Romeo + Juliet

This article is about the film. For Peter Martins' 2007 ballet, see Romeo + Juliet (ballet). For other uses, see Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation).

"Verona Beach" redirects here. For the park in Upstate New York, see Verona Beach State Park.

Romeo + Juliet
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Baz Luhrmann
Produced by	Baz Luhrmann Gabriella Martinelli
Screenplay by	Craig Pearce Baz Luhrmann
Based on	Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Claire Danes Brian Dennehy John Leguizamo Pete Postlethwaite Paul Sorvino Diane Venora
Music by	Nellee Hooper Marius de Vries (Composers) Craig Armstrong (Composer, orchestrator, and conductor)
Cinematography	Donald M. McAlpine
Editing by	Jill Bilcock
Studio	Bazmark Productions
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	November 1, 1996 (1996-11-01)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$14.5 million
Box office	$147,554,999

Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 romantic-drama film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It was directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the leading roles.

The film is an abridged modernization of Shakespeare's play. While it retains the original Shakespearean dialogue, the Montagues and the Capulets are represented as warring business empires and swords are replaced by guns (with brand names such as "Dagger" and "Sword").

Some of the names were also changed. Lord and Lady Montague and Lord and Lady Capulet were given first names (as opposed to the Shakespeare original where their first names are never mentioned), Friar Lawrence became Father Lawrence, and Prince Escalus was renamed Captain Prince. There was also no Friar John, who was in the original play. Also, some characters were switched from one family to the other - in the original, Gregory and Sampson are Capulets, but in the film, they are Montagues. (Abra and Petruchio, conversely, are shifted from the Montague to the Capulet family.)

Additionally, a few plot details were shifted; most notably, near the ending.

Plot

In the fictional modern-day location "Verona Beach", the Capulets and the Montagues are arch-rivals. The animosity of the older generation — Fulgencio and Gloria Capulet and Ted and Caroline Montague — is felt by their younger relatives. A gunfight between the Montague boys led by Benvolio, Romeo's cousin, and the Capulet boys led by Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, creates chaos in the city. The Chief of Police, Captain Prince, reprimands the families, warning them that if such behavior continues, their lives "shall pay the forfeit of the peace".

Benvolio meets with Romeo on a beach. Whilst playing a game of pool they learn of a party being held by the Capulet's that evening which they decide to gate-crash (Romeo agreeing to come after discovering that his 'crush' Rosaline is attending).

The Montague boys meet their friend, Mercutio, who has tickets to the Capulet party. Romeo takes the Ecstasy pill Mercutio gave him and they proceed to the Capulet mansion. The effects of the drug and the party overwhelm Romeo, who goes to the rest-room. While admiring an aquarium, he sees Juliet. Tybalt spots Romeo and vows to kill him for invading his family's home, but Fulgencio stops him.

Romeo and Juliet sneak into an elevator and kiss. The nurse spots them when the doors open and drags Juliet away, while revealing to her that Romeo is a Montague. At the same time, Romeo realizes that Juliet is a Capulet. Mercutio takes Romeo from the party, but he sneaks back to the mansion, hiding under Juliet’s balcony. Juliet emerges into the yard and proclaims her love for him before Romeo sneaks up behind her. Juliet is horrified that he has risked death, but Romeo tells her he does not care whether he is caught. Knowing her nurse is looking for her, Juliet tells him that if he sends word by the following day, she will be his. Romeo visits Father Lawrence, telling him he wants to marry Juliet. He agrees to marry the pair in hopes that their marriage will help ease the tensions between the families. Romeo passes the word onto Juliet’s nurse and the lovers are married.

Tybalt encounters Mercutio just as Romeo arrives. Romeo attempts to make peace, but Tybalt assaults him. Mercutio intervenes and batters Tybalt, and is about to shoot him when Romeo stops him. Tybalt slashes Mercutio with a shard of glass. Mercutio, in denial, laughs it off as a mere "scratch" but he soon realizes that the cut is deeper than he thought. Angered over his pending death, Mercutio curses the warring houses. He storms off in anger only to die in Romeo's arms a few moments later. Angry that Mercutio, neither a Capulet nor Montague, has been murdered, Romeo chases after a fleeing Tybalt and guns him down.

Captain Prince banishes Romeo from the city. Romeo, hiding with Father Lawrence, claims he would rather die than be banished. Father Lawrence, in turn, sternly lectures Romeo about the fact that the end result of his actions could have been his death as opposed to banishment. Father Lawrence treats Romeo's injuries and says that after some time passes; he will help Romeo and Juliet return to the city and reconcile with their family and friends. The nurse tells Romeo that Juliet is waiting for him. At the Capulet mansion Juliet prays, horrified by what has happened. When Romeo climbs over her balcony, she kisses him and they have sex. Fulgencio decides Juliet will marry Paris, the Governor's son.

The next morning, Romeo narrowly escapes as Juliet's mother tells her she has been promised to Paris. She refuses to marry, so her father threatens to throw her out. Her mother and nurse insist it would be in her best interest to marry Paris. Juliet sees Father Lawrence, imploring him to help her and threatening to commit suicide. The priest proposes she fake death and be put in the Capulet vault to awaken 24 hours later. Romeo will be told of the plot, sneak into the vault, and once reunited the two can travel to Mantua. He gives her the potion necessary to make her seem dead. After saying goodnight to her mother, Juliet drinks the potion. She is found in the morning, declared dead and placed in the vault. Balthasar, one of Romeo's men, learns that Juliet is dead and tells Romeo, who is not home when the messenger arrives to tell him of the plan.

