Available at Amazon.com
Directed by
Baz Luhrmann
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
Admittedly, it feels silly reviewing a film based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. With the story and plot considered one of the greatest romances of all time, there’s nothing that I can really bring to the discussion that hasn’t already been said in one way or another. On the other hand, what does warrant discussion in this 1996 version is the visual style that Director Baz Luhrmann was able imbue on this film, taking this classic story and exploring just how timeless it is, updating it in a way that makes sense and still honors its original creation.
Simply taking the story from medieval Italy to modern day Miami Beach gives the movie an energy that no interpretation of the story has had since the Sharks and the Jets stood in for the Montagues and Capulets in Robert Wise’s 1961 Best Picture winner West Side Story. Romeo + Juliet is a movie filled with the zest of one of Robert Rodriguez’s Mariachi movies, with epic gunfights standing in for the swordplay detailed in Shakespeare’s play. Where the film may go too far in its zeal on occasion, bringing real passion for this material shows why people fell in love with this story in the first place and Luhrmann is able to tap into that.
It helps that all cast members here do mostly top notch work. A pre-Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio is rightly cast as Romeo, bringing a level of emotion that has really never been seen in the role before onscreen. His face is a tapestry of pain and anger as he begs Tybalt (John Leguizamo) to let their ancient feud finally rest, and his playful romance of Juliet (Claire Danes) seems heartfelt and joyful, eliminating the dour, moody characteristics that this courtship usually incurs. Overall, this was one of the actor’s breakout roles, perfect for the angst-ridden Montague, able to give a performance that was beyond his years at the time.
John Leguizamo and Harold Perrineau relish their turns as Tybalt and Mercutio, as their characters have always been the ones with the best scenes and greatest individual lines. Luhrmann lets these two go unbridled throughout, as they play up their parts as if they were lions, battling for supremacy. Their scenes together are vigorous, as Mercutio’s “A plague on both your houses,” has more venom than in any version I’ve ever seen.
Much like Julie Taymor’s Titus and Richard Loncraine’s Richard III, Romeo + Juliet has a director that was willing to open up this world to give it an epic scope, such as a simple sword fight turned into a epic bullet ballet, complete with Police choppers and blazing .45’s. Luhrmann gives us one indelible image after another from Mercutio waiting on a beautiful beach to the famous balcony scene made much more mischievous as a moonlight swim. It is this wonderful dynamism that makes this movie an exceptional Shakespeare adaptation instead of just another “play on film”.
Romeo + Juliet has become a Cult favorite because it lets its language feel organic to the setting its presented, even if those surroundings are rife with insanity. The movie was able to play into the mid-90’s fervor for Tarantino and Rodriguez, present a top 40 hits machine, while still giving teenagers a classical lesson in English literature. Bottom line; Romeo + Juliet manages to keep its flash without sacrificing its heart.
The Video
The print on this is quite good, with all the mad colors of the film, bursting from the screen. The picture is pretty crisp, with little debris to be seen. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1
The Audio
The Audio track is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and is a great showcase for the musical numbers throughout the film’s soundtrack. There doesn’t seem to be any balance problems either, as music and dialogue seem equally audible.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentaries, Documentary, Featurettes, Juke Box Function
3 Audio Commentaries – You get three commentaries on this disc, all of which are more music-centric than any other special editions so far. The three tracks are by Director Baz Luhrmann, Film Score Orchestrator and Co-Composer Craig Armstrong, and Film Score Music Programmer and Co-Composer Marius DeVries, all of which are pretty interesting and stay chatty throughout. Of the three, Luhrmann seems to have the hardest time trying to stay on task, as he wants to go into other aspects of production. I love how all three tracks will talk about the same moments in the film as well, such as the corny fanfare that is played as Paris (Paul Rudd) comes onscreen. Each makes a small comment about it, some happier with the moment than others.
The London Music Mix – This is a short Featurette on a recording that took place in an old church. It’s fairly interesting, but not all that entertaining.
Romeo + Juliet: The Music – This 45 minute documentary is much better, as it takes a look at how the music was responsible for not only getting the movie off the ground, but helped shape the film in so many ways. It’s interesting to think of a room full of execs contemplating a ten million dollar budget for this picture now, as the movie became a pretty big success.
Journey of the Song Featurettes – You get three very short Featurettes on the disc talking about the development of the songs Young Hearts Run Free, Everybody’s Free, and Temp Music. All the Featurettes only run a couple of minutes.
Music Machine – This is a juke box-type function that jumps to when each of the songs play during the movie.
