Baz Luhrmann directed this 1996 version of the near 500 year-old classic by William Shakespeare. What first struck me about watching this very stylistic version of the story set in Verona Beach is just how timely it still is today. There remains, I am sure, star crossed lovers in many countries separated by their cultural upbringings and parental obligations and certainly urban gangs are as real today as in 1582. I loved this version of the classic, though I know not everyone will. Baz Luhrmann tends to be a director you hate or love passionately. I side firmly on with the later. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Romeo and does a super job (DiCaprio seems to be losing his ability to act the older he gets). Clare Danes stars as Juliet and is a little shell-shocked taking on such a classic role to say nothing of mastering Elizabethan English. All is saved however by Luhrmann’s amazing vision for this film – I loved the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet between the aquarium - and Pete Postlethwaite as Father Laurence.
My rating 8 out of 10.
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