Romeo + Juliet

Plot

Shakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.

Release Year: 1996

Rating: 6.8/10 (82,787 voted)

Critic's Score: 60/100

Director:
Baz Luhrmann

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo

Storyline
Shakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue. The gun-toting members of the families wage a vicious war on the streets as the star-crossed lovers, their tragic destiny.

Writers: William Shakespeare, Craig Pearce

Cast:

Leonardo DiCaprio
–

Romeo

Claire Danes
–

Juliet

John Leguizamo
–

Tybalt

Harold Perrineau
–

Mercutio

Pete Postlethwaite
–

Father Laurence

Paul Sorvino
–

Fulgencio Capulet

Brian Dennehy
–

Ted Montague

Paul Rudd
–

Dave Paris

Vondie Curtis-Hall
–

Captain Prince

Miriam Margolyes
–

The Nurse

Jesse Bradford
–

Balthasar

M. Emmet Walsh
–

Apothecary

Zak Orth
–

Gregory

Jamie Kennedy
–

Sampson

Dash Mihok
–

Benvolio

Taglines:
Hope & Despair. Tragedy & Love. Romeo & Juliet.

Release Date: 1 November 1996

Filming Locations: Alameda, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $14,500,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $11,133,231
(USA)
(3 November 1996)
(1276 Screens)

Gross: $46,338,728
(USA)
(17 February 1997)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

The Jesus statue that dominates Verona was actually a visual effect. In reality, it was 2 feet high.

Goofs:

Continuity:
Romeo falls from the balcony into the pool as the Nurse appears. He should have fallen hard on the pavement around the pool edge. He could not have reached the pool, even if he'd leaped out on purpose.

Quotes:

[to Benvolio and Tybalt, who are fighting]

Captain Prince:
Rebellious subjects! Enemies to peace! Throw your mistempered weapons to the ground!

User Review

A review of Baz Luhrumann's Romeo and Juliet

Rating:

Shakespeare gets a Hollywood make over in Baz Luhrmann's high-octane
remake of Romeo and Juliet.

The Australian director manages to combine an exciting mix of original
Shakespearean dialect and Hollywood action, which together delivers a
brilliant new concept to film making.

The casting of Leonardo Di Caprio as Romeo and Claire Danes as Juliet
are inspired choices, as they both give the best performance of their
fledgling careers.

Although this is a story which has been told many times before, Luhrmann
keeps the idea fresh, mainly by using a lovely mixture of fast editing
and beautifully choreographed fight scenes, which wouldn't look out of
place in a John Woo action film. It also combines a fantastic soundtrack
with a stunning backdrop of 'Verona Beach'.

Right from the explosive beginning to the tragic ending, Romeo and
Juliet will keep you captivated. This is a testament to Luhrmann's
brilliant snappy direction, which will take you on a rollercoaster ride
of car chases, gun fights and a love that was destined to
fail.

Luhrmann's ablity to keep the audience wanting more is no more apparent
than the ending. You would have to have been living under a rock, for
the last 100 years to not know how Romeo and Juliet ends. But Luhrmann
manages to keep the audience hoping that this time it will be
different.

Would Will Shakespeare be happy with this adaptation of his work? We'll
never know, although any fans of Shakespeare should leave the cinema
pleased with this mordernised version.