William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Movie

Posted on July 6, 2006 by Ennis

Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 movie ‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’ is a very accessible version of the play. Modern secondary school students, I think, react to this movie in a similar way to how Shakespeare’s original -- audience would have reacted. We forget how revolutionary this early play of Shakespeare’s was, but Luhrmann brings his audience face to face to the scandal of tampering with the Bard.

Romeo and Juliet

Whenever I have taught Romeo and Juliet to high school students, I dither over whether to show the movie first and then introduce them to the written text, or to plow through the script and then treat them to the movie. The gulf between 21st Century Australian state school students and Elizabethan England is narrowed by the visual interpretation and modernisation of the movie. The script is all taken from the original play, although not all the script is used. Some scenes are changed around or ommitted, and some changes to character storylines have been made.

Baz Luhrmann has set his version in a fictionalised Verona Beach in Florida. There is a Jesus monument on the hills overlooking the city, much like the Bolivian Jesus monument at Cochabamba. Skyscrapers are topped by the trade names Capulet and Montague to reinforce the conflict between the two families.

Romeo and Juliet meet at a party -- discovering each other through the symbolic barrier of an aquarium.

Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)

The desensitized nature of the modern movie audience glories in the violence of this movie. Gun play, explosions, and the final double suicide are compelling and disturbing. I will often not play the final suicide scene because of its glorification of teen suicide. I think this is a dangerously attractive portrayal of suicide that I would rather not expose my students to.

Locations

Alameda, California.
Chapultepec Castle, Chapultepec Park, Mexico City.
Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City.

Useful Links

William Shakespeare’s Romeo+Juliet at Wikipedia

Romeo and Juliet Official Site includes information on Shakespeare, setting, production notes.

Bazmark -- Baz Luhrmann’s Official Site

Romeo+Juliet IMDB

Baz Luhrmann IMDB

Baz Luhrmann at Wikipedia

Craig Armstrong (Composer)

DVD Special Edition

Available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Includes

Subtitles in Spanish and English
Audio commentary by Baz Luhrmann (director, co-writer, producer), Catherine Martin (production designer), Don McAlpine (cinematographer), and Craig Pearce (co-writer).
Director’s Gallery and Cinematographer’s Gallery
Interview with Catherine Martin, Production Designer
Two TV Trailers
Cast and Crew Interviews
Music Videos: “Young Hearts Run Free” by Kym Mazelle, and “Kissing You”, by Des’ree.

Music from the Motion Picture

Volume 1 and Volume 2 at Amazon.com

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97 thoughts on “William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Movie”

ellie on April 17, 2007 at 10:55 pm said:

i love romeo and juliet im sooooooo good at it in school
Melanie on April 21, 2007 at 1:10 am said:

I love and hate this movie…peace peace
samyra on April 23, 2007 at 11:24 am said:

this is a very interesting book i think all middle schoolers shold do this play
sadia on April 24, 2007 at 6:52 pm said:

i love this movie and oh roemo is soooooooooooo fit!!!
Megan..x on May 2, 2007 at 7:34 pm said:

I Lurvee this film !
Georgia on May 20, 2007 at 11:52 pm said:

I am currently doing a production of Romeo and Juliet in high school if only DiCaprio was my Romeo.
rebeckha on June 6, 2007 at 2:09 am said:

this movie was easyier to follow and to understand. i loved how they still used old english and made it more up bet (up to date). ^-^
hank on June 8, 2007 at 7:15 am said:

This movie is bizzare to me, because it’s more modern than classical. There is a lot of action and some dramatic music, which I liked. Good thing they used Old English with American accent:). I would rate this movie 4 stars…
redpanther on July 16, 2007 at 9:34 pm said:

Man is there no website to download this film…
if there is pls pls pls do mail me for its very urgent.
Piratelover on August 22, 2007 at 6:05 pm said:

this is an awesome movie! i love how they have kept the shakesperean language, but put it in a context that teens love! and leo is hot!
Abbi on September 6, 2007 at 7:15 pm said:

I loOve dis film n tha book..!
I wud..!
xx
ellie on September 12, 2007 at 1:08 am said:

oooh my god.. this film is just so perfect i love it.. leonardo is so beautiful it’s amazing and he’s so nice to juliet but it’s a film so let’s face the truth..
sxc loza ere 2k7 on October 3, 2007 at 7:42 pm said:

dis film was ace man luv it xxx
LAILA on October 4, 2007 at 9:51 am said:

I AM VERY LIKE THIS FILM BECOSE THIS FILM sangat mengagungkan cinta
AmY XxX on October 5, 2007 at 2:23 am said:

the book is hard 2 undertsand but lovin the film mind
omg i wanna Marry leonardo!
luv ya!
xxx
chelsie on October 7, 2007 at 1:48 am said:

hi
i love this film and i love leanoardo decapreo and i want him to be in more movies and i need him to be in more movies and then i can see him more and gass at hima nd pretend the film i really life and pereatend that i am the persion that is kissing him becouse he is so nice and sexcy he is so hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ANTOINETTE on October 9, 2007 at 4:27 am said:

