While never dull, Romeo + Juliet is neither a complete success nor a miserable disaster, but something in between.
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01/01/00
William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (1996)
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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
In terms of sheer spectacle, I can hardly think of another work this year that compares with Romeo & Juliet.
01/01/00
Luhrmann's flamboyant direction pumps new life into a well-known, much-adapted tale.
05/12/01
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01/01/00
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06/05/02
Not surprising that it's occasionally silly - what may be surprising is that, at least as often, it really works.
01/01/00
A sexy, innovative and memorable sumptuous feast for eye and ear.
07/03/08
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 CriticThe hyperactive movie seems goofy and gimmicky at first, but it acquires real power when the cinematography settles down enough for Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes to do some excellent acting, helped by a superb supporting cast.
04/02/03
An amazing feat of ambition and imagination.
10/15/02
You definitely need an open mind to accept this one.
01/01/00
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08/09/02
Top CriticSo obnoxiously brash and in-your-face that it just becomes tiresome.
01/01/00
A film so determined to stimulate both eye and ear, that the story of the star-crossed lovers often gets lost in melee.
01/01/00
Top CriticDazzling, dizzying and sometimes overstylized
01/01/00
Shakespeare's name fills up the title, but this is clearly Luhrmann's vision and it's a genuinely inventive one.
01/01/00
A little disappointing, considering how genuinely daring it is.
09/02/01
Get thee to a video merchant.
03/11/02
DiCaprio as Romeo is brilliant, as is Danes.
01/01/00
When the filmmakers decide to jazz it up with crazy camera angles and rapid cutting, along with screaming and shooting, it just gets lost.
07/22/06
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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