Casting
Paul McCartney has said he was considered by Franco Zeffirelli for the role of Romeo. Although Zeffirelli does not mention it in his autobiography, McCartney provided details on this account (including meeting with Olivia Hussey and exchanging telegrams with her) in his co-written autobiography.[3] In April 2020, McCartney referred to his discussions with Zeffirelli on The Howard Stern Show.
Zeffirelli engaged in a worldwide search for unknown teenage actors to play the parts of the two lovers. Musician Phil Collins was in the running for Romeo, while his then-girlfriend Lavinia Lang (herself a great friend to Hussey) was in the running for Juliet,[4] as was actress Anjelica Huston, but the latter's father, director John Huston, withdrew her from consideration when he decided to cast her in his film A Walk with Love and Death.[5] Leonard Whiting was 16 and Hussey was 15 during casting, but were 17 and 16 when filming began in the summer of 1967.[6] Zeffirelli adapted the play in such a way as to play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses: for instance, long speeches were trimmed, and he emphasized reaction shots.[7]
Laurence Olivier's involvement in the production was by happenstance. He was in Rome to film The Shoes of the Fisherman and visited the studio where Romeo and Juliet was being shot. He asked Zeffirelli if there was anything he could do, and was given the Prologue to read, then ended up dubbing the voice of Lord Montague as well as other assorted minor roles.[7]
Filming
After cast readings in late May, rehearsals and filming began at the end of June 1967 in Tuscania, Italy, then moved to Pienza, Gubbio, and Artena, before completing at Cinecittà movie studios in Rome.[8][9] The famous Romeo and Juliet balcony scene was filmed in Artena in September 1967.[10]
The film is set in 14th century Renaissance Italy.[11]
- The balcony scene: at the Palazzo Borghese, built by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 16th century, in Artena, 40 km southeast of Rome.
- The interior church scenes: at the Romanesque church of San Pietro, Tuscania in the town of Tuscania, 90 km northwest of Rome.
- The tomb scene: also in Tuscania.
- The palace of the Capulets' scenes: at Palazzo Piccolomini, built from 1459 to 1462 by Pope Pius II, in the city of Pienza in the Siena province.
- The duelling scenes with swords were filmed in the old Umbrian town of Gubbio.
- The film also has some scenes filmed in Montagnana.
- The street scenes: also in Pienza and on the Cinecittà Studios backlot, Rome.
Editing
During post-production, several scenes were trimmed or cut. Act 5, Scene 3, in which Romeo fights and eventually kills Paris outside Juliet's crypt, was filmed but deleted from the final print.[12] According to Leonard Whiting and Roberto Bisacco, Zeffirelli cut the scene because he felt it unnecessarily made Romeo less sympathetic.[13] Another scene, where Romeo and Benvolio learn about the Capulet ball by intercepting an invitation, was filmed but cut; however, promotional stills still survive.
Because the film was shot MOS (without sound), all dialogue and Foley effects had to be looped during editing. A separate dub was created for the Italian release, with Giancarlo Giannini dubbing Whiting and Anna Maria Guarnieri dubbing Hussey, and Vittorio Gassman as narrator.
The final budgeted cost for the film was US$850,000 (equivalent to US$5.69 million in 2023).[1]