I LOVE THIS MOVIE SOOOOOOO MUCH THAT I CAN WATCH IT EVERY SINGLE DAY THE WORDS ARE SET STILL AS WILLIAM SAID IT AND WROTE IT BUT HE PUT THE LANGUAGE THAT US TEENS CAN UNDERSTAND THATS WHY I LOVE IT I DONT LIKE IT I LOOOOVE IT THANKS FOR READING THIS AND TAKING YOUR TIME TO PAY ATTENTOIN TO IT AND FOR THE PEOPLE THAT HVE NOT SEEN IT EVERY BODY AND I MEEN EVERY BODY NEED TO WATCH IT PLZ LEI ME DOWN LOAD THIS ON THE COMPUTER SO I COULD WATCH IT EVERY DAY THANK YOUUUUUU
danchel on October 11, 2007 at 10:01 pm said:

this is gd we r doin corsework on it

whoop!! whoop!!

:):):):)):)
sascha on October 11, 2007 at 10:01 pm said:

this is an amazing film
juliet is sooooooooooooooo fit
poppy on October 11, 2007 at 10:03 pm said:

i so agree with u sascha her body is beut
J0J0 on October 12, 2007 at 4:16 am said:

THiiS ST0Ryy iiS S00 K00 G3T 4T M3..!
Beyonce on October 16, 2007 at 4:18 am said:

I love this movie very much =)
Jake on October 19, 2007 at 4:39 am said:

i love thus play i saw it in theaters with JAKE!!!!!!! and the play was amazing
Awais on October 20, 2007 at 1:05 pm said:

ooooooo i love this movie shoooooooooo much…..Leonardo works so great,love his performance………….btw how can i watch this movie….i havn’t seen this yet …………hehe
Maddie on October 22, 2007 at 6:32 am said:

Eh, this movie is too modern. Romeo and Juliet is suppose to be a classical. I only saw this movie because of Leonardo, other than that it was…bleh. The original movie made in the 1960′s was SOO much better.
john on October 23, 2007 at 10:04 am said:

This website is the bomb…….not.
John on November 8, 2007 at 1:09 am said:

why do people even like romeo and juliet???
ebony on November 9, 2007 at 1:55 am said:

i love romeo and juliet it very romantice and very sad i think iam in love too
bungz on November 13, 2007 at 8:55 pm said:

this movie is soooo beautiful
Emily on November 20, 2007 at 3:17 am said:

i love romeo and juliet i think it is sooooooo romantic but sooooooooo sad tooo x x
Linda on November 26, 2007 at 12:09 am said:

Romeo and Juliet is the best film in the whole world.
Leonardo DiCaprio brings me to cry he plays it right convincingly.
I love this movie so much I could him watch me every day.
Big lob to all those who have made with
samiullah q on November 26, 2007 at 11:59 pm said:

ewlllllo ewlooooo pp iant tellin anifinhg about the movie cuz my life is on the same track anyways its goooood movie
erin campbell on November 27, 2007 at 2:33 am said:

this movie is okay but its not really that great. i really wanted to kill myself when i was watching it. thanx
Joana on November 30, 2007 at 8:58 pm said:

i licked juliets pussy it was wet
ilove candy on November 30, 2007 at 11:32 pm said:

u think that the movie and the book were amazing
Foogy day on December 13, 2007 at 8:13 am said:

This movie was cool and all, the thing about it is i actually wish it WASNT in elizebethian lagnuage. If it wasnt i would have been able to get more attached to it… But it was in old english, It was clever on some parts but it was just plain out laugh out loud funny when i tried to watch certain parts, though it wasnt supposed to be
Charlie on December 18, 2007 at 12:13 am said:

i hate this film
Stephanie on December 19, 2007 at 8:28 am said:

I think Romeo and Juliet sucks!!!
BiG D on December 22, 2007 at 1:09 pm said:

i hate the part when she did not say anything and he drunk the potion
ana on January 16, 2008 at 9:43 am said:

es genial no solo el libro sino la pelicula y no se diga la serie en anime me facina
bryan on January 24, 2008 at 3:05 pm said:

wow it is a great story can u make a part2
jesse on February 15, 2008 at 12:42 pm said:

u can’t make a part two when the main characters are dead!!!
marai luisa m. barroga on February 18, 2008 at 4:34 pm said:

tHe character fits leonardo decaprio s much ..he’s so handsome!!!!
pancho on February 20, 2008 at 12:56 am said:

jai mai neim es pancho
pancho on February 20, 2008 at 12:58 am said:

everibodi es osom
Melanie on February 25, 2008 at 10:08 am said:

The most beautifull film and the must beautifull story. Thanks to Baz Lurmann for this. There’s make me cry, make me happy, make me nervous, make me stay in love so much…
fi fi doo on February 28, 2008 at 10:19 am said:

wwwwwwoooooowwwwwww i love this movie it is the best i saw it in school
mahshad on March 2, 2008 at 12:54 am said:

I have never seen that film but when I heard alot about this I am trying to find and watch it as soon as possible.It must be amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nanci on March 4, 2008 at 9:43 pm said:

I LOOOVE THIS LOVE MOVIE! HE IS SOOO DAMN HOOOT
hedgehog pie on March 4, 2008 at 11:50 pm said:

this is a hot movie