Watch Romeo and Juliet For Free

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

An accurate depiction of how Shakespearean literature was brought into a live dramatic tragedy film. Even though they skipped through the text numerous times in the film, they still stayed true to the whole story. The film was able to bring these characters to life and presents how forbidden love Shakespeare intended to be. The visual appearance brings out the tone in the play and actually expresses the emotions of each character more expressively which can be appealing to the audience. Also, the setting gives out a stunning impact that also gives out the mood of every scene that is shown. Even being such an old film it still watchable and entertaining. I highly recommend this movie.

It took about five centuries for Shakespeare's signature play about young love to be filmed with teen lovers as Shakespeare wrote it. When Franco Zeffirelli got around to doing it as such it put all previous versions to shame. As good as MGM's version back in the studio system days with Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer, they now look arcane when viewing it today, taking nothing away from them as players.Of course this is hard casting. You have to have extraordinarily good actors and charismatic at that for the big screen. What Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey didn't have in experience they make up for in charisma. And being British they're trained in the classics at an early age. This film also gave a first big break for Michael York as Tybalt, a part that requires a lot of passion. You don't get more passionate than Basil Rathbone did in the Howard-Shearer version. But he's as arcane with the rest. York took it down a note or two and played him like a bully. I got the impression that York would be looking for fights if the Montagues and Capulets were bosom buddies.Back in Master Will Shakespeare's day all the parts in the theater were men and there sure was no such thing as typecasting. As we got more sophisticated we demanded more. What Franco Zeffirelli did was now narrow it so that juveniles would be playing juveniles or at somewhat believable kids like the players at Beverly Hills 90210 in their 20s playing high school kids.Romeo And Juliet got Oscars for cinematography and costume design and got a nomination for Best Picture and Franco Zeffirelli for Best director. Almost 50 years later it is still an impressive achievement.

I was 14 years old when this film came out, and sat in the theater all day (ah, remember back when you could do that and not have to pay to see the film again?) with a friend from school, and we just cried and cried. That night I dreamed the whole film again! It was one of the first movies I purchased on video, and I have seen it way too many times to count. It truly remains timeless-- the cinematography is beautiful, the cast delivers across the board, and it never looks dated, even now. The brilliant move of using actors who were actually close in age to the characters they played makes this film work like no other adaptation. One of the best films ever...

In homage to youthful impetuousness, this author will be brief.Ziffirelli brings to life a classical painting of young love and aggression with his interpretation of ROMEO AND JULIET. To see this film is to enter an art museum that magically animates into 16th century Verona.Few parts of this film flag. For example, consider the authenticity of the fight scenes. Typically, camera cuts fail to hide the "acting" of the combatants, but here you aren't distracted by thoughts of "Well, it IS only a movie." The editor knows when to have you look away; you can enjoy the action with no suspension of disbelief.Casting is virtually flawless. All characters fit their roles, especially the titular leads, Whiting (Romeo) and Hussey (Juliet). So also McEnery (Mercutio); York (Tybalt); and O'Shea (Friar Laurence). The rest are merely fantastic.This review isn't all praise, however, as the nude scene could easily have been cut. Some things are best left to the imagination.In conclusion, today's films don't rise to this level. Ziffirelli took a century's old story, set it in period, and absolutely absorbed the audience's attention with the touch of an artist. How the bar lowered to the CGI baseness now accepted as the norm in the film industry boggles the mind.Can it be that things really were better in the "good old days"?