Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about…™ Romeo and Juliet (1968) – in Blu-ray (2 Viewers)

[haineshisway]

It’s almost there. Did you have a print back in the day?

I didn't, just saw it a bunch of times. I'm sure this transfer is lovely.

 

[Robert Harris]

I didn't, just saw it a bunch of times. I'm sure this transfer is lovely.

Looks very much like a new Eastman print from the OCN.

 

[uncledougie]

My copy arrived yesterday, so looking forward to seeing it again. I caught a little of it on TCM a couple of years ago or so and the print was acceptable, but this should amount to a big improvement. Everyone I knew in high school at the time went to see it and responded to it, all the more because the ages of the performers were finally appropriate to the tale, and the incidental nudity was not regarded as salacious. Reactionary mindsets nowadays promote revisionist histories.

 

[lark144]

Looks very much like a new Eastman print from the OCN.

Yes, I agree. It doesn't quite have the velvety textures the original prints at the Paris had, especially in the reds, but it's very beautuful and accurate. Really close to the way it originally looked. So close, the fact that the textures are slightly different, more Eastman than IB, but with a remarkable purity and clarity--no Eastman print back in the day ever looked this good, right on the money in terms of color values and contrast, except maybe the occasional wetgate in a screening room--doesn't bother me.

 

[Will Krupp]

Yes, I agree. It doesn't quite have the velvety textures the original prints at the Paris had, especially in the reds, but it's very beautuful and accurate. Really close to the way it originally looked. So close, the fact that the textures are slightly different, more Eastman than IB, but with a remarkable purity and clarity--no Eastman print back in the day ever looked this good, right on the money in terms of color values and contrast, except maybe the occasional wetgate in a screening room--doesn't bother me.

Mine is due today and you've got me salivating!! I can't wait to get home from the office.

 

[B-ROLL]

Ignorance can be remedied; innocence, once lost, can never be regained.

But there's always technology and science ...

 

[roxy1927]

Goldie Hawn and Walter Matthau go to see the movie at the Paris in Cactus Flower. When the movie was revived at the theater in the early 70s the tagline was something like Romeo and Julliet return home.

It was also planned to be a roadshow movie like Zeffirelli's Taming of the Shrew but the director said absolutely not. He didn't want that exclusive high class send off. He wanted it from the first to be a continuous run popular youth film.

 

[DarkVader]

Goldie Hawn and Walter Matthau go to see the movie at the Paris in Cactus Flower. When the movie was revived at the theater in the early 70s the tagline was something like Romeo and Julliet return home.

It was also planned to be a roadshow movie like Zeffirelli's Taming of the Shrew but the director said absolutely not. He didn't want that exclusive high class send off. He wanted it from the first to be a continuous run popular film.

And a little over a year later "Cactus Flower" had its premiere at the Paris. It began its regular run at the Astor and Orpheum theaters in NYC the next day.

 

[roxy1927]

I did not know that it had a Paris premiere. I knew it had its first run NY engagement at the Astor. I remember seeing that as we drove by the theater at night after my parents had taken us to see Charlie Brown at Radio City.

 

[Will Krupp]

It was also planned to be a roadshow movie like Zeffirelli's Taming of the Shrew but the director said absolutely not. He didn't want that exclusive high class send off. He wanted it from the first to be a continuous run popular youth film.

I tend to think it was Paramount's decision more than Zeffirelli's. The film HAD a reserved seat roadshow run about 7 months earlier in the UK (hence the appearance of the intermission card on the blu-ray.) The film's US demographic, according to early interest, was younger, college aged filmgoers. By 1968, roadshows, to them, were for "old people." I can't imagine Zeffirelli had any say in the US release pattern.

And a little over a year later "Cactus Flower" had its premiere at the Paris. It began its regular run at the Astor and Orpheum theaters in NYC the next day.

