When was luhrmanns romeo and juliet released

How can a man so unrelenting in his derision also make space in his soul for such a meaningful depiction of faith? How someone as wise and revered as Friar Laurence Pete Postlethwaite would come up with such a convoluted plot to protect two lust-addled teenagers. His entrance is delightfully manic: introduced in the middle of a peal of laughter, a Marilyn Monroe-style wig covering his dreadlocks, blue-red lipstick smudged on his lips and smeared on his teeth, speeding behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi GT with custom plates.

They know who Mercutio is, and they love him for it. Luhrmann allows his actors to gaze directly into the camera every so often, and Perrineau takes full advantage of that freedom here. He shimmies, he shakes, he gyrates, he wags his fingers at anyone who considers being anything less than true to themselves. Is the latter a guess of who Romeo was to become—or perhaps who he already was, at least to Mercutio?

Gone are the sequins and the lipstick. This is the renegade version of the character, and his costuming—sheer shirt, slim-fitting jeans, dreadlocks now free, gun casually on his hip—aligns him more with his Montague comrades. As Mercutio remains in the foreground, Romeo sprints backward to his car, followed by the too-slow Benvolio. Storm clouds gather. Sand whips around. Mercutio grows colder.

And in the background, an argument between Romeo and Benvolio—and then Romeo peels out to track down Tybalt. When Romeo shoots him before that gargantuan statue of Jesus, does he pierce Tybalt through the sacred heart tattoo, creating an eerie similarity between the Prince of Cats and his believed savior? And that is how a play lives forever, reinvented again and again across the centuries, even as its bones and its heart remain intact.

Contact us at letters time. By Stephanie Zacharek. Related Stories. All the Harry Potter Movies, Ranked. Already a print subscriber? This movie brings new life into the words of Shakespeare, and even if you know the play almost by heart it is refreshing to hear the words in an entirely new context, and one which makes sense.

This version of Romeo and Juliet actually does add something to the extensive history of the play. The soundtrack is excellent, the acting is appropriate Danes and DiCaprio do a wonderful job of portraying the young lovers , and the scenery is fabulous. This film jump-started the trend of modern-day Shakespeare remakes, and I think it's the best one. Details Edit. Release date November 1, United States. United States Mexico. Official Facebook. Twentieth Century Fox.

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