Romeo and Juliet, Directed by Baz Luhrmann, Combines Grand Opera with Bollywood

College students everywhere in the western world (include the Philippines for this) cringe at the thought of reading Shakespeare. Any Shakespeare. It doesn’t matter if it’s the greatest love story ever told: Romeo and Juliet.

 Students (and even some teachers) breathed a sigh of relief in 1996 when a film version of the novel was released, starred in by no less than Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, supported by other great Hollywood cast.

They modernized the movie so that viewers, especially young people can appreciate more the artistry of Shakespeare’s movies through the movie. Some of the casts’ role and costumes were exaggerated so that the movie will never go boring. To add color, there were funny scenes, a song and dance number (shades of future Bollywood), and even some action scenes. The dialogue was always short since it’s pretty obvious they couldn’t use the whole script from Shakespeare. The manner in which the old English script was suited to each scene is quite commendable (hearing late television news speaking in old English has to be seen.)

There were some critics who complained that DiCaprio and Danes did not suit the roles of two 14 year olds (if you haven’t read Romeo and Juliet, yes, that’s how old they were). However, director Baz Luhrmann didn’t get the pair for their age. He needed a pair who could act. Naturally, Luhrmann had to skip some scenes from the real script, unless he was willing to make a 4 hour film spewing Shakespearean lingo.

Baz Luhrmann is no stranger to Hollywood pedigree. Though Romeo and Juliet was his first big attempt, he would go on to direct Moulin Rouge, Australia, and most recently, The Great Gatsby. In Romeoand Juliet, Luhrmann wanted a film that combined Italian grand opera, realistic storied action, Bollywood style presentations, and ballroom drama.

If this is your type of movie, short of a musical, download Romeo and Juliet now.