Romeo and Juliet is a timeless classic love story written by the incomparable William Shakespeare. Many of Shakespeare's works are considered literary classics, but none are more beloved than Romeo and Juliet. This play masterfully tells the love story of two teenagers in Elizabethan England. The title characters Romeo and Juliet are members of two feuding families, Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. There are different stylistic ways of portraying Romeo and Juliet, and the two most popular film versions portray two very different styles of this work. Zeferelli's Romeo and Juliet was made in the 1970s and is the film version most commonly shown in high school classrooms. The most recent film version of this play is Romeo and Juliet by Baz Luhrmann. This version sets the classic story in a modern setting. Both versions, although stylistically different, remain faithful to the basic plot of the work. Zeferelli's is the oldest and most classic version of Romeo and Juliet. Zeferelli uses the Verona setting and costumes suited to Elizabethan England. It takes liberties with the dialogue, as it shortens many of the characters' monologues. This is the version that is most commonly shown in high school classrooms, because although some sexual puns are included, they are not stressed in any way. Another thing that is not highlighted in Zeferelli's version is the common assessment of Mercutio's sexual preference. It is commonly believed that Mercutio was interested in Romeo sexually and that he possessed very homosexual qualities. Zeferelli simply portrays Mercutio as Romeo's friend. One thing that set Zeferelli's film apart from other films of the time was the fact that... halfway down the page... it ended. Although Zeferelli's version was faithful to the way the opera had been written, only to take liberties with some dialogue, Luhrmann set the opera in modern times. With his updated version Luhrmann managed to bring Romeo and Juliet to a completely new and younger audience. He directed the film so that today's teenagers could relate to it. While the language may have confused some of today's teens, most understood the story. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a timeless, romantic story that everyone can relate to at some point. This is not a fairy tale and does not have a happy ending, but it is a love story. Romeo and Juliet is a play that can be updated over and over again without ever losing its original luster and brilliance. I can only hope that when my children are teenagers, another inspired director will bring this love story back to life.