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AP excerpt. He rose to be one of Italy’s most prolific directors, working with such opera greats as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Maria Callas, as well as Hollywood stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Mel Gibson, Cher and Judi Dench. ROME — Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who delighted audiences around the world with his romantic vision and extravagant productions, most famously captured in his cinematic “Romeo and Juliet” and the miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth,” died Saturday at 96. While Zeffirelli was most popularly known for his films, his name was also inextricably linked to the theater and opera. He...

In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, 86-year-old film director Franco Zeffirelli-- perhaps best remembered for his 1977 Jesus of Nazareth-- called Pope Benedict a “wonderful man” theologically but said that the cardinals made an “image error” when they elected him. “Catholic is another thing,” he said. “It’s open, it’s theatrical, it’s flashy,” adding, “when you have to deal with the Vatican-- St. Peter’s, ‘The Last Judgment’ of Michelangelo-- you have to be larger than life, you can’t be a professor from north Germany.” As the New York Times article writer observed, the Pontiff hails from southern Germany.

ROME — Italian film and opera legend Franco Zeffirelli has agreed to become an image consultant to Pope Benedict XVI, the director said in an interview published Saturday. The pope does not have a "happy image," Zeffirelli told La Stampa, adding: "Coming after a pope as telegenic as John Paul II is a difficult task." Benedict, elected in 2005, "comes across coldly, which isn't suited to his surroundings," Zeffirelli said, adding that the pope's wardrobe "should be reviewed." The pope's robes are "too sumptuous and flashy," the 84-year-old director of "Jesus of Nazareth" and "Romeo and Juliet" told the daily...

Zeffirelli Brands Mel Gibson's Passion Anti-Semitic; Calls Director “Bloodthirsty”   Thu Feb 26,12:12 PM ET     Godfrey DeenyFashion Wire Daily February 26, 2004 - New York - Franco Zeffirelli, the last person before Mel Gibson (news) to direct a major feature film on the life of Christ and someone who has himself directed the actor as Hamlet, has lambasted Gibson's controversial film The Passion as anti-Semitic.   "They tell me that in America, despite the ban on minors, that mothers absolutely want their children to see the film, in order to understand the suffering Jesus underwent to save...