Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguixamo, Diane Venora, Harold Perrineau.
Writers: Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann.
Studio: 20th Century Fox.
Rated: PG-13.
Runtime: 2h 01m .
Year: 1996 .
It's not often that I describe a movie as being "cool," but this is one of those cases in which there are just no other adjectives to describe it. Forgoing the traditional, boring Franco Seffirelli style of R&J filming, director Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom) has created an awesome visual pastiche that brings the Bard's vision of hopeless love amisst chaos and enmity to flashy, vivid life.
The film opens with an announcer on a TV set describing the situation as we enter the film it's almost like the opening of a popular TV show: "last week on Dawson's Creek." Just substitute William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet for the actual television show and Verona Beach for the location. This notion is further enhanced by the presentation of videoclips showing widespread carnage and hostility. What happens next, but the characters are introduced in a sort of 1970s-TV show-type format.
Baz Luhrmann Tells the greatest love story of all time, in our time. William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona Beach; a violent modern city of guns, money and greed. In this opulent world hate, rival gangs and families at war, Romeo (Leonardo Dicaprio) and Juliet (Claire Danes), are ignited by the passion of first forbidden love and Verona Beach explodes. Shakespeare's heart-wrenching tale of doomed love is told with passion, beauty, wit, furious energy and a worldwide, best selling soundtrack. A film that will kick you in the heart.
Although it will probably not be considered a classic at par with the Zeffirelli version, I liked this film a lot more than the stiff, Coles Notes version the Italian director served up. Baz Lugrmann's Romeo And Juliet is a very interesting and intriguing interpretation of Shakespeare's tale of two star-crossed lovers, and I heartily recommend it.