Romeo + Juliet

First, to everyone who plans to grouse and moan about deviations from Shakespeare's "script": Get over it. This tale was being batted around bardic circles long before Sweet William added his artistic poetry to it. In the same way Led Zeppelin made timeless anthems out of hacked cover tunes, Shakespeare did create a poetic pinnacle in his rendition of the Star-Crossed Lovers. This film, however, is NOT a senseless rehashing nor a Bowdlerization (fig-leafed, Disney-fied,,, choose your own castigating adjective here) but a smart reminder of an ages-old lesson. The main characters are young, innocent and enviably beautiful. The supporting cast weaves the web of missed connections and prejudices that catches them believably. (Extra marks for Ed Westwick's portrayal of the passionate, angry Tybalt and the clever casting choice of a very young Benvolio, making him the reflective eyes of the heartbroken audience.) Also, excellent photography, lighting, costuming and fight choreography.I was recently reminded of the REASON this story is retold - and needs retelling - as often and in as many ways as possible. There are still stereotypes and cultural tensions that divide us as people so the message binds us universally. The real point is not of the death of lovers, but the true ending: the realization of futility. It is naughts-and-crosses. To hate is to court death. Show it at every meeting of the UN, before every session of Congress... and around-the-clock against the backdrop of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.(If you still want to bicker about iambic details or rhyming couplets, then go on. Have your one, two, and the third in your bosom! You've both missed and made the point of the play. To find a fool, seek only a glass...)

I bought this for my regular education/inclusion 9th grade English classes. They viewed the movie after reading, listening to the CD (which I purchased from Amazon, great CD also) and discussing the play. While it is not like the play itself, it is a great adaptation of the play. I loved the costumes the actors wore for the Capulet ball! The masks were great. They left out some scenes and added some scenes, but it kept the action and the storyline moving. It would have been nice if they had left a portion of Juliet's soliloquy the night before she takes the sleeping potion. I would have liked the kids to see her uncertainty about going along with Friar Laurence's plan. I believe they shorten some of the soliloquies. The sword fights between Tybalt and Mercutio, Romeo and Tybalt were done very well. I had my students take notes, they had write down anything they noticed that was different from the play they read. I was completely overjoyed that at least one student in each class (3 classes) noticed that Lady Montague (who is said dies of grief from Romeo's banishment) was still living at the end of the movie. Another teacher borrowed it to show to her class, she loved it also and she always shows the 1968 version! Like I said, it not word for word like the play, but it kept three classes of 14-15 year olds interested in a story more than 450 years old. Some were so interest, one girl said out loud (when Romeo is about to drink the poison) "Oh, please don't drink it!" By the way the wedding night is handled very discreetly, no nudity, no overly done sex scenes.

I like watching the star-crossed lovers theme. Although, I know as many people who had to endure watching/ reading the classic in high school, there is a slight disassociation with the story and real life. There are times when you think, why didn't the letter come through? What would have happened had the pieces of this story fallen differently?I've watched ever rendition, and this, by far is the only one to bring tears to my eyes. It's a great movie, great actors, the tidbits added to bring more to the story truly make it believable.Previous ones had the flare, this one brings the passion. This is the "Romeo and Juliet" Shakespeare would have surely been proud to see. Well done.