It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography (Pasqualino De Santis) and Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati) it was also nominated for Best Director and Best Picture, making it the last Shakespearean film to be nominated for Best Picture to date. Italian director Franco Zeffirelli’s film is considered one of the best screen versions of Shakespeare’s classic love story.Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 British-Italian romantic tragedy film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare.The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. After a brief courtship, the two elope, creating even greater tension between their families. When Romeo (Leonard Whiting), a handsome young Montague, disregards convention by attending a Capulet ball, he falls in love with the beautiful Juliet (Olivia Hussey), a Capulet. When two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.In the Italian city of Verona, the Montague and the Capulet families are perpetually feuding.
