Filmmaker reacts to Romeo + Juliet (1996) for the FIRST TIME! 

It’s a masterpiece. I feel like you every time I watch it. I taught Shakespeare as an English teacher for years, and I used this film every year for Romeo and Juliet. Such a beautiful piece of art.

That aquarium sequence is etched in the memories of all late Gen Xers.

John Leguizamo nailed his performance as Tybalt.

One thing you need to know; how ambitious this is. The dialogue is EXACTLY the way Shakespeare wrote it. Absolutely NO editing. And with the acting and direction, you know exactly what is going on and what they mean. How cool is that? That Shakespeare is really so timeless and that with brilliant direction and editing, it remains a great story!

The storm rolling in after Mercutio dies is so over the top, I love it. Like, what, did his death anger Poseidon?? How dramatic can you get??

I will never forget the way my cousin, who had a much rougher life than me with a lot of drugs around her and prostitution with her mother and everything, and her dad was in a outlaw motorcycle gang, it was crazy... Anyway, I was really sheltered compared to her and I grew up reading stuff like Shakespeare, and I remember her saying she could absolutely not understand any of that and had no interest in it in school . until this film came out, and that this film being made in a way that was applicable to her life made her want to pay attention and understand what was being said and so this film made her understand Shakespeare... and for that alone it gets all five of my stars, because it was capable of communicating across generations and across experiences, and that is awesome.

Genuinely the most outrageous yet brilliant Shakespeare adaptation to ever exist

I saw this IN THE THEATER when I was a teenager. Imagine that. The 90's were bliss, man.

Now for Baz's 'Moulin Rouge'! Baz has 3 of his first movies called his Red Curtain Trilogy. Baz said that Strictly Ballroom is a movie told through dance, Romeo + Juliet is told in a hightened language, and Moulin Rouge is told through song. Highly suggest Moulin Rouge, one off my favorite movies. The editing will kill you haha. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman are fantastic.

Harold Perrineau as Mercutio is the best! Loved his narration as Augustus Hill in OZ.

The woman who was singing in this movie is Des'ree . She had a huge song in the 90's called You Gotta Be.

Baz Luhrmann, man. Gods, his movies just pop and crackle with energy. Love this film!

I love how much you loved this movie. A lot of people can’t get past the modern take so much that they’re missing all the amazing things. It’s so underrated

I think this an underrated film in terms of what it was trying to do, not how it was received. I thought it was clever to do a verbatim script of the original writing but showing the story in context to modern day events. Its makes it more grounded to the present and more importantly easier for the general audience to understand what is transpiring through action.

Absolute peak cinema can't believe no ones really tried again or stolen stuff from this.

I was 14 when this movie came out. Obsessed is an understatement. And the soundtrack is incredible. So much nostalgia here! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! ❤

Very few people on RU-vid react to this movie.. Thank You!!! 😂 It's in my top five of all time. The aesthetic, the soundtrack, the editing, costumes.. I love it all!! 😅 Oh. The performances.. From EVERYONE. 🤯

I fucking love this film, Baz knew what he wanted to do and dialed it up to 11. The music, the intensity of the acting, the style everything was amazing and Mercutio absolutely killed it.

This is the best, the DEFINITIVE version of Romeo and Juliet. It gets all the praise for the Shakespeare verbatim dialogue, but I think the acting, editing, and cinematography are what really put this version over the top and really make the whole package a complete work of art.

"This is the saltiest death ever" 😂😂😂 lol it really was

This film is a work of art!

Rethinking it as a grown man, the friar may be the most tragic character because he has to live with the idea that he did everything in his power to solve everyone's problems, but everything backfired. Everyone would be better if he had never meddled at all and he has to live with it all.

I feel the need to be pedantic and point out that “wherefore art thou Romeo?” doesn’t mean “where are you?” it means “why are you Romeo?” Meaning why is he a Montague, which makes it impossible for them to be together.

Forever obsessed with Harold Perrineau's Mercutio 🙌🙌

One thing I've always noticed about movies as they evolved over the many decades: In the early days, actors in movies still acted as if they were on a stage, because that's all people knew. They used very large movements and spoke in a very loud and deliberate cadence for the cheap seats. As movies evolved, actors embraced more subtle nuance because they realized that every person in the audience had the same seat behind the camera and could see their faces. What's kinda cool about this movie is that the actors went back to a more traditional stage acting presentation in a very cinematic backdrop, which totally makes sense within the premise of this movie. I remember this movie getting a lot of hate back in the day, but I think it's brilliant.

I just can't believe it took so long for Leo to finally get his oscar.

I remember some of the critics from my country was like no its to much like a mtv music video but as someone that grew up with mtv, this movie was perfect for its time & the music was awesome! Not to mention some gorgeous visuals.

That little boy singing was fantastic what a voice

The use of the original Shakespearean language was what threw this over the top for me. I started reading Shakespeare when I was in 5th grade, and the language always seemed so natural to me. But as I got older and went to different schools, I realized that not everyone had such an early introduction to the language, and often found it confusing. I always thought that this particular adaptation was brilliant because it allowed people into the language and made its meaning coherent and understandable. Swapping guns for swords was obvious, but still incredibly powerful. But, one of the most impressive things about Shakespeare's plays is that they tend to transcend time and space. You can adapt just about any Shakespearean play to just about any time period or location and it would still work.

