Munteanu Alexandru Vlad

Actorie anul II; grupa C

Romeo and Juliet

One of the most celebrated plays in history, “Romeo and Juliet”, was written by
William Shakespeare in the late 16th century. It is a story about two lovers that
have to meet in secret because of an ongoing family feud.
The play had a couple of movie adaptations, but the film I’ll be talking about will
be the one directed by Zeffirelli in 1968. It won Academy Awards for Best
Cinematography and Best Costume Design; it was also nominated for Best
Director and Best Picture, making it the last Shakespearean film to be nominated
for Best Picture to date.
The project of making a movie on Romeo and Juliet certainly has some challenges
to be encountered. Firstly, in the narrative, the vivid descriptions of the various
scenarios are brought out in a several lines of verse; secondly, certain specific
features in the realm of plays such as soliloquy are brought out in a distinctive style
by using close-up shots and suitable editing in a forthright manner which is not
possible in the play.
Zeffirelli’s work is faithful to the original play, depicting the Elizabethan age with
a great eye for detail. The characters are built in the same manner as Shakespeare
wrote them, and evolve organically throughout the entire play. The director
engaged in a worldwide search for unknown teenage actors to play the parts of the
two lovers. Leonard Whiting was 17 at the time, and Olivia Hussey was 16, and
Zeffirelli adapted the play in such a way as to play to their strengths and hide their
weaknesses: for instance, long speeches were trimmed, and he emphasized reaction
shots.
Of course there are some differences as well, the director leaving out some of the
not-so-important characters to ease the flow of the action and to keep audience
hooked-up.
I consider Zeffirelli’s film to be the most accurate depiction of Romeo and Juliet to
this date. It enriches the universe created by Shakespeare and gives us an
everlasting work of art.