The film’s aggressively untraditional approach holds true to the populist spirit of the Bard, if not to the letter.
Its hyper-stylised contemporary setting – described by Luhrmann as a “hybrid of Miami and Brazil” – and kinetic cinematography - regularly characterised as “MTV-style filmmaking” – has aged remarkably well… unlike much of that era’s pop culture. Perhaps most importantly, Romeo + Juliet remains an accessible and exhilarating adaptation almost two decades on.
Watch The Movie Show original ★★★★★ review of Romeo + Juliet
Alongside such pockets of critical praise came awards recognition: a Silver Bear for DiCaprio and an Alfred Bauer Prize for Luhrmann at Berlinale a BAFTA Award for Best Director Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Set Direction for Catherine Martin and Brigitte Broch. Australia’s chief critics were significantly more enthusiastic on The Movie Show (see below), Margaret Pomeranz described the film as “simply stupendous” David Stratton called it “a tremendously bold vision.” Each warranted it worthy of five stars. America’s pre-eminent film critic, Roger Ebert, gave it two out of four stars, lamenting “the desperation with which it tries to 'update' the play and make it “relevant””. With a contemporary setting, soundtrack and a hot young cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, Luhrmann’s second feature captured the attention of audiences, grossing roughly $150 million internationally. Australian director Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film, Romeo + Juliet, is neither the most recent nor – by any stretch – the most faithful adaptation of the play, but it is arguably the most successful. Each generation gets its own Romeo and Juliet, just as Shakespeare himself adapted his original play from an Italian novella and a long tradition of tragic romances before it. A story as archetypal as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet demands adaptations.
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