William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996)

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet
is an 1996 American film and the 10th on-screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy of the same name. It was directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the eponymous roles.
The film is a modernization of Shakespeare's play, designed to appeal to a younger modern audience. The warring families (the Montagues and the Capulets) are represented as warring business empires and swords are replaced by guns. Despite the adaptation, the film retains Shakespeare's original dialogue, albeit edited down for modern cinema audiences.
== Overview ==
Danes allegedly became fed up with DiCaprio's habit of playing pranks on the cast and crew, while Leo in his turn found Danes annoyingly reserved and uptight. According to movie-making rumor, the pair avoided speaking when the cameras weren't rolling – less "star-crossed lovers", and more just two very cross stars.
== Cast ==
* Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague
* Claire Danes as Juliet Capulet
* John Leguizamo as Tybalt Capulet
* Harold Perrineau as Mercutio
* Dash Mihok as Benvolio Montague
* Pete Postlethwaite as Friar Lawrence
* Miriam Margolyes as Nurse Angelica
* Paul Rudd as Dave Paris
* Paul Sorvino as Fulgencio Capulet
* Diane Venora as Gloria Capulet
* Brian Dennehy as Ted Montague
* Christina Pickles as Caroline Montague
* Vondie Curtis-Hall as Captain Escalus Prince
* Jesse Bradford as Balthasar
* M. Emmet Walsh as Apothecary
* Zak Orth as Gregory
* Jamie Kennedy as Sampson
* Vincent Laresca as Abra
Leonardo DiCaprio was Luhrmann's first choice to play Romeo.
== Production ==
The film was an international co-production involving principles from the United States, Mexico, Australia and Canada. After the success of his early film Strictly Ballroom (1992), Baz Luhrmann took some time deciding on his next project: 
Luhrmann obtained some funds from Fox to do a workshop and shoot some teaser footage in Sydney. Leonardo DiCaprio agreed to pay his own expenses to fly to Sydney and be a part of it. Once Fox saw footage of the fight scene, they agreed to support it.
All of the development was done in Australia, with per-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 Boca del Rio, Veracruz. For instance, the Capulet mansion was set at Chapultepec Castle, while the ballroom was built on Stage One of Churrbusco Studios; the church exterior was the Templo del Purisimo Corozón de Maria ("Immaculate Heart of Mary") in the Del Valle neighborhood.
==Reception==
===Box Office===
The film premiered on November 1, 1996, in the United States and Canada, in 1,276 theaters, and grossed $11.1 million in it's opening weekend, ranking number one at the US box office. It went on to gross $6.3 million in the United States and Canada.
In Australia, the film opened on Boxing Day and was number one at the Australian Box Office with a gross of A$3.3 million (US$2.6 million) for the week. it remained number one for a second week and returned to the top in it's fourth week. It was the ninth highest-grossing in Australia for 1997 with a calendar year gross of A$12.9 million. Overall it has grossed US$12.6 million in Australia and US$147,554,998 worldwide.
===Critical response===
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported 73% of 66 critics gave a positive review, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Baz Luhrmann's visual aesthetic is as divisive as it is fresh and inventive." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
James Berardinelli gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "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."
Conversely, Roger Ebert gave the film a mixed review of only two stars out of four, saying, "I've seen King Lear as a samurai drama and Macbeth as a Mafia story, and two different Romeo and Juliets about ethnic difficulties in Manhattan (West Side Story and China Girl), but I have never seen anything remotely approaching the mess that the new punk version of Romeo & Juliet makes of Shakespeare's tragedy."
===Home media===
The film was originally released on DVD on March 19, 2002, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. A 10th anniversary special edition DVD containing extra features and commentary was released on February 6, 2007, and a Blu-ray edition was released on October 19, 2010.
Category:1996 films
Category:Films
Category:Romance
Category:Leonardo DiCaprio films
Category:1990s films
Category:Films based on Romeo and Juliet
Category:Rated PG-13
Category:2:35:1 Aspect Ratio Films
Category:Films starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Category:Films starring Claire Danes
Category:Films starring John Leguizamo
Category:Films starring Pete Postlethwaite
Category:Comedy
Category:Drama
Category:Films on VHS
Category:Films on Laserdiscs
Category:THX