Because it was required by my school. I never understood how this film was remade, because aren't films that are remade supposed to be good? One good thing came out of this-I got to call Romeo a sexist womanizing playboy in my essay about this. Why? Because he clearly is.

Powerful portrayals by the young leads. Film works best at showing the youth of the tragic teens and how their simple desires are thwarted in the complicated mire of the adult world. But direction is over-the-top with too much emoting and overuse of the zoom lens. Gorgeous production though. Last 20 minutes truly heart-breaking and Zefferelli quickly ends it once the deaths have occurred.

In keeping up the tradition of Shakespeare Month, I am very proud to say that this is my favorite movie of the month so far! I believe I saw this movie earlier in a literature class. As the film is so long, I'm fairly certain I only saw the first half of it, so I took this opportunity to see the second half. This was released in 1968, which was the year that MPAA ratings were created. You can actually totally tell. This movie is rated PG and actually has a brief scene of a topless woman. Wow, could not get away with that today. The weird thing is that I heard Olivia Hussey was not allowed to see this movie because of her own breasts.Yeah, it does make me think about the age old question of if children who act in R-rated films are allowed to see them (and doesn't that violate child labor laws?). Of course, the actors in this movie weren't really kids which makes it all the weirder that there was this restriction. The best thing about this movie is probably how long it is. It's the longest Shakespeare adaptation I've ever seen and not a single minute is wasted. It's obviously very loyal to the source material and we get to see all the elements of the classic story here. I think my favorite part about this story in general is the end.Romeo and Juliet have committed suicide and this finally brings their families to stop bickering. The story is a tragedy, but at least it ends up doing more good than harm...I guess. The sets are great and this was also the same time that movies were making the transition to color. Everything really does look gorgeous in this movie. This probably is the version that you should show to a literature class. Oh, notice how I didn't put spoilers in this? I'm pretty sure everyone knows how this ends. ****

When the now-famous "star-crossed lovers" of two feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.Film critic Roger Ebert has written: "I believe Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet is the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made". I don't know about that sentiment, but it certainly is the best version of the story ever filmed. I mean, you can say some great things about the Leonardo DiCaprio version, and some might appreciate "Tromeo and Juliet", but this really captures the story...This makes a great breakout role for Olivia Hussey (who never got as big as she should have). But also, who plays the monk? I absolutely loved his character, and it is a role that I think goes largely unnoticed in most variations.