Romeo and Juliet

PG

Released Oct 8, 1968

2h 18m

Romance

List

95%

43 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In the Italian city of Verona, the Montague and the Capulet families are perpetually feuding. When Romeo (Leonard Whiting), a handsome young Montague, disregards convention by attending a Capulet ball, he falls in love with the beautiful Juliet (Olivia Hussey), a Capulet. After a brief courtship, the two elope, creating even greater tension between their families. Italian director Franco Zeffirelli's film is considered one of the best screen versions of Shakespeare's classic love story.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Apr 16

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Paramount+

Watch Romeo and Juliet with a subscription on Paramount+, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

The solid leads and arresting visuals make a case for Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet as the definitive cinematic adaptation of the play.

Read Critics Reviews

Audience Member

Stunning movie and probably the best filmed version of Romeo and Juliet. Beautiful photographed in Italy with Oscar winning costumes and Cinematography, this movie has the benefit of a good cast and a beautiful score by Rota.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/19/24

Full Review

Chris H

A classic romance starring the truly gorgeous Olivia Hussey.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/09/24

Full Review

Anthony E

I couldn't think of any other movie adaptation of this work of Shakespeare that's not only treated the source material very well, but has also left a lasting impact for a long time.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

MasterCrista

WTF is this cringy ass movie?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

Full Review

Jens B

I had the biggest crush on Romeo when I saw this as a kid. That being said, Zeffirelli's adaptation is probably the best version of ROMEO AND JULIET ever put on screen. The costumes are fantastic, the music by Nino Rota is great, loved the mix of classic staging techniques and really dynamic and beautiful camera moves and angles. Romeo and Juliet have real chemistry, you feel how much they want each other. The whole film has an erotic atmosphere to it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/24/23

Full Review

Rami A

The best adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This film succeeds in large part due to Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/14/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Franco Zeffirelli

Director

Leonard Whiting

Romeo

Olivia Hussey

Juliet

Milo O'Shea

Friar Laurence

Michael York

Tybalt

John McEnery

Mercutio

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - Romeo Kills Tybalt

2:13

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - Art Thou a Man?

1:04

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - I Never Saw True Beauty 'Til This Night

2:12

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - Juliet Joins Romeo

1:55

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - Thus With a Kiss, I Die

2:13

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - Love's Faithful Vow

1:55

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?

2:13

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - A Plague on Both Your Houses

2:06

Romeo and Juliet: Official Clip - Give Me My Sin Again

2:10

View more videos

79%

72%

Summer of '42

64%

81%

The Way We Were

TRAILER

for The Way We Were

57%

76%

Elvira Madigan

71%

81%

And Now My Love

57%

56%

Another Man, Another Chance

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Know Your Critic: Nguyên Lê, Freelance Film Critic

15 Movie Scores To Keep You Sane Through Quarantine

Five Movies about Young Love You Can Watch Instead of Every Day

View more photos

Derek Smith

Slant Magazine

As Romeo and Juliet, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting exhibit an innocence, naïveté, and verve that enlivens their characters, making them feel startlingly modern even as they’re reciting Shakespearean verse.

Mar 7, 2023

Full Review

Alex Chambers

Little White Lies

The sets are tight and stagey, every corner is decorated with baroque lushness, every shot framed by a velvet curtain or silvery branch. And the dialogue isn't caged in by any attempts at naturalism.

Rated: 3/5

May 20, 2016

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

High-minded and lively, with heartbreakingly beautiful actors on show, and all shot in a kind of honeycomb-sunglow light.

Rated: 4/5

May 19, 2016

Full Review

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Whiting and Hussey have a powerful screen chemistry, and the way they exchange glances, especially when they first spy each other across the dance floor in the film’s most captivating sequence, is electric.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 27, 2023

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

A movie whose luster grows with the passage of time.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 26, 2023

Full Review

Rudie Obias

Battleship Pretension

There’s elements of subversion, violence, and sex that you’d see in other envelope-pushing movies from that time, such as Barbarella, The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, Rosemary’s Baby, and others.

Feb 16, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

In the Italian city of Verona, the Montague and the Capulet families are perpetually feuding. When Romeo (Leonard Whiting), a handsome young Montague, disregards convention by attending a Capulet ball, he falls in love with the beautiful Juliet (Olivia Hussey), a Capulet. After a brief courtship, the two elope, creating even greater tension between their families. Italian director Franco Zeffirelli's film is considered one of the best screen versions of Shakespeare's classic love story.

Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Screenwriter: Franco Brusati, Masolino D'Amico, Franco Zeffirelli
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 8, 1968, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 22, 2015
Runtime: 2h 18m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now