FILM DIRECTOR

Franco Zeffirelli

1923 - 2019

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Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfraŋko ddzeffiˈrɛlli]; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of the same. Films he directed included the Shakespearean adaptations The Taming of the Shrew (1967), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; Romeo and Juliet (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director; and Hamlet (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. His Biblical television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) won both national and international acclaim and is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Franco Zeffirelli is the 81st most popular film director (down from 80th in 2019), the 733rd most popular biography from Italy (down from 675th in 2019) and the 11th most popular Italian Film Director.

Franco Zeffirelli is most famous for his work on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and La Traviata.

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Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Franco Zeffirelli ranks 81 out of 2,041Before him are John Waters, F. W. Murnau, Tony Scott, Agnès Varda, Dziga Vertov, and Alain Resnais. After him are Alan Parker, Robert Bresson, Peter Brook, Ernst Lubitsch, Fred Zinnemann, and Howard Hawks.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1923, Franco Zeffirelli ranks 23Before him are Rocky Marciano, Peter II of Yugoslavia, György Ligeti, Marcel Marceau, Mas Oyama, and Queen Anne of Romania. After him are Val Logsdon Fitch, Jack Kilby, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Attenborough, Arvid Carlsson, and Mauno Koivisto. Among people deceased in 2019, Franco Zeffirelli ranks 24Before him are I. M. Pei, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Peter Fonda, Karel Gott, Agnès Varda, and Beji Caid Essebsi. After him are Doris Day, Marie Fredriksson, Bert Hellinger, Murray Gell-Mann, João Gilberto, and Mariss Jansons.

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In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Franco Zeffirelli ranks 733 out of 5,161Before him are Domenico Modugno (1928), Oriana Fallaci (1929), Agostino Carracci (1557), Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara (1476), Giovanni Agnelli (1866), and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (1507). After him are Lucullus (-118), Marcus Furius Camillus (-446), Salvatore Quasimodo (1901), Fausto Coppi (1919), Desiderius (710), and Bernardino of Siena (1380).

Among FILM DIRECTORS In Italy

Among film directors born in Italy, Franco Zeffirelli ranks 11Before him are Sergio Leone (1929), Michelangelo Antonioni (1912), Vittorio De Sica (1901), Tinto Brass (1933), Roberto Rossellini (1906), and Frank Capra (1897). After him are Dario Argento (1940), Giuseppe Tornatore (1956), Ettore Scola (1931), Sergio Corbucci (1926), Dino Risi (1916), and Lina Wertmüller (1928).