Luhrmann's gleefully cinematic version of the play is so relentlessly inventive and innovative, it takes 20 minutes to get a grasp on how appropriate is his approach to the material.
Comment
02/09/06
William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (1996)
70
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:50
Fresh:35
Rotten:15
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Baz Luhrmann's visual aesthetic is as divisive as it is fresh and inventive.
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: This ambitious undertaking, adapting William Shakespeare's classic tale of star-crossed lovers and setting the story in a glossy music-video style in 1990s Florida. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire... [More]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, Miriam Margolyes, Harold Perrineau
Director: Baz Luhrmann
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Reviews for William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet
Keeps the integrity of Shakespeare's text, but mostly thanks to the actors speaking the very same lines of iambic pentameter as written four centuries ago.
05/07/03
A psychedelic assault on the senses; a trip of unparalleled originality.
05/14/03
Leonardo DiCaprio, in particular, is a revelation as Romeo, recklessly theatrical and sensuous and unafraid to take acting risks.
01/01/00
In terms of sheer spectacle, I can hardly think of another work this year that compares with Romeo & Juliet.
01/01/00
Danes makes a breathtaking Juliet, merging strength and fragility into one.
01/01/00
Top CriticA comic book shot at selling Shakespeare to Generation X.
01/01/00
Fast-paced and juiced-up version of this classic drama.
08/28/02
A little disappointing, considering how genuinely daring it is.
09/02/01
Luhrmann's flamboyant direction pumps new life into a well-known, much-adapted tale.
05/12/01
Tries so hard to be hip that it loses the soul of the story.
04/09/05
Luhrmann tries much too hard to push the '90s angle, so hard that the story is crushed by all the stylistic weight.
01/01/00
Very interesting and intriguing.
01/01/00
I have never seen anything remotely approaching the mess that the new punk version of Romeo & Juliet makes of Shakespeare's tragedy.
01/01/00
Top CriticNot surprising that it's occasionally silly - what may be surprising is that, at least as often, it really works.
01/01/00
Contextualized and alive in a way that Zeffirelli's more sober film version didn't quite manage.
01/01/00
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes couldn't be better matched.
01/01/00
So obnoxiously brash and in-your-face that it just becomes tiresome.
01/01/00
While never dull, Romeo + Juliet is neither a complete success nor a miserable disaster, but something in between.
01/01/00
DiCaprio as Romeo is brilliant, as is Danes.
01/01/00
Latest News for William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet
April 05, 2006:
Luhrman's Period Piece Gets Bumped from Production Slate
Baz Luhrmann, director of Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, was planning to get his 1930's period piece underway this September, but budgeting woes, and the tenuous availability... More...
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