On its 1968 release, Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet earned notoriety for casting actual teenagers as the title characters in Shakespeare's iconic love story. It was the perfect choice for the sixties youth-in-revolt era, an invigorating embrace of the moment's generation-gap conflicts that won two Oscars and remains for many the definitive cinematic adaptation of the great romance. Olivia Hussey (only 15 at the time), wide-eyed and voluptuous, and Leonard Whiting (16), a lean golden boy with boundless energy, bring to life the star-crossed lovers with a spirited openness and fiery innocence that older, more polished actors would fail to capture-both framed and lit as if Roman gods by a seemingly liberated Zeffirelli. Elaborate Cinecittà sets; stellar supporting acting from stage veterans John McEnery (Mercutio), Pat Heywood (The Nurse), and Michael York (Tybalt); and Nino Rota's iconic score round out a film that's true to both Shakespeare and late-sixties pop culture.