Romeo and Juliet

A friend of mine lent this film to me, because I'm doing research before directing the play. I've now seen about 9 different productions, and while the production is handsome and offers some interesting scenes to try and move the plot along, it features costumes woefully wrong for the period. The interpretation of the text is probably as good as it can be, but huge chunks of dialogue, including the Queen Mab Speech are cut, and Mercutio, always a vivid character, has been reduced to a few lines and an unimportant character. Sebastian Cabot is marvelous as Capulet, and Flora Robson offers some fine moments as the Nurse. Susan Shentall's Juliet is not bad, but except for occasional scenes, Laurence Harvey is phoning it in. I don't completely hate this one -- that would be the Baz Lurhmann disaster, but in comparison, while I've always loved the 1968 Zefferelli version, I'm seeing it from different eyes now, and as I watch the 1936 MGM production, I'm liking the interpretation of the text in that far better than the 1968. This film is an interesting artifact, but it's not especially inspirational. Enjoy it for what it's worth.