William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

Although it's likely to send one or two Shakespearean scholars into their local ER's, I personally think that the Bard would have enjoyed this hyper-kinetic version of his classic tale of star-crossed lovers. Director Baz Luhrmann's (Strictly Ballroom) souped-up comic-book approach sets the Montagues and Capulets in a modern-day Verona of rival gang members who tangle with 9mm guns rather than swords, check out babes on the beach, and listen to rap music as they cruise the mean streets in their flashy convertibles. When bad boy Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) gets a glimpse of little miss rich girl Juliet (Claire Danes), thoughts of busted heads are laid aside for more pressing matters of the heart (and loins). Faithful to Shakespeare's text, and finding humor where many stage productions miss it, Romeo + Juliet is recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Feb. 6, 2007—Fox, 120 min., PG-13, $14.99—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1996's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (Music Edition) sports a nice transfer with DTS  and Dolby Digital 5.1sound. DVD extras include three audio commentaries (the first with director Baz Luhrmann; the second with co-composer Craig Armstrong; and the third with co-composer Marius De Vries), a “Music Machine” feature that lets viewers jump to individual songs throughout the film, a 47-minute documentary on the music of the film, six minutes of “The Journey of the Song” featurettes (including “Young Hearts Run Free,” “Everybody's Free,” and one on temp music), and “The London Music Mix” featurette (4 min.). Bottom line: it's questionable whether this is worth the upgrade (yes, it adds a number of new music-specific extras, but also chops a whole bunch of production-related featurettes).][Blu-ray Review—Oct. 26, 2010—Fox, 120 min., PG-13, $34.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1996's Romeo + Juliet sports a great transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include a “Shaking Up Shakespeare” picture-in-picture viewing mode with commentary by filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, production designer Catherine Martin, cinematographer Donald M. McAlphine, and writer Craig Pearce (and a separate audio commentary by the same crew members), a music section with the soundtrack featurette “The London Music” and looks at the creation of “Everybody's Free” and “Temp Music” (57 min. total), a “Director's Gallery” with various featurettes on Shakespeare, pitching the film, and specific scenes (34 min. total), a “From the Bazmark Vault” section which includes the behind-the-scenes of the “First Kiss,” “Outside the Church,” “Beach Scene,” and “Uncut Rehearsal” (14 min. total), a “Director of Photography Gallery” with commentary by McAlphine and a behind-the-scenes look at different scenes (7 min.), interviews with cast members Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, and John Leguizamo, along with Martin, Pearce, editor Jill Bilcock, choreographer John O'Connell, and costume designer Kym Barrett (17 min.), trailers, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a winning Blu-ray debut for this blockbuster Bard adaptation.]