‘Romeo and Juliet’ first came to cinemas on November 1st 1996. In 2021, it can be viewed on Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV plus many more streaming services. It is based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, and currently has an age rating of 12+.
After watching the first few scenes in my English lessons I became interested in the film. Primarily because I was enthralled by Baz Luhrman’s (director) choice to keep the original script (old English and all!) but move the story to a more modern setting: Verona Beach in Mexico City.
The film follows a somewhat linear structure, with the opening resembling a movie trailer, despite it containing the sonnet from the original prologue - this tells the audience what happens in the story. This was a fabulous production choice that got me hooked from the get-go. Romeo + Juliet (1996) prologue
Some of the details that made me fall in love with the movie (no pun intended) were Luhrman’s introduction of water as the theme of Romeo and Juliet’s love and the carefully picked costumes in the Capulet’s (Juliet's family) Masked Ball. The reason I enjoyed the theme of love being presented as water was because it was a subtle but important detail that really made the plot work, especially during the pool scene! The costumes added something to the movie and really helped express who the different characters were. For example, Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin - and a Montague) was dressed as a priest, this highlighted his presence as a peacekeeper in the production.
Although I love the movie, the old English is quite hard to follow especially for viewers who are new to Shakespeare. I would recommend the site Shmoop for side-by-side translation and summary of Shakespeare plays! Shmoop summary
Happy watching! I hope you enjoy the film as much as I did!
By Daisy Brown (any pronouns)
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