Romeo And Juliet On Screen
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet may be one of the most-screened plays of all time. The most notable theatrical releases were George Cukor's multi-Oscar-nominated 1936 production, Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 version, and Baz Luhrmann's 1996 MTV-inspired Romeo + Juliet. The latter two were both, in their time, the highest-grossing Shakespeare film ever. Cukor featured Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard, with a combined age over 75, as the teenage lovers. Zeffirelli populated his film with beautiful young people, and Baz Luhrmann produced a heavily-cut fast-paced version aimed at teenage audiences.
Several reworkings of the story have also been filmed, most notably West Side Story, Prokofiev's ballet and Romanoff and Juliet. Several theatrical films, such as Shakespeare in Love and Romeo Must Die, consciously use elements of Shakespeare's plot.
Read more about Romeo And Juliet On Screen: Other Performances, Adaptations, Films Featuring Performances, or Composition, References
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“I can’t hide it any longer. I love you. It’s the old story, boy meets girl—Romeo and Juliet—Minneapolis and St. Paul!”
—Robert Pirosh, U.S. screenwriter, George Seaton, George Oppenheimer, and Sam Wood. Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx)
“A laughing Lear would be monstrous. Not so a laughing Romeo and Juliet.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“A laughing Lear would be monstrous. Not so a laughing Romeo and Juliet.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)