William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

4.7 (467) · € 18.00 · In Magazzino

The famous lines and the vivid language of the Bard drive director Baz Luhrmann's cinematic interpretation of doomed love in WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO & JULIET. Welcome to Verona Beach, a sexy, violent other-world, neither future nor past, ruled by two rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Wealthy, selfish, ruthless and powerful, the parents share an enmity that has become the birthright of their offspring. Director Luhrmann adapted Shakespeare's play for the screen with Craig Pearce, with whom he also scripted the hit film Strictly Ballroom. "I've always wanted to do Romeo and Juliet," Luhrmann explains. "The themes it explores, the tragedy that is born of a prohibited love in a world of learned hate, is one of those primary myths that appeals to all people. Romeo and Juliet, like all of Shakespeare's plays, touched everyone, from the street sweeper to the Queen of England. He was a rambunctious, sexy, violent, entertaining storyteller. We're trying to make this movie rambunctious, sexy, violent and entertaining the way Shakespeare might have if he was a filmmaker." Although Romeo and Juliet has come to exemplify the ultimate romantic tragedy, there are, in fact, several comedic accents in the play. Luhrmann's movie reflects this mingling of comedy and tragedy. "We have not shied away from clashing low comedy with high tragedy, which is the style of the play, for it is the low comedy that allows you to embrace the emotions of the piece," Luhrmann observes. What Luhrmann definitely wanted to avoid was a rarefied, stilted, elitist, stagy version of the classic play. To do so, and to underscore and reveal the power of the language and the plot, Luhrmann cast young American actors as Romeo, Juliet and the opposing Capulet/Montague gangs, inviting them to speak the famous lines in their own American accent. This was a deliberate choice on Luhrmann's part, in keeping with the words' Elizabethan articulation. "When Shakespeare wrote these plays, they were written for an accent that was much more, to paraphrase Anthony Burgess, like an American sound," Luhrmann explains. "Our general perception of the way that Shakespeare should sound when it is acted is what is termed in England 'RP', or 'received pronunciation', which is a sound with lots of round vowels that essentially developed in the last century. So, when you do Shakespeare with an American accent, it makes it very strong, makes the language very alive. It may or may not make the language sound less pretty, but I wanted to address this piece as a very boisterous, very real and passionate piece of storytelling, the way in which I believe Shakespeare wrote it." Luhrmann cast two of America's most gifted and promising young actors -- Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes -- as the star-crossed lovers. He invited DiCaprio to participate in several workshops and readings of the script that Luhrmann orchestrated to hone the movie and audition actors. "When he arrived the first time, I really didn't know how he'd handle the language," Luhrmann recalls. "After the initial read-through, we went through the text very thoroughly and deliberately and when we went back to it, the words just came out of his mouth as if it was the most natural thing possible." While DiCaprio quickly learned to embrace and personalize Shakespeare's language, he admits that it wasn't easy. "At first, I thought I would have to put on an English accent and try a sort of affected Shakespeare thing," notes the actor. "But, Baz explained that he wanted to make it very understandable and clear, and after working with him awhile, I began to feel more comfortable with it. There is a lot of beauty in each word and when I began to dissect the sentences, I'd find meanings referring to someth
The famous lines and the vivid language of the Bard drive director Baz Luhrmann's cinematic interpretation of doomed love in WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO & JULIET. Welcome to Verona Beach, a sexy, violent other-world, neither future nor past, ruled by two rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Wealthy, selfish, ruthless and powerful, the parents share an enmity that has become the birthright of their offspring. Director Luhrmann adapted Shakespeare's play for the screen with Craig Pearce, with whom he also scripted the hit film Strictly Ballroom. I've always wanted to do Romeo and Juliet, Luhrmann explains. The themes it explores, the tragedy that is born of a prohibited love in a world of learned hate, is one of those primary myths that appeals to all people. Romeo and Juliet, like all of Shakespeare's plays, touched everyone, from the street sweeper to the Queen of England. He was a rambunctious, sexy, violent, entertaining storyteller. We're trying to make this movie rambunctious, sexy, violent and entertaining the way Shakespeare might have if he was a filmmaker. Although Romeo and Juliet has come to exemplify the ultimate romantic tragedy, there are, in fact, several comedic accents in the play. Luhrmann's movie reflects this mingling of comedy and tragedy. We have not shied away from clashing low comedy with high tragedy, which is the style of the play, for it is the low comedy that allows you to embrace the emotions of the piece, Luhrmann observes. What Luhrmann definitely wanted to avoid was a rarefied, stilted, elitist, stagy version of the classic play. To do so, and to underscore and reveal the power of the language and the plot, Luhrmann cast young American actors as Romeo, Juliet and the opposing Capulet/Montague gangs, inviting them to speak the famous lines in their own American accent. This was a deliberate choice on Luhrmann's part, in keeping with the words' Elizabethan articulation. When Shakespeare wrote these plays, they were written for an accent that was much more, to paraphrase Anthony Burgess, like an American sound, Luhrmann explains. Our general perception of the way that Shakespeare should sound when it is acted is what is termed in England 'RP', or 'received pronunciation', which is a sound with lots of round vowels that essentially developed in the last century. So, when you do Shakespeare with an American accent, it makes it very strong, makes the language very alive. It may or may not make the language sound less pretty, but I wanted to address this piece as a very boisterous, very real and passionate piece of storytelling, the way in which I believe Shakespeare wrote it. Luhrmann cast two of America's most gifted and promising young actors -- Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes -- as the star-crossed lovers. He invited DiCaprio to participate in several workshops and readings of the script that Luhrmann orchestrated to hone the movie and audition actors. When he arrived the first time, I really didn't know how he'd handle the language, Luhrmann recalls. After the initial read-through, we went through the text very thoroughly and deliberately and when we went back to it, the words just came out of his mouth as if it was the most natural thing possible. While DiCaprio quickly learned to embrace and personalize Shakespeare's language, he admits that it wasn't easy. At first, I thought I would have to put on an English accent and try a sort of affected Shakespeare thing, notes the actor. But, Baz explained that he wanted to make it very understandable and clear, and after working with him awhile, I began to feel more comfortable with it. There is a lot of beauty in each word and when I began to dissect the sentences, I'd find meanings referring to someth