SnoopyStyle It's the classic William Shakespeare directed by George Cukor. The pomp and pageantry is great. It's a big Hollywood production. The Shakespearian dialogue is understandable. The acting ability spans a wide range. There is the greatness of the sunsetting John Barrymore. The leads and most of the cast are reasonably good. There is one or two awkward bad performances. My biggest problem is the age of the star-crossed lovers. They are supposed to be pubescent teens. Norma Shearer is in her mid-30s and Leslie Howard is in his mid-40s. It is very noticeable that Norma is fit to play her mother but it is the thinning hair of an elderly Leslie which is most confounding. I understand the cliche that these teen roles are often played by older actors but they are quite frankly in a different generation. There is a hormonal melodrama to this play that older actors cannot hope to bring to the leading roles. They're not even in their 20's.

evening1 A beautifully filmed and costumed version of the Shakespeare tale of star-crossed lovers.Director George Cukor has made the story thoroughly accessible while retaining the sparkle of the original language, although, clearly, much dialog has been cut.While Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard do well in the central roles, they were far too old -- about 36 and 43, respectively -- to have been cast as teenagers. One is constantly aware that Juliet and her mother appear to be contemporaries! This version of the love-and-hate saga drives home the timeless themes at work in this Renaissance story -- that, try as one might to follow one's dream and be true to oneself, one can be thwarted by the ridiculous vagaries of fate at any moment. In other words, "the best laid plans of mice and men..." We see here a world in which parents profess to love their children but never really listen to them. It is their goals, and not their children's, that count in the end. We also witness the terrible consequences of living in a world in which one person's behavior is rigidly dictated by another's. (Had Romeo not killed Tybalt, how might this have all turned out?) One is left pondering whether times have really changed that much since the days of the Plague. Speaking of which, Cukor injects the disease into this film in the most dramatic of ways, trapping the messenger/monk in a house of pestilent death. An exquisitely heart-rending detail! I'm very glad I saw this. It renews my awe at the talent of the Bard.

janowski_steve The retelling of this Shakespeare classic is fine, and the acting performances solid. But I found the 2 leads a little hard to believe because of their ages. While the "suspension of disbelief" is a necessary element for virtually all film, having the 36 year old Norma Shearer and 43 year old Leslie Howard was too much. Romeo and Juliet are supposed to be teenagers!!! Edna Mae Oliver, on the other hand, is perfect as the nurse. In regards to other film productions of R & J. There is no question the Franco Zefferelli version is the best. With a perfect cast of 2 actual teenagers in the lead roles. I recommend everyone to see this version. As a side note, avoid the 1996 DiCaprio/Danes version at all cost. What a waste of Shakespears amazing words.

Snow Leopard The fine cast and production make this adaptation of "Romeo & Juliet" a satisfying one, both as a movie and as a realization of Shakespeare's play. Most of the cast is matched up very well with their characters, and the lavish settings provide a good backdrop for the drama.Although it's soon clear that Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer are quite a bit older than the original characters were, in other respects they are well cast. Shearer's eager innocence and Howard's refinement fit together well, and although they are clearly not the teenage characters of the original, their romance is believable and convincing in itself.The other roles include some nice casting. Reginald Denny as the loyal Benvolio, Basil Rathbone as the hard-hearted Tybalt, and Edna May Oliver as Juliet's bustling nurse are all enjoyable to watch. But the highlight of the cast is John Barrymore, who steals every scene as the fun-loving, ill-fated Mercutio, a character who is well-suited to Barrymore's strengths. It's a blessing that at least one of Barrymore's numerous Shakespearean roles was captured in a film for posterity.The script abridges many of the scenes for cinematic purposes, and it does well in fleshing out the basic story with the duels, festivities, and other events, at times also dramatizing developments that in the original text are only mentioned by the characters. Overall, it is a well-conceived, well-executed, and enjoyable movie version of the famous story.