罗密欧与朱丽叶1968

Love seems to be an eternal topic that has being discussed from the start of the human history. It is the most pure and lofty desire in people’s heart that cannot be hid. Many people when they fall in love have a pair of blind eyes that care about nothing but the loved one. Nothing can depart lovers even the most frightful and evil death. Romeo and Juliet are no exception among them. They fell in love with each other at the first sight and at last they chose death to show their faithful love to their lovers. Their lives end but their love is ever-lasting and their love story has being told from one generation to another throughout the world. I moved to tears when I was watching the film Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli. There is a voice beating in my heart: love is eternal and love never ends.
The film Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968 was regarded as the most classic one among all the film versions of the story. Franco Zeffirelli wanted to let the film in full compliance with the original and focus on the complete text of the faithful into the picture. So he made a surprising and daring decision to choose two teenagers whose age is close to the characters’ in the original to act for his film. The heroine was seventeen years old Olivia Hussey acting as Juliet and the hero was eighteen years old Leonard Whiting acting as Romeo. Although because of their age their acting skill might not as good as some famous experienced actors, their young and passionate spirits created the film real and natural and welcomed by a great amount of audience. They were just like the star-crossed lovers walking out of the original book, and our audience couldn’t help being deeply immersed in their young and pure love story, laughing for them and crying for them.
How beautiful the scene when they first met in the dancing party.
When Romeo first saw Juliet, he was stunned by her breathtaking beauty. I could see the surprise and crush in his eyes which in every minute were following Juliet dancing steps. And then he smiled, as if he was waking from the stun and feeling glad to himself that he found a beautiful angel. “Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.” And Juliet, holding a little douting and curious, was watching the unfamiliar man with her clean and bright eyes who wore the mask staring at her. A love story began at this moment quietly. And later, the song What is the Youth was singing. Romeo was at one side and Juliet was at the opposite side. All the people were immersed in the sing except Romeo and Juliet. They were looking for each other in the crowd which formed the circle around the singing man. So there forms an interesting contrast between the audience and the lovers. And Romeo easily found her. Oh ,his eyes could not leave her for a moment! And almost at the same time she found him too. They were looking at each other, and getting closer and closer. When Romeo took Juliet’s hand impulsively in a sudden, the moment was so impressive and romantic. Only the actor and actress in their age could express the little nervousness and impulse when they first felt love so well. What a delicate moment！How pure and young!
Another scene was also classic by the two young actors’ well performance.
After the dancing party, Juliet stood by the balcony and said: “Oh Romeo, Romeo! Why are you called Romeo? Deny your father and refuse your name, or if you will not, swear to be my love and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” Her face was so honest and her voice was so sincere. And Romeo----such a frank and smart guy, jumped out of the trees suddenly and gave his promise directly: “I take you at your word. Only call me love and I’ll be baptized again. From now on, I’ll never be Romeo!” Juliet was so surprised! Her facial expression was acted so well which described a little lovely girl’s startle really penetrating. She was just about telling her inner secrets to the quiet night without knowing someone was hearing her confession! How could she let her secrets be leaked out? At that moment Juliet was like a little frightened deer, pure, clean and lovely. In order to calm down his love, Romeo climbed up the balcony quickly like a money!Oh ,how precisely he interpreted the crazy,the passion for his love!
Love was the theme of the film. Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting interpreted the young passionate love with their heart and won the Most Promising Newcomer - Male and Most Promising Newcomer - Female in the 1969 Golden Globe respectively.
Except for two young actor’s nice performance, the film owned another distinguished feature----its music.
The soundtrack of the film was created by Nino Rota known as the Godfather of Italian music. Focus on the theme of the film---- love, he composed the famous song What is the Youth for the film and it became the classic melody and went deeply in audience’s heart. “What is a youth? Impetuous fire, What is a maid? Ice and desire”. It was first sang in Romeo and Juliet’s first meet, saying their youth, desire and strong emotion. “Death will come soon to hush us along. Sweeter than honey and bitter as gall. Love is a past time and never will pall.” The song seemed indicate the tragedy of their love story in the end, but “love never will pall”, which was just the belief ----love is eternal and love never ends that the film wanted to convey. And when I heard the song, I thought about another poem When You Are Old composed by William Butler Yeats. “How many loved your moments of glad grace, and loved your beauty with love false or true. But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, and loved the sorrows of your changing face”. What a love! When a rose fade, youth is gone, I am still following you with my eternal love for you.
     In the end of the film, the two fortune’s fools chose death to show their faithful love. Even they were not accepted by others or by the wild society, they still followed love and never minded ending their lives. Nothing could divide them. Yes, they died. But they died together with love. The eternal love shone on them, and was telling the truth to all: love never ends!

Franco Zeffirelli是横跨戏剧＋电影界的奇才, 这一部更是他的巅峰之作；
该片的音乐和剧本改写都是无敌的; 特别是在Capulet家的舞会上，主题曲What is a Youth跟剧情完美地结合令人叫绝；
史无前例的启用teenage担当莎士比亚戏剧的主角
Every scene is bravo !

大约是我上小学的时候，CCTV电影频道播放了小段经典电影《殉情记》片段，一个俊美的少年翩然出现在画面中，娓娓吟唱着哪首What is a Youth，仅仅几分钟的唯美片段，就把我的眼睛 我的耳朵 我的心 完完全全征服了。