Shakespeare in Performance: Film
Romeo and Juliet (1978, Alvin Rakoff)
| Title | Romeo and Juliet |
|---|---|
| Year | 1978 |
| Release Locations | GB |
| Director | Alvin Rakoff |
| Medium | Color video |
| Length | 2 hrs, 50 mins |
| Audience | college and university general public |
| Play Connections | Romeo and Juliet (teleplay) |
| Series | The Shakespeare Plays |
Description
Shakespearean actors and directors have always had to compete with fabled past performances. David Garrick may have been thinking about James Burbage and Edwin Booth may have been looking over his shoulder at David Garrick. But before the age of mechanical reproduction, past performances remained just that—"fabled" and shadowy. Nowadays film and theatre people work not in the shadow but in the presence of past glories. To produce a Romeo and Juliet following the appearance of Franco Zeffirelli's masterpiece is like being asked to sculpture a second "David" after Michelangelo. Nevertheless Director Alvin Rakoff, daring to cast youthful Rebecca Saire as Juliet and working with a small budget, managed to create a tragedy of Verona with its own kind of integrity. Charles Lower's thoughtful review, which follows, generally supports that belief (KSR)
Description from Shakespeare on Screen : an International Filmography and Videography by Kenneth S. Rothwell and Annabelle Henkin Melzer. ©1990 Kenneth S. Rothwell. Cited by permission. — Added 2008-11-14
Cast Overview
Production Team and Crew Overview
Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell