Baz Luhrmann's dazzling and unconventional adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic love story is spellbinding. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes portray Romeo and Juliet, the youthful star-crossed lovers of the past. But the setting has been moved from its Elizabethan origins to the futuristic backdrop of Verona Beach.
A kinetic and boisterous modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Romeo + Juliet" held together with a magnetic performance by Leonardo DiCaprio and a lovely portrayal of Juliet from Claire Danes. The music soundtrack is a perfectly chosen selection to match the star crossed lovers. You know the story , but you've never seen it like this.8/10
"Romeo + Juliet" arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer in the original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. WOW, this is a beautiful transfer. Just like the directors "Moulin Rouge" this film is awash in strikingly bold colors. From the first scene the deep oranges, yellows, greens, and teals pop off the screen with stunning clarity while never showing any signs of color bleeding. Rich, deep black levels were exhibited throughout. Contrast was solid with a nice sense of depth and good shadow detail. Fine detail was astounding, especially when Romeo shows up in chain mail armor for the Capulet party and meets Juliet for the first time. I was able to make out every rung in the armor and the craftsmanship in the metal work. Once again a pretty much perfect transfer.10/10
Audio is provided by a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. A wide, expansive track immerses you in the action on screen from the first moments forward. The gas station shootout was a barrage of music, bullets whizzing by, all the while exhibiting stunning clarity and dynamic punch. The gorgeous musical score/pop music track was perfectly represented with deep, rich bass and room filling sound. When characters are communicating with Shakespeare's immortal words dialogue was crisp and clean with every word easily understandable. FOX has really outdone themselves with "Romeo + Juliet" and joins the elite class of top catalog title releases.10/10
* Audio commentary - Director Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Donald M. McAlpine and Craig Pearce.
* “Shaking up Shakespeare” Picture in Picture mode with Audio commentary - Includes the standalone audio commentary as well as a picture-in-picture mode that will show a pop up icon that you can select to see additional behind-the-scenes material.
* Romeo + Juliet: The Music:
- Documentary (HD, 49min13sec) - An engrossing look at the creation of the films hit soundtrack. It is interesting to hear all the work and see the process that went into one of the best soundtracks of the 90's.
- Everbody's Free: The Journey of the Song (1min46sec)
- The London Music Mix (4min20sec)
- Temp Music (2min6sec)
* From the Bazmark Vault (HD ports of DVD content)
- First Kiss (2min20sec)
- Beach Scene (4min17sec)
- Uncut Rehearsal (4min40sec)
- Outside the Church (2min40sec)
* Director’s Gallery
- Impact (4min18sec)
- Why Shakespeare? (2min56sec)
- Pitching Shakespeare (10min5sec)
- Directing The Gas Station (7min2sec)
- Directing The Pool Scene (5min18sec)
- Tybalt's Execution (4min21sec)
* Director of Photography Gallery
- A Hole in the Wall (49sec)
- The Fish Tank Scene (1min31sec)
- Filming The Lift Scene (2min25sec)
- One Light (1min10sec)
- Filming The Church (1min2sec)
* Interview Gallery
- Leonardo DiCaprio (1min53sec)
- Claire Danes (2min28sec)
- John Leguizamo (1min52sec)
- Production Designer Catherine Martin (2min33sec)
- Co-writer Craig Pearce (1min47sec)
- Editor Jill Bilcock (1min47sec)
- Choreographer John O' Connell (1min9sec)
- Costume Designer Kym Barrett (2min3sec)
* Marketing
- International Trailer (1min31sec)
* Live Extras:
- What’s New
- Live Lookup