Romeo & Juliet (1978) (TV)

Director:

Alvin Rakoff

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Release Date:

3 December 1978 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break...

Plot Keywords:

Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet | Secret From Family | William Shakespeare | Secret From Father | Tragedy

Cast

Patrick Ryecart	...	Romeo
Rebecca Saire	...	Juliet
Celia Johnson	...	Nurse
Michael Hordern	...	Capulet
John Gielgud	...	Chorus
Joseph O'Conor	...	Friar Laurence
Laurence Naismith	...	Prince Escalus
Anthony Andrews	...	Mercutio
Alan Rickman	...	Tybalt
Jacqueline Hill	...	Lady Capulet
Christopher Strauli	...	Benvolio
Christopher Northey	...	Paris
Paul Henry	...	Peter
Roger Davidson	...	Balthasar
John Paul	...	Montague

Also Known As:

The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

USA:168 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Unlike in most versions of the play, the actress cast to play Juliet was similar to Juliet's actual age; in the play, Juliet is only 13, but in most stagings and adaptations a girl in her late teens/early twenties plays the role. Rebecca Saire was only 14 when she made this film.

Movie Connections:

Version of Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)

Boreo & Dulliet

This is the first of "The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare" BBC series I've seen, and if all of them are like this, I might watch no more. Being practically the full text of the play is everything this "Romeo & Juliet" has going for it, lacking in all other departments. Alvin Rakoff reveals himself as a dreadful director, both in the technical and artistic aspects. In the former, because he commits mistakes that even a first grade film student would wisely avoid. Take in consideration, for example, the badly edited first shot of Abraham and Balthasar in the opening scene, or the Nurse's entering of Friar Lawrence's cell, asking where's Romeo with him being so very in front of her that she'd clearly see him even if she was blind. And, in the latter, because every single one of the performers is misdirected, even if some of them are good actors. Rebecca Saire looks exactly the way I've always imagined Juliet to look like, and she doesn't seem to be a bad actress for a teenager, but her performance totally lacks passion of any kind. Patrick Ryecart as Romeo is even worse, being not only as dull as Juliet, but also way too old and not even good-looking, coming across as a combination of Malcolm McDowell and the Chucky doll. Putting them together makes impossible to think they feel anything for each other, let alone being the main players of the greatest love story ever written. Alan Rickman, in his screen debut, plays Tybalt like if he was Darth Vader, which is a huge mistake that takes away the complexity that Shakespeare intended, no character being a hero or a villain but all flawed human beings. This Tybalt is so mean-looking that we don't believe the characters' pity after his demise. As for Paris, I kept thinking of "Prince Valium" from Spaceballs. Only Celia Johnson manages to do the character of the Nurse some justice.

At 168 minutes, this production is unable to make us empathize with the characters, because the characters don't empathize with each other and never seen to believe their own roles. The best screen version is still Franco Zeffirelli's. But, to be fair, this BBC one isn't nearly as bad as abominations like George Cukor's flamboyant geriatric version, or the crime against Humanity that is Baz Luhrmann's feature-length MTV video. 4/10.