Romeo and Juliet

One could easily argue this is the most famous and perhaps the most hated of all the works of William Shakespeare being that it was forced down the throats of more kids of Generation X than any other thing he may or may not have penned so much so it took years before many of us recovered from the trauma! Back in the day you either grabbed the Cole's notes or went on a "study date" to watch this Franco Zefferilli adaptation of the great romantic tragedy and chances are you were far more interested in trying to cop a feel than anything he or the star crossed lovers were up to on the screen! That being said, this 1968 version is and more than likely will be for some time the definitive version. The use of two relative unknowns in the lead countered by many stage veterans of the material make for an organic and honest portrayal of the story and it is this and not the DiCaprio/Danes version you should push your children to if need be. I say need be as a true live stage version, even if by a high school or amateur troupe, would be a far better way to experience the magic of Shakespeare. Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey are damn close to perfection here though I must confess the way Zeffirelli decides to present Juliet had me wanting to strangle the winey bitch thorughout a majority of the film and I'm under the impression this is not what old Billy S. had in mind. A young Michael York as Tybalt is an utter stroke of casting genius. Most important of all is how well this picture from a trechnical point of view holds up. It looks and feels so vibrant you swear you are watching a modern day motion picture which is a testament to Franco and his cinematic crew. Said it before and I'll say it again, this IS and WILL remain the definitive version.