crime organizations, that sense of absolute familial loyalty is far more palpable here.
Whiting and Hussey are a big part of why the film works as well as it does. Shakespeare's lines sound far more natural coming out of their mouths than they ever did from Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. The dialogue is truncated for the film, but otherwise untouched. Romeo and Juliet's declarations of love are still overly flowery and ridiculous, but there's something about hearing the words coming from a pair of enthusiastic youngsters who are completely swept up in their passion for each other. The actors are so energetic and lively, breathing so much life into the poetry. The two of them feel like they're constantly in motion as they navigate the throes of young love, and their notorious intimate scenes are wonderfully earnest and physical. Even Juliet musing aloud to herself on the balcony involves hugging herself in a private moment of delight. The film never feels stuffy or outdated for a moment.
What struck me over and over again was how foolhardy the kids are, and yet how admirable. This is the first version I've seen where it hit me how much the two of them give up to be together, how much they risk and how much they're up against. The feud between the Montagues and Capulets is never merely in the background, but a far more constant element of the story. Zeffirelli stages a full scale riot right at the start, and the threat of violence never dissipates. The floppy-haired gang of youths playing the Montagues and Capulets can't help looking like "West Side Story" extras, and the part of Romeo famously almost went to Paul McCartney. However, their fighting and dueling sequences are terrific, and violent enough to make the deaths impactful. A standout sequence is the death of Mercutio (John McEnery) at the hands of Tybalt (Michael York), an awful, miserable end that provides the impetus for all the tragedy to come.
In the end, this is the only version of "Romeo and Juliet" I've seen where I was sad to see the young lovers expire. Zeffirelli sold the tragedy because he and the actors got me to believe that once upon a time, Romeo and Juliet were believable human beings who were truly in love. And maybe that love made them desperate and stupid, but they never hesitated to embrace their fates wholeheartedly, as only bright young things ever could. Maybe it's because I'm no longer young myself that it's easier to see and appreciate that.
And after all this time, it's nice to know that the film's love theme has lyrics. Pretty good ones too!
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