Romeo + Juliet
William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet is an Academy Award nominated 1996 American movie adaptation of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. It was directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles.
| Romeo + Juliet | |
|---|---|
| File:William shakespeares romeo and juliet movie poster.jpg Theatrical poster for William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet' | |
| Directed by | Baz Luhrmann |
| Produced by | Baz Luhrmann Gabriella Martinelli |
| Written by | William Shakespeare (Play) Craig Pearce (Screenplay) Baz Luhrmann (Screenplay) |
| Starring | Leonardo DiCaprio Claire Danes John Leguizamo Harold Perrineau Pete Postlethwaite Paul Sorvino Brian Dennehy Paul Rudd Vondie Curtis-Hall Miriam Margolyes Jesse Bradford Dash Mihok |
| Music by | Nellee Hooper (Composer) Craig Armstrong (Composer) (Orchestrator) (Conductor) Marius De Vries (Composer) |
| Cinematography | Donald McAlpine |
| Edited by | Jill Bilcock |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date | November 1, 1996 |
Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $14,500,000 (estimated) |
The movie is a version of Shakespeare's play designed to appeal to a younger modern audience. It is set in present day fictional Verona Beach, Florida, but uses the style of language from the original novel. The fighting families (the Montagues and the Capulets) are represented as competing business empires, swords are replaced by guns etc. Despite the adaptation, the movie retains Shakespeare's original dialogue, though edited for modern cinema audiences.
Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague
- Claire Danes as Juliet Capulet
- John Leguizamo as Tybalt Capulet
- Harold Perrineau as Mercutio
- Brian Dennehy as Ted Montague
- Dash Mihok as Benvolio Montague
- Christina Pickles as Caroline Montague
- Paul Sorvino as Fulgencio Capulet
- Diane Venora as Gloria Capulet
- Miriam Margolyes as Nurse Angelica
- Paul Rudd as Dave Paris
- Pete Postlethwaite as Friar Lawrence
- Vondie Curtis-Hall as Captain Escalus Prince
- Jesse Bradford as Balthasar
- M. Emmet Walsh as Apothecary
- Zak Orth as Gregory
- Jamie Kennedy as Sampson
Response
Critics gave the movie good reviews. On the review given by Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of critics gave the movie positive reviews, based on 38 reviews.[1] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times disliked the movie, giving it 2 stars and said "This production was a very bad idea. I have never seen anything remotely approaching the mess that the new punk version of Romeo & Juliet makes of Shakespeare's tragedy." Ebert wrote that Pete Postlethwaite and Miriam Margolyes were "the only actors in the movie who seem completely at home" and said "In one grand but doomed gesture, writer-director Baz Luhrmann has made a movie that (a) will dismay any lover of Shakespeare, and (b) bore anyone lured into the theater by promise of gang wars, MTV-style."[2]
The movie won several awards.[3] At the Berlin International Film Festival in 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor and director Baz Luhrmann won the Alfred Bauer Award. Luhrmann was also nominated for the Golden Bear Award for Best Picture.[3]
References
- ↑ "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ↑ Roger Ebert (1996-11-01). ":: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: Romeo & Juliet". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117509/awards Retrieved 2007-10-14
Other websites
[[Category:Movies set in Florid