Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who was famed for productions including the 1968 movie adaptation of Romeo And Juliet, has died in Rome at the age of 96.
Zeffirelli’s son Luciano said his father had died at home, adding he “had suffered for a while, but he left in a peaceful way”.
The director delighted audiences around the world with his romantic vision and often extravagant productions, most famously captured in his cinematic rendering of Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet – a hit with critics as well as at the box office – and the lavish TV miniseries Jesus Of Nazareth.
Showing great flexibility, he produced classics for the world’s most famous opera houses, from Milan’s venerable La Scala to the Metropolitan in New York, as well as plays for London and Italian stages.
Zeffirelli made it his mission to make culture accessible to the masses, often seeking inspiration in Shakespeare and other literary greats for his films, as well as producing operas aimed at TV audiences.
Claiming no favourites, Zeffirelli once likened himself to a sultan with a harem of three: film, theatre and opera.
He told the Associated Press in 2006: “I am not a film director. I am a director who uses different instruments to express his dreams and his stories – to make people dream.”
From his illegitimate birth on the outskirts of Florence on February 12 1923, Zeffirelli rose to become one of Italy’s most prolific directors, working with such opera greats as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and his beloved Maria Callas, as well Hollywood stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Mel Gibson, Cher and Judi Dench.
Throughout his career, Zeffirelli took risks – and his audacity paid off at the box office. His screen success in America was a rarity among Italian filmmakers, and he prided himself on knowing the tastes of modern moviegoers.
He was one of the few Italian directors close to the Vatican, and the church turned to Zeffirelli’s theatrical touch for live telecasts of the 1978 papal installation and the 1983 Holy Year opening ceremonies in St Peter’s Basilica.
Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi also called on Zeffirelli to direct a few high-profile events.
But the director was best known outside Italy for his colourful, softly-focused romantic films. His version of Romeo And Juliet, starring Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, brought Shakespeare’s story to a new and appreciative generation.
His 1972 movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon told the life of St Francis in parables involving modern and 13th-century youth.
Zeffirelli directed Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in a 1967 adaptation of The Taming Of The Shrew.
He returned to Shakespeare in 1990, directing Hollywood star Mel Gibson in the title role of Hamlet.
One of his final films, 1999’s Tea With Mussolini, saw him work with Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith and Cher.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here