Rating: 
Summary: A mythical Verona Beach and Rich Boys' Gang war
Review: Here the adaptation is a modernization in a mythical city of Verona Beach in Calidornia, a city that does not exist, even if we may think of Venice next to Los Angeles. It uses the editing technique and the shooting technique of modern cinema and video clips. The prologue for instance is given three times : on TV by an anchorwoman, over real life pictures by a male overvoice emphasized by headlines in papers, and finally in text injections on black screens at high speed. The situation is changed and the brawl is transformed into a gang war betwwen two rich boys' gangs, the Montagues being some kind of punks and the Capulets some kind of Latin America mafia, with a strong set of allusions to western films, and even to Clint Eastwood's « a Man named Nobody ». Tybalt is the direct impersonification of evil with his metal teeth printed with SIN, with his image of Christ on his waistcoat that he flashes at Benvolio as an image of the death that is awaiting Benvolio, as if this picture were a mirror image of Benvolio in the process of dying. The main change though is the transformation of the Prince into the head of the police that comes from the sky in a helicopter and that has full power to keep the peace in Verona's streets. It is a vision of a society where the police is omnipresent and where the youth can only organise their pleasures and entertainments in a rebelious search for street adventure. It is in a way marvelous. Di Caprio is admirable as a romantic, naive and completely lost young man or old teenager. Mercutio is a prodigy as a black man and a drag queen, even if only for fun. He is a pretty jolly good fellow even if a grave man in a many ways. One excellent adaptation. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.
Rating: 
Summary: Shakespeare lover's honest review
Review: i don't understand how some people dislike this movie so much. i love shakespeare and consider myself somewhat of a scholar of his works. i'm all for retaining the purity of his poetry and works. but his ACTUAL works and not the traditional interpretation of his works. anyone who knows shakespeare should realize that the traditional "men in tights, and formal english accents" version of his works are just as much interpretations as this film. None of them are representative of his original production for one simple reason. his productions never stayed the same. nothing was set in stone. each performance of every play would vary depending on the audience. mostly performed in open air theatres, he had to compete with the stench of the streets, the shouts of people selling thier wares, the ever present noisy drunks...he was the MASTER of improv. even the written version of the play was never one complete manuscript. it was put together by people from different bits and pieces, from different productions, and different versions. many of these were never written by shakespeare's hand, but by people paid to write down the lines as they were spoken during the production. the only way that you can look critically at any interpretation of shakespeare, is to look at the intent of the play and the corresponding intent of the interpretation. this movie's intent is very much the same as shakespeare's, from all evidence. verona beach is exotic, violent, sexy and religious, just like Verona, Italy was considered to be by londoners in his time. Shakespeare's main intent of the play was to relay a story... a beautiful story, to any and all of the people in his audience, from beggars to lords. and he did it however he could. every traditional version of the play i've ever seen tried to formalize shakespeare. he wasn't formal, he was a commoner with a great talent. other plays have cleaned up, edited out, or lightly brushed past the innuendo and the entendres he included in his work. unless you were lucky enought to under stand the meaning behind the words, you were left out on the joke. no one ever tried to help you out visually, to help bring meaning to the words. Baz Luhrmann did. he went to the same extremes as shakespeare would have to reach an audience. he brought out the ludicrous, the perverted, and the hilarious meanings in shakespeare's words. Baz was reaching for one audience, one which has been completely left out of the loop as far as shakespeare's works are concerned. If you prefer the traditional INTERPRETATION of Romeo and Juliet than by all means go ahead, but I think you would do good to watch this movie with an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: a great version of Shakspears play
Review: This is brilliant! it nearlly always sticks to the actuall play, apart from the ending which is compleatly different! (well at least the still die in the film) those who dont like it because it is too difficult should gain a better understanding of Shakespear then they would appritiate how wonderfull and brilliant it is! the way they alter things int the play to apply to modern life is brilliant! a must for anyone!
Rating:
Summary: INTERESTING MUCH
Review: This was an amazingly interesting movie. I loved the modern day scene coupled with the old english text. Granted it is a little hard to follow the first time you watch it but that's what purchasing is for! I think the two leads did an amazing job and I loved the entire thing. I believe that "Leo and Claire please shuttup" was a little rude...I mean...if you don't like the movie say so but there's no reason to be mean about it! Anyhoo rent it soon...u won't regret it!
Rating: 
Summary: claire,leo...just shutup..ok??
Review: this is the most boring film ever made,during the film i got very sleepy,i could'nt understand any word in it,oh god it makes me sick.
Rating:
Summary: A good intro to Shakespeare
Review: This, while not the best rendition of Shakespeare (see Mel Gibson's Hamlet or Anthony Hopkins in Titus) is nevertheless a great movie. When I first saw it in theatres I saw the type of people that you would never expect to see in the audience for a Shakespeare movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it and respect the re-envisioning of Shakespeare's tragedy as well as respect the effect it has as a great introduction to Shakespeare.
Rating:
Summary: Bursts onto your TV like fireworks - that don't fizz out
Review: When I first saw this movie I didn't understand a word, but I still really enjoyed it. It's spectacular, funny, and I think the way Luhrmann got it into the 1990s is brilliant. The actors are brilliant, although Dicaprio does seem too weak ('wimpy' in my brother's vocab) compared to the rest. Maybe I enjoyed it so much because the place it's set in seems so different to what I know, but it needs to be a very bright, OTT movie because you're working with words that the average audience won't understand and so you need to make it visually appealing. I think it's v. sad that some people feel that there's no meaning in it - what about the original play's meaning? The movie does have some weepy and touching bits - it's not all blazes of glory. It's great!
Rating:
Summary: Brings Shakespear bang up to date!
Review: This version of R & J must rate as one of the best. Not just because of the contempory twist on the story but also because of the great acting. Fresh faced Dicaprio and Danes are a briliant duo and the suporting actors make the film all the more dynamic. At first you may feel slightly uneasy about the use of shakespearian language but by the end you don't really notice it. Fast paced and exciting, the script and soundtrack make it accessible to everyone, but the ending still remains a tear-jerking one, that will leave you believing in true love again.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Trigger Happy
Review: One of the most imaginative and compelling Shakespearian adaptions I have ever seen. Luhrmann gives the MTV generation something they can relate to and puts a hard edge on the fairy tale like version from Zeffirelli. The leads give passionate performances esspecially from the very impressive Claire Danes. Shakespeare was a writer who knew people and Baz Luhrmann gives the younger generation a taste of classic literature which on a regular basis is strictly bound to the classroom. A fantastic follow up to Strictly Ballroom and well worth every good review it gets.
Rating:
Summary: Brash and True to Shakespeare
Review: Just the whole look of this movie is great. Some people didn't like this modern take on Romeo and Juliet, but I think it was pretty good. The music and visual style was stunning, and the story was just as effective as Shakespeare intended. This movie makes me wish I was 15 and in love for the first time again.
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