William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet/ [DVD] Twentieth Century Fox presents ; a Bazmark production ; directed by Baz Luhrmann ; screenplay by Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann ; produced by Gabriella Martinelli, Baz Luhrmann.
Based on the play by William Shakespeare. Originally produced as a motion picture in 1996. Special features: Commentary with Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Craig Pearce, and Don McAlpine [audio feature]; Director's gallery featurettes: Impact (4 min.); Why Shakespeare? (3 min.); Pitching Shakespeare (10 min.); The gas station (7 min.); The pool scene (5 min.); Tybalt's execution (4 min.). Cinematographer's gallery featurettes: A hole in the wall, One light, Operator, The Fishtank, The elevator, The church (6 min.); Design gallery slide shows: The books (5 min.); Guns of Verona Beach (1 min.); Cars of Verona Beach (1 min.); Production design (11 min.); Fashion of Verona Beach (3 min.); Branding of Verona Beach (1 min.); Interview gallery featurettes: Co-writer (2 min.); Editor (2 min.); Choreographer (2 min.); Costume designer (2 min.); Leonardo DiCaprio (2 min.); Claire Danes (2 min.); John Leguizamo (2 min.); Music clips (8 min.); Marketing R+J (4 min.); DVD-ROM feature Script to screen [requires a DVD-ROM drive]. Leonardo DiCaprio (Romeo), Claire Danes (Juliet), Jesse Bradford (Balthasar), Vondie Curtis-Hall (Captain Prince), Brian Dennehy (Ted Montague), John Leguizamo (Tybalt), Miriam Margolyes (Nurse), Harold Perrineau (Mercutio), Christina Pickles (Caroline Montague), Pete Postlethwaite (Father Laurence), Paul Rudd (Dave Paris), Paul Sorvino (Fulgencio Capulet), Diane Venora (Gloria Capulet), M. Emmet Walsh (Apothecary).
Contents:
The prologue -- Sycamore grove -- Bachelor of the year -- The pool hall -- The Capulet mansion -- Mercutio at Sycamore grove -- The party parties -- Romeo spies Juliet -- Fulgencio warns Tybalt -- Juliet, the flirt -- First kisses -- The revelation -- The party's over -- Romeo sneaks back in -- Arranging the marriage -- Boys on the beach -- Romeo gets the word from the nurse -- The nurse teases Juliet -- The wedding -- Death on a summer's day -- Retribution at twilight -- A wedding night -- Juliet learns her options -- Romeo misses a message in Mantua -- Juliet takes her medicine -- Romeo learns of his beloved's fate -- Together at last -- Epilogue -- End titles.
Summary:
Forsooth, this is a pretty play! In fair, tropical Verona Beach in the present day, Romeo + Juliet blithely weds 400-year-old dialog to MTV style visuals. Swords have become guns, and the Montagues and Capulets have become Mafia-style family-based gangs, while their sons run their own rich-kid gangs whose rumbles bring out armies of cops. Whilst these two households are constantly fighting, Romeo and Juliet meet up and fall in love. Unfortunately, life is not as simple as fall-in-love-and-get-married in this city. Much trouble ensues, with banishments, curses, and finally death. Shakespeare bereft of snobbery, language intact, accessible for all those who think that Shakespeare is "too hard" to understand.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.