“Zeffirelli approaches the tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet' as realistically as possible. Shakespeare's Juliet was not yet 14, and the casting of a boy of 16 and a girl of 15 as the star-crossed lovers in fact gives a much fresher and more invigorating impression of the love affair than we are accustomed to receiving from actors old enough to speak the lines with accomplishment. Enormous liberties have been taken with the play, and the lines themselves get less than second place in Zeffirelli's order of priorities; but it is arguable that the spirit of the thing comes over no less poignantly for that. On the Elizabethan stage, one must remember, there was no long-established tradition governing the way that Shakespeare's lines should be spoken.... What is debatable...is the widely attested theory that you cannot mix your conventions, that realistic filming demands realistic dialogue. Why should this be so? Hybrids are often the strongest plants.... By finding a physical vernacular for the tragedy, stressing the Italian qualities, the colour, impetuousness and youth, Zeffirelli has made a film that flows.... Reactions must be personal, but ‘Romeo and Juliet' as Shakespeare wrote it would have to be considerably tampered with before a film in any way worthy of the name could emerge.” --Monthly Film Bulletin