Some movies – Scarface, Pretty Woman, The Shawkshank Redemption – become overnight classics with their memorable characters, cinematography, storylines, leads, and crew. It is almost as if the stars were aligned for these creations to live forever in the world’s collective consciousness. One such movie was the Baz Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet, released in 1996. It remains beguiling and utterly bewitching to this day. And this is why we think so. 👇
The leads
Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio took on the mammoth roles of the young lovers despite their family’s bitter feud with each other. 👫 DiCaprio had just given a stellar performance What's Eating Gilbert Grape playing an intellectually disabled character while Danes was hot on the heels of the television drama series My So-Called Life. Both were young, fresh-faced and appealing across the board.
The soundtrack
From the grungy band, Garbage, to the more pop sounding The Cardigans to Des'ree’s enchanting ‘Kissing You’, the soundtrack has surpassed time to live across multiple generations. 🎶🎵 It perfectly encapsulated the mood of the mid 1990s as that generation grew into its own form of feisty non-conformism.
Baz Luhrmann
As the movie’s director, co-producer, and co-writer, it is Luhrmann’s talent and vision that brought ample dazzle. 💫 In an archived interview with Signet, Luhrmann says: “We don't know a lot about Shakespeare, but we do know he would make a ‘movie’ movie. He was a player. […] He was a relentless entertainer and a user of incredible devices and theatrical tricks to ultimately create something of meaning and convey a story.”
The portrayal of Tybalt and Mercutio
Harold Perrineau took on the captivating role of Mercutio, Romeo's best friend, and his performance is simply unforgettable. John Leguizamo as Tybalt Capulet, Juliet's cousin was fiery in all the ways he needed to be and in the same vein, it was a stand-out performance. 👏
Making Paul Rudd almost unlikeable
Rudd is that guy next door who is always around to offer comfort and kindness. But as Dave Paris, the governor's son and Juliet's fiancé; and pitted against DiCaprio’s swooning Romeo, it is more pity we feel for the character as he comes off as “the other guy”. 😫
Romeo and Juliet is playing on M-Net Movies Hollywood’s Sexiest pop-channel on DStv channel 111. The pop-up is on air from 24 September to 10 October.
DStv channel 113 is M-Net Movies’ action-packed homage to the ‘80s with the Lethal Legends pop-up channel Join the conversation using #MMLethalLegends. Find us on Twitter (@MNetmovies), Instagram (@mnettv), and Facebook (@MNet).