I hate to disagree with you, but I can't find any record of a Paris premiere for Cactus Flower. It started its premiere run on Tuesday, December 16th and there's no mention of it in The Daily News for the 14th or the 15th. I did find a reference to it in the paper from Sunday the 13th, but it was just a mention that it was "opening Tuesday" at the Astor and Orpheum.

 

[DarkVader]

I tend to think it was Paramount's decision more than Zeffirelli's. The film HAD a reserved seat roadshow run about 7 months earlier in the UK (hence the appearance of the intermission card on the blu-ray.) The film's US demographic, according to early interest, was younger, college aged filmgoers. By 1968, roadshows, to them, were for "old people." I can't imagine Zeffirelli had any say in the US release pattern.



I hate to disagree with you, but I can't find any record of a Paris premiere for Cactus Flower. It started its premiere run on Tuesday, December 16th and there's no mention of it in The Daily News for the 14th or the 15th. I did find a reference to it in the paper from Sunday the 13th, but it was just a mention that it was "opening Tuesday" at the Astor and Orpheum.

View attachment 176310

It did premiere at the Paris and at the Astor in dual Gala Benefit Performances on December 15th, 1969 and the party was held at the Plaza across the street.

 

[Will Krupp]

It did premiere at the Paris on December 15th, 1969 and the party was held at the Plaza across the street.

My sincere apologies as I shouldn't have trusted the search function! It didn't pick up the title somehow but a hand search of the paper on Monday does prove that you are completely correct. I'm so sorry to have doubted!

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I prefer the adolescent heat generated by Shearer and Howard in the MGM film.

You spelled "mid-life crisis" wrong.

 

[DarkVader]

My sincere apologies as I shouldn't have trusted the search function! It didn't pick up the title somehow but a hand search of the paper on Monday does prove that you are completely correct. I'm so sorry to have doubted!

View attachment 176312

No worries my friend. Glad you found a clearer copy of the ad!

 

[bujaki]

But there's always technology and science ...
View attachment 176232
View attachment 176233

Is there a kit to restore a man's virginity?

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Is there a kit to restore a man's virginity?

*bites tongue*

 

[roxy1927]

The party after the R & J Paris premiere was held at one of the hot NY night spots maybe the Cheetah?

Those British roadshows would always say All Seats Bookable which was their way of saying Reserved Seat Engagement I guess.

 

[mskaye]

Yes, I agree. It doesn't quite have the velvety textures the original prints at the Paris had, especially in the reds, but it's very beautuful and accurate. Really close to the way it originally looked. So close, the fact that the textures are slightly different, more Eastman than IB, but with a remarkable purity and clarity--no Eastman print back in the day ever looked this good, right on the money in terms of color values and contrast, except maybe the occasional wetgate in a screening room--doesn't bother me.

Romeo and Juliet: Star-Crossed Spectacle

Entrenched as an authoritative adaptation, this Oscar-winning hit is still admired, taught, and studied today for its spectacular re-creation of the past and its reinvention of the Shakespearean spoken word.

www.criterion.com

 

[PaulRossen]

Romeo and Juliet did have a very nice souvenir program.

 

[LCD22]

Has anyone seen this review over on the Criterion Forum?

Romeo and Juliet

<p>One of the great Shakespeare adaptations, this sublime take on the Bard’s immortal romantic tragedy by Franco Zeffirelli breathed new life into the oft-told tale by casting actual teenagers in the title roles. As the young lovers whose affair threatens to inflame the tensions between their...

www.criterionforum.org

The new restoration and end presentation significantly improve upon Paramount’s previous DVD edition. The new scan has picked up an incredible level of detail, the textures of the costumes leaping out now, same with the courtyard's stone walls and other settings. The colors look decent, limited a bit by the Eastmancolor source and what looks to be a bit of a teal push at times, but skin tones and whites still look strong alongside nice pops of blue, red, and orange. Black levels are inky with wide range in the shadows, though some day-for-night shots can look a little flat with a bit of crush that could be baked into the photography.