Romeo + Juliet
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In this contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.
What critics thought
Baz Luhrmann's frenetic, pop-saturated Shakespeare adaptation was polarizing on release and has only grown more contested with time — critics who admired DiCaprio and Danes under capable direction sat alongside those who found the visual maximalism a catastrophic mismatch for the source material. The film's reputation has notably rehabilitated over the decades, with some original detractors doing full reversals.
“Ultimately, no matter how many innovative and unconventional flourishes it applies, the success of any adaptation of a Shakespeare play is determined by two factors: the competence of the director and the ability of the main cast members. Luhrmann, Danes, and DiCaprio place this Romeo and Juliet in capable hands.”
James Berardinelli·ReelReviews.net
“I've seen King Lear as a samurai drama and Macbeth as a Mafia story, and two different Romeo and Juliets about ethnic difficulties in Manhattan (West Side Story and China Girl), but I have never seen anything remotely approaching the mess that the new punk version of Romeo & Juliet makes of Shakespeare's tragedy.”
Roger Ebert·rogerebert.com
“destined for the trash heap of Shakespeare adaptations”
Stephanie Zacharek·Salon
Accolades
Genres
Drama, Romance
Cast & Crew
Baz LuhrmannDirector
Leonardo DiCaprioRomeo
Claire DanesJuliet
Jesse BradfordBalthasar
Vondie Curtis-HallCaptain Prince
Brian DennehyTed Montague
John LeguizamoTybalt
Miriam MargolyesNurse
Harold PerrineauMercutio
Christina PicklesCaroline Montague
Pete PostlethwaiteFather Laurence
Paul RuddDave Paris
Paul SorvinoFulgencio Capulet
Nellee HooperComposer
Craig ArmstrongComposer
Marius de VriesComposer
Craig PearceWriter
William ShakespeareWriter
Donald McAlpineCinematographyRomeo + Juliet
In this contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.
What critics thought
Baz Luhrmann's frenetic, pop-saturated Shakespeare adaptation was polarizing on release and has only grown more contested with time — critics who admired DiCaprio and Danes under capable direction sat alongside those who found the visual maximalism a catastrophic mismatch for the source material. The film's reputation has notably rehabilitated over the decades, with some original detractors doing full reversals.
“Ultimately, no matter how many innovative and unconventional flourishes it applies, the success of any adaptation of a Shakespeare play is determined by two factors: the competence of the director and the ability of the main cast members. Luhrmann, Danes, and DiCaprio place this Romeo and Juliet in capable hands.”
James Berardinelli·ReelReviews.net
“I've seen King Lear as a samurai drama and Macbeth as a Mafia story, and two different Romeo and Juliets about ethnic difficulties in Manhattan (West Side Story and China Girl), but I have never seen anything remotely approaching the mess that the new punk version of Romeo & Juliet makes of Shakespeare's tragedy.”
Roger Ebert·rogerebert.com
“destined for the trash heap of Shakespeare adaptations”
Stephanie Zacharek·Salon
Accolades
Genres
Drama, Romance
Cast & Crew
Baz LuhrmannDirectorLeonardo DiCaprioRomeoClaire DanesJulietJesse BradfordBalthasarVondie Curtis-HallCaptain PrinceBrian DennehyTed MontagueJohn LeguizamoTybaltMiriam MargolyesNurseHarold PerrineauMercutioChristina PicklesCaroline MontaguePete PostlethwaiteFather LaurencePaul RuddDave ParisPaul SorvinoFulgencio CapuletNellee HooperComposerCraig ArmstrongComposerMarius de VriesComposerCraig PearceWriterWilliam ShakespeareWriterDonald McAlpineCinematographyStream
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