Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great modern take on the amazing classic Shakespeare.

Great film, but so-so presentation on Blu Ray. Hoping for a 4k release in the future.

The 1990's setting of Romeo and Juliet, complete with car chases and Juliet appearing, in one scene, in jeans and a T-shirt, enhances Shakespeare's play by helping make Romeo and Juliet believable to a modern audience, and I certainly enjoyed the cars and the modern costumes. In fact, I doubt very much how anything written by Shakespeare or starring Leonardo di Caprio could possibly go wrong! After having seen many versions of Romeo and Juliet, di Caprio is by far the strongest and the best. His brooding melancholy, yet fierce and strong, Romeo is very much like a good predecessor to what I consider his greatest role to date - Howard Hughes in The Aviator! Claire Daines is a spunky and spirited Juliet, and this is why I can understand why Romeo falls for her. Pete Postlethwaite is a very logical and sensitive Friar Lawrence, and overall, the acting is completely superb. An added touch is the Capulet ball being a masquerade, with Juliet dressed as an angel. When Romeo calls her an angel, we see an angel! A big problem with the movie occurs when Romeo winds up in Mantua, which looks like it is in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the Mojave desert. It is not the Prince (who just wants to get rid of him after he kills Tybalt) and not Lord Montague (who knows he must be punished), but his trusted priest Friar Lawrence, who cares for everybody, and who only wants good - who sends him there in the first place. I doubt very much that Friar Lawrence would send anyone to such a miserable desolate wasteland that is depicted in the movie! The only reason why Romeo hates Mantua is that Juliet is not there! I think a more beautiful setting, comparable to Verona but different, would have made for a much better Mantua. Likewise, I found Romeo's servant Balthasar's ugly car equally distracting and out of place. If Balthasar (Jesse Bradford) works for the wealthy Montagues, then certainly he must make enough to have a decent car, instead of the heap he and Romeo drive towards the end of the movie! In fact, we must remember that Shakespeare's original play is about two Italian rich kids. It is a pity that this movie was not set in Italy, with its villas, its countryside, and yes, its famous Italian cars. Lastly, one crucial scene is omitted that is present in other movies. When Juliet tries to take her own life after waking up and finding Romeo dead, there is always a priest who rushes in and tries, unsuccessfully, to save her life by trying to talk her into letting him take her to a convent where she may spend the rest of her days as a nun (and being happy by helping others, for that is what good nuns do). In this version, she is denied any hope, any fighting chance at a good life because there is nobody there to talk some sense into her before she chooses death. Despite these problems, I still give this movie four stars because it is so well-acted, and because the time at which it is set makes perfect sense to me. The Special Edition is worth the extra money because we are given some excellent commentary by both di Caprio and Daines that deepen our appreciation of Romeo and Juliet. I believe this version is essential to any Shakespeare collection.

I say that this is a decent modernization of a Shakespeare work, which is actually a compliment as I have yet to see a great one and probably not a good one. As far as modernizations go this certainly works better than most so if you enjoy the story and still haven't seen it for some reason check it out. I doubt you'll be disappointed, and if you're really certain you will be, then that just makes it all the more likely that it will surpass your expectations

This is a must have for your bluray collection. The movie is spoken in Shakespeare's language, it might start a little bit weird, it is not a typical movie, its more of a play, keeps you intrigued, When i say modern does not necessary mean realistic, its more of a fantasy world, example, instead of swords back in Shakespeare's era, Guns are used. The love story is keeps you hooked, and the action keeps u entertained.

The movie was great, and the music is fantastic! It is a great modern version of the story, and the score made all the difference in truly feeling the emotions that the director was trying to get across.

Original Shakespeare script, but it is set in modern times! As long as you like Romeo and Juliet and can follow the old english, you will love this movie

THIS MOVIE WAS EXCELLENT, IT REALLY BROUGHT YOU THERE LIKE IF U WERE IN THE MOVIE, AND OFCOURSE THE SACRAFICE THAT ROMEO AND JULIET DID, IT MAKE YOU CRY!!! I CRIED. LEONARDO DICAPRIO REALLY KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING, HE IS A GOOD ACTOR.