Romeo and Juliet

Franco Zeffirelli directs this version of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy--breaking with the norm and casting a 17 (Leonard Whiting) and 15-year-old (Olivia Hussey) to play the lead roles. The filming took place in Italy, broke another tradition by having nude love scenes, has a well-known score by Nino Rota (who went on to write the music for The Godfather) and is probably still one of the most profitable film adaptations of a Shakespeare play. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two--for Costumes and Cinematography.