Romeo returns to Verona, where he buys poison. Father Lawrence learns that Romeo has no idea Juliet is alive. Romeo enters the church where Juliet lies. Juliet awakens as Romeo takes the poison. The two thus see each other before he dies. Juliet picks up Romeo's gun and shoots herself in the head, dying instantly. The two lovers are discovered in each other's arms. Prince condemns both families, whose feuding led to such a tragedy, and coroners are shown taking the two bodies away.

Cast

The House of Montague

• Brian Dennehy as Ted Montague
• Christina Pickles as Caroline Montague
• Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague
• Dash Mihok as Benvolio Montague
• Jesse Bradford as Balthasar Montague
• Zak Orth as Gregory Montague
• Jamie Kennedy as Sampson Montague

The House of Capulet

• Paul Sorvino as Fulgencio Capulet
• Diane Venora as Gloria Capulet
• Claire Danes as Juliet Capulet
• John Leguizamo as Tybalt Capulet
• Vincent Laresca as Abra Capulet
• Carlos Martín Manzo Otálora as Petruchio Capulet
• Miriam Margolyes as Nurse

Others

• Harold Perrineau as Mercutio Escalus
• Pete Postlethwaite as Father Lawrence
• Paul Rudd as Dave Paris
• Vondie Curtis-Hall as Captain Prince
• M. Emmet Walsh as Apothecary
• Quindon Tarver as Choir Boy
• Edwina Moore as Anchorwoman (Narrator)

Production

After the success of Strictly Ballroom, Luhrmann took some time over deciding what his next project would be:

Our philosophy has always been that we think up what we need in our life, choose something creative that will make that life fulfilling, and then follow that road. With Romeo and Juliet what I wanted to do was to look at the way in which Shakespeare might make a movie of one of his plays if he was a director. How would he make it? We don't know a lot about Shakespeare, but we do know he would make a `movie' movie. He was a player. We know about the Elizabethan stage and that he was playing for 3000 drunken punters, from the street sweeper to the Queen of England - and his competition was bear-baiting and prostitution. So he was a relentless entertainer and a user of incredible devices and theatrical tricks to ultimately create something of meaning and convey a story. That was what we wanted to do.

Luhrmann obtained some funds from Fox to do a workshop and shoot some teaser footage in Sydney. Leo DiCaprio agreed to pay his own expenses to fly to Sydney and be part of it. Once Fox saw the footage - of the fight scene - they agreed to support it.

All development was done in Australia with pre-production in Australia and Canada and post-production in Australia. While some parts of the film were shot in Miami, most of the film was shot in Mexico City and Veracruz. For instance, the Capulet mansion was set at Chapultepec Castle while the ballroom was built on Stage One of Churubusco Studios; and the church is Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Del Valle neighborhood.

Casting

Natalie Portman had been chosen for the role of Juliet, but after production began, it was felt that the footage looked as though DiCaprio was "molesting" her. Eventually, Luhrmann agreed that the age difference between the two actors was too great. Filming was halted to find another actress for the part.

Reception

The film grossed USD$147,554,998 worldwide at the box office. The film premiered November 1, 1996 in the United States and Canada in 1,276 theaters and grossed $11.1 million its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the box office. It went on to gross $46.3 million in the United States and Canada.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes rated the film "Fresh", with 70% of of 53 critics giving positive reviews. James Berardinelli, a critic of Shakespeare plays adapted into film writes, "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."

Leonardo DiCaprio won Favorite Actor and Claire Danes won Favorite Actress in a Romance at the 1997 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. At the 1997 MTV Movie Awards, Danes won Best Female Performance. DiCaprio was nominated for Best Male Performance, and DiCaprio and Danes were both nominated for Best Kiss and Best On-Screen Duo. At the 51st BAFTA Film Awards, director Baz Luhrmann won Best Direction. Luhrmann and Mary Haile won the Best Adapted Screenplay. Nellee Hooper won the Best Film Music. And Catherine Martin won the Best Production Design. The film was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Sound.

The film won several awards. At the 47th Berlin International Film Festival in 1997, DiCaprio won the Silver Bear for Best Actor and Luhrmann won the Alfred Bauer Prize. Luhrmann was also nominated for the Golden Bear Award for Best Picture. At the 69th Academy Awards, Catherine Martin and Brigitte Broch were nominated for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration.

Soundtrack

Main article: Romeo + Juliet (soundtrack)

Track listing

1. "#1 Crush" – Garbage
2. "Local God" – Everclear
3. "Angel" – Gavin Friday
4. "Pretty Piece of Flesh" – One Inch Punch
5. "Kissing You (Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet)" – Des'ree
6. "Whatever (I Had a Dream)" – Butthole Surfers
7. "Lovefool" – The Cardigans
8. "Young Hearts Run Free" – Kym Mazelle
9. "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" – Quindon Tarver
10. "To You I Bestow" – Mundy
11. "Talk Show Host" – Radiohead
12. "Little Star" – Stina Nordenstam
13. "You and Me Song" – The Wannadies

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Lehmann, Courtney. "Strictly Shakespeare? Dead Letters, Ghostly Fathers, and the Cultural Pathology of Authorship in Baz Luhrmann's 'William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet'." Shakespeare Quarterly. 52.2 (Summer 2001) pp. 189–221.

External links

• Romeo + Juliet at the Internet Movie Database
• Romeo + Juliet at AllRovi
• Romeo + Juliet at Box Office Mojo
• Romeo + Juliet at Rotten Tomatoes
• Romeo + Juliet at Virtual History