Romeo and Juliet
Through films from Bresson, Annaud and Zeffirelli, this program explores how the medieval world has been represented through the lens of cinema. In doing so, we assess the resonance of that world in our own.
Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design in 1969
In this adaptation of Shakespeare, the young Romeo and Juliet fall in love even though their families have hated each other for ages.
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli was an Italian stage and film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of the same. Films he directed included the Shakespearean adaptations The Taming of the Shrew (1967), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; Romeo and Juliet (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director; and Hamlet (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. His Biblical television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) won both national and international acclaim and is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries. A Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic since 1977, Zeffirelli also received an honorary British knighthood in 2004. Zeffirelli was awarded the Premio Colosseo in 2009 by the city of Rome.
