Two very different versions of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet are seen in the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet (written by Franco Brusati and Maestro D'Amico and directed by Franco Zeffirelli) and the 1961 musical West Side Story (screenplay by Ernest Lehman and direction by Robert Wise, based on the stage musical by Arthur Laurents and Leonard Bernstein).
The film Romeo and Juliet follows the Shakespeare play faithfully for the most part, though much of Shakespeare's dialogue was cut, as was the death of Paris in Act V, Scene 3. the main characters are Romeo and Juliet, one a Capulet and the other a Montague. They are living out their destinies, and the choices they make derive from their characters and the situations in which they find themselves. More than this, their choices have been limited for them by their parents and their parents' parents. They have inherited a family situation and a social and political structure that does not allow them to make choices that are completely free. In terms of the plot, decisions are made and events occur by the working of faith, accident, and character. Romeo meets Juliet secretly, fully aware of what it means for him to have a passion for this particular young woman. Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet at first sight, and at that moment he is not aware of her identity. He learns almost immediately who she is and is dismayed at the news, but undeterred in his feelings for her. From the first, the obstacles to their love are known and recognized by them. The actions they take are attempts to circumvent these obstacles, but all efforts are doomed because those obstacles have been foretold by the stars. The leads in the film are close to the age of the characters in Shakespeare, making them teenagers as intended. The attitude of the director made the film fit with the time in which it was made so that in spite of the fidelity to the period flavor in terms of sets and costume...