Romeo and Juliet Films Essay

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William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet directed by Baz Luhrmann is the 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Luhrmann was born in Sydney and his father who owned a movie theatre played a big part in his movie-making career. In 1998 William Shakespeare’Romeo + Juliet won a BAFTA award for directing.

Luhrmann’s adaptation follows (more or less) the same script as Shakespeare’s. Set in Verona Beach, California, the story revolves around the two main rival families. The house of Capulet, who Juliet is part of, and the house of Montague that Romeo belongs to. The film starts with the infamous fight scene between Tybalt and the Capulet boys, and Benvolio and the Montague boys. The modern twist of course being that the street brawl is at a gas station. After being punished by Captain Prince the film then goes onto the party that Romeo and Juliet meet, and thus fall in love.

The main characters of William Shakespeare’Romeo + Juliet are of course Romeo and Juliet, acted by Leaonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Both actors had huge roles fill and had high expectations to meet and it can be safely said they meet and exceeded them. Leonardo’s acting was emotional and powerful, while Claire gave a sweet and sickly performance that warmed the heart. Agreeing with Robert Roten the acting was “…just a little too jarring to be top notch, but it sure is powerful.”

Considering Luhrmann had to work hard to meet people’s expectations for this film, I thought that the opening was too hyper-active and gimmicky, seeming more like a music video than

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