Romeo and Juliet (1968) - film adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Duncan Fraser (University of Sussex)

Ed. by William M. Hamlin, Washington State University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Domains

Cinema/ Film/ TV

Dates

Date of occurrence 1968

Places

England (Location)

Genres and Modes

Adaptation
Tragedy

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Adapted from William Shakespeare’s

Romeo and Juliet

. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Starring Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Michael York, Pat Heywood and Milo O’Shea, with the voice of Laurence Olivier. English. Colour. 132 minutes.

Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, released in 1968, is possibly best known for his casting of two unknown teenage actors, Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, in the lead roles, a decision the director justified by saying that he wanted this to be “a young people’s Romeo and Juliet.” He insisted, moreover, that he was producing Shakespeare for the masses, not for a cultural elite. The fact that it was an immediate success at the box office and remains one of the most popular films of a Shakespearean play ever made, especially

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1081 words

Citation: Fraser, Duncan. "Romeo and Juliet (1968) - film adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 April 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19393, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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