Romeo and Juliet (Blu-ray) Blu-Ray DVD

Baz luhrmann (strictly ballroom) takes a shot at reinventing shakespeare's story of star-crossed lovers as a visual pastiche inspired by mtv imagery, hong kong action-picture cliches, and luhrmann's own taste for deliberate, gaudy excess.

Editor's Note

This ambitious undertaking, adapting William Shakespeare's classic tale of star-crossed lovers and setting the story in a glossy music-video style in 1990s Florida. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play the famous lovers kept apart by rival industrialist families. Bookended by newscastsers reciting Shakespeare's prose as their copy, this clever glam updating of ROMEO AND JULIET is one of the most unusual adaptations of the Bard's work in the history of cinema. The stylish and colorful sets earned the film an Oscar nomination for art direction. John Leguizamo gives a memorable performance as a devilish Tybalt.

Features

Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled

Technical Info

Release Information
	Studio: Foxvideo
	Release Date: 4/2/2013
	Running Time: 120 minutes
	Original Release Date: 1996
	UPC: 00024543642190
	Number of Discs: 1
Audio & Video
	Available Audio Tracks:
	Video: Color

Entertainment Reviews

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet - Blu-Ray DVD Review

By: Michael Prince Blogcritics.org Reviews

Published on: 10/29/2010 4:31 PM

In 1996, Australian director Baz Luhrmann released his take on the immortal tale of star crossed lovers titled William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. The movie was an immediate hit but was debated amongst critics as to its merits. The movie is now finally available on Blu-ray with the transfer overseen frame by frame by Luhrman himself and the results are striking indeed. It is easy to understand why some people who are blind purists dislike this version of Shakespeare’s tale of lovers from warring families. The setting is a fictional Verona Beach in the 1990’s with the feuding Capulet and Montague families represented by gangster style land barons....read the full review

Cast & Crew

	Leonardo DiCaprio
	Miriam Margolyes
	Claire Danes
	Paul Rudd
	Harold Perrineau Jr.
	Pete Postlethwaite
	Brian Dennehy
	Diane Venora
	John Leguizamo
	William Shakespeare - Story
	Donald McAlpine - Director of Photography
	Baz Luhrmann - Director

Professional Reviews

Premiere
"...A visual flamboyance and an experimental flair..." 12/01/1996 p.30

Rolling Stone
"...A whirlwind of hardball action, rowdy humor and rapturous romance....DiCaprio and Danes cut to the heart..." 11/14/1996 p.123-4

Variety
"...DiCaprio brings youthful energy to the role....The language is spotlighted by Danes, who has somehow found a way to both enunciate the Shakespearean lingo and make its meanings lucid and accessible..." 10/28/1996

Los Angeles Times
"...It has enough positive energy and dizzying high spirits to make it irresistible..." 11/01/1996 p.F1

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] stylishly energized and vivid adaptation....With a defiantly modern soundtrack." 05/01/2007 p.117