Romeo & Juliet [VHS]

Comment: Shakespeare can be pretty hard to understand, but this version was easy to watch, and I even understood it! I have read the play and seen the other movie versions and I like this one because it covers all the important stuff. The actors playing Romeo and Juliet seem too old for their parts, yet play them very well.

Comment: Although this production was wonderfully done, the people who play Romeo and Juliet are too old for the part. According to the text in act 1 scene 3, Juliett will be fourteen in "a forghtnight and odd days." Romeo, is also a teenager. The fact that they are so young hightens the tradigity because they are little more than children who kill themselves over what is in essence an adolecent crush. Seriously, How many relationships between a 13 and 15 year old last forever.

Comment: Who would have thought that a "no name" cast and director could produce the best film version of Shakespeare's classic love story? With no Franco Zeffirelli, Baz Luhrman (or George Cukor) at the helm, and no Olivia Hussey, Leonard Whiting, Claire Danes, Leonardo diCaprio (or Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard) in the cast, this version is straightforward, swift and devastating in its impact. Directed by Alan Horrox, and featuring Geraldine Somerville and Jonathan Firth as the star-cross'd lovers, this film is revelatory in its simplicity, pays attention to the words as the principal vehicle of the tragedy, and relies on acting rather than starpower. Just terrific!

Comment: Actually, this is not the popular recent "post-modern" version of the classic tale. This is the version aired on television in 1994. It features Geraldine Somerville as Juliet and Jonathan Firth as Romeo. It was directed by Alan Horrox. END

Comment: I thought the way they used symbolism in this movie was incredible! The most obvious was the water, which some people hated, but I thought it was very emotionally pulling. Leonardo DiCaprio is, dare I say it, one of the best, if not THE best actor of my generation. He stays true to his reputation in the modernization of this classic. We have to remember that when Shakespeare used this language, the phrases were not cliches, as they are now. Leonardo and Claire Danes display the freshness and vitality that the words originally had. I do have to say, however, that the music is so loud at some points, you can hardly hear the words. All around it's an excellent piece. END