Romeo + Juliet

{{Infobox Movie
| name = Romeo + Juliet
| image =
| caption = Theatrical poster for William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet'
| director = Baz Luhrmann
| writer = William Shakespeare (Play)Craig Pearce (Screenplay)Baz Luhrmann (Screenplay)
| starring = Leonardo DiCaprioClaire DanesJohn LeguizamoHarold PerrineauPete PostlethwaitePaul SorvinoBrian DennehyPaul RuddVondie Curtis-HallMiriam MargolyesJesse BradfordDash Mihok
| producer = Baz LuhrmannGabriella Martinelli
| music = Nellee Hooper(Composer)Craig Armstrong(Composer)(Orchestrator)(Conductor)Marius De Vries(Composer)
| cinematography = Donald McAlpine
| editing = Jill Bilcock
| distributor = 20th Century Fox
| released = November 1, 1996
| runtime = 120 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $14,500,000 (estimated)
}}William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is an Academy Award nominated 1996 American movie adaptation of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. It was directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles.
The movie is a version of Shakespeare's play designed to appeal to a younger modern audience. It is set in present-day fictional Verona Beach, Florida, but uses the style of language from the original novel. The fighting families (the Montagues and the Capulets) are represented as competing business empires, swords are replaced by guns etc. Despite the adaptation, the movie retains Shakespeare's original dialogue, though edited for modern cinema audiences.
Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague
Claire Danes as Juliet Capulet
John Leguizamo as Tybalt Capulet
Harold Perrineau as Mercutio
Brian Dennehy as Ted Montague
Dash Mihok as Benvolio Montague
Christina Pickles as Caroline Montague
Paul Sorvino as Fulgencio Capulet
Diane Venora as Gloria Capulet
Miriam Margolyes as Nurse Angelica
Paul Rudd as Dave Paris
Pete Postlethwaite as Friar Lawrence
Vondie Curtis-Hall as Captain Escalus Prince
Jesse Bradford as Balthasar
M. Emmet Walsh as Apothecary
Zak Orth as Gregory
Jamie Kennedy as Sampson
Response
Critics gave the movie good reviews. On the review given by Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of critics gave the movie positive reviews, based on 38 reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times'' disliked the movie, giving it 2 stars and said "This production was a very bad idea. I have never seen anything remotely approaching the mess that the new punk version of Romeo & Juliet makes of Shakespeare's tragedy." Ebert wrote that Pete Postlethwaite and Miriam Margolyes were "the only actors in the movie who seem completely at home" and said "In one grand but doomed gesture, writer-director Baz Luhrmann has made a movie that (a) will dismay any lover of Shakespeare, and (b) bore anyone lured into the theater by promise of gang wars, MTV-style."
The movie won several awards. At the Berlin International Film Festival in 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor and director Baz Luhrmann won the Alfred Bauer Award. Luhrmann was also nominated for the Golden Bear Award for Best Picture.
Other websites
Official website
References
1996 romantic drama movies
1990s teen drama movies
1990s teen romance movies
American romantic drama movies
American teen drama movies
American teen romance movies
American gangster movies
Mexican romance movies
Mexican drama movies
Canadian romance movies
Canadian drama movies
Australian romance movies
Australian drama movies
Movies based on Romeo and Juliet
Movies set in Florida
Movies directed by Baz Luhrmann