I was a freshman in high school when this movie came out and we just so happened to be reading Romeo and Juliet in English class. Our teacher took us on a field trip to see it in theaters and it's been a favorite ever since. Edit : I am LOVING your reactions to this.

You should check "Much ado about nothing" with Denzel Washington and "Hamlet", both directed by Kenneth Branagh, beautiful movies!

This film could have stumbled all over the place. But somehow it nailed every single moment. Leo killed it. I love how be can be so rage filled and drop into destroyed because he killed Tybalt. And that final twist where Juliet wakes up to witness Romeo dying - wow! Claire looks so child like when Romeo is gone, too. She has lost everything and she looks so small and overwhelmed. Loved this movie. And it has not aged in the decades since release.

Our boy Will could write - more than his skill as a wordsmith, it was his compassion and empathy for the human condition that makes him the GOAT.

Preface comes from latin (prae+fatia), means "spoken before".

Welcome to the cinematic world of Baz Luhrmann. Love him or hate him, the man has vision. "Moulin Rouge!" is probably my favorite movie of all time, and "Strictly Ballroom" is another excellent choice if you want to see more of his work.

I LOVE this movie. All the cars are custom for this movie they look crazy over the top. ❤ the clothes the fashion the music choices 👌 love it all.

This was filmed in Mexico City before Titanic was released… you could see Leonardo DiCaprio walking on the street, getting groceries, at restaurants and nobody knew who he was… and then Titanic happened and boom! This is one of my favourite movies of his and one of his best performances!

ohhh hes gonna find so much to appreciate!!

I was 15 when this came out and I was part of the target audience. It really left an impression on me. As a high school English teacher, I definitely make it a point to show this in class.

I turned 16 the year this movie came out and I can say that it definitely had an impact. It was such an iconic movie for kids my age. There have been many Shakespeare adaptations over the years and movies that took a Shakespeare story and made it modern (like 10 Things I Hate About You is basically The Taming of the Shrew set in the late 90s), but Romeo + Juliet WAS Shakespeare in a way that other movies were not. Also between this movie and My So Called Life, Claire Danes is like the quintessential Xennial actress to me.

I was 15 years old when that movie came out and that was the coolest movie I had ever seen at that time. It was mind-bendingly life changing for me. I was obsessed with everything and everyone in that movie, I got the 2 soundtracks, I learned the entire movie shot for shot, all the lines of dialog, I wanted to buy Hawaiian shirts and brood like Leo, I was in love with Claire Danes, I thought Leguizamo was a villain character I wanted to be able to play at that level, it cemented my decision to pursue drama studies past high school. I eventually got over it, but at the time it hit just the right spots for me.

This is one of those movies that I liked a lot when it came out but didn’t realize how brilliant it was until I was way older. The characters that really stood out to me were Mercutio and Tybalt. The way they were depicted was great. The demeanor difference and how it kind of switches in the confrontation where the “ fun, jokester, party” one is way more ominous and the “rigid, wants to dominate” one shows uncertainty, nervousness, regret. Which I could say is pretty accurate for real life. Mercutio stole every scene he was in. Harold Perrineau is a great actor and he deserved so many mainstream, lead roles. He is now starring in a show called FROM. Its very interesting so far and as expected, he is fantastic in it.

You have to respect Baz Luhrmann's vision for this. This film is part 2 of his Red Curtain trilogy. You definitely should check out part 1 of it: "Strictly Ballroom". It's great!

4:30 West Side Story (1957) is just an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (1597) is just an adaptation of Tristan and Isolde (1200) is just an adaptation of Pyramus and Thisbe (8) is just an adaptation of an older lost story. Yep, some of our core stories are really really old.

My 8th grade English teacher showed this to our class, I fell in love with the style from the opening credits. It felt so cool and refreshing to see such a well crafted movie that my best friend and I bought the movie on Blu-ray and watched it again!

John Leguizamo's performance is SO underrated!!! His role as Tybalt is so phenomenal!!! The roles commonly don't have POC and the fact that he's Hispanic makes it even more difficult for getting good roles. He knocked it out of the park like EVERY role he plays!!!❤

BTW: The actress who played Juliet's Mom plays Hamlet's Mom in the Ethan Hawke version of Hamlet, which is so awesome because we see Bill Murray doing some Shakespeare, and it's so good!

So many great British and American character actors and stars in this cast. Pete Postlethwate, Miriam Margolies, Paul Sorvino, Jessica Lange, Brian Dennehy, Vondie Curtis-Hall, etc

Stylish af. Also a killer soundtrack. This movie reeks of the 90s and I love it.

That scene where they are looking through the aquarium is so iconic. When I was younger, that scene was recreated, and mixed into videos all the time. The best actor in this movie is Paul Sorvino. Who played Juliet's father, Lord Capulet. He was excellent.

8:52 I remember the loud laughter in the theater after this guy screamed that out (it's actually "house of Montague" but who cares) with "Montague" tattooed into the back of his head. Best Shakespeare prologue I've ever seen (have seen quite a few) and sets the tone for the whole movie -- Shakespeare's actual words with modern visuals. Baz Luhrmann is a genius IMO. (PS 32:55 Yes. Yes it was)

Leo DiCaprio actually won the Berlin Film Festival award for Best Actor for this.

Clicked on this because i just know that you're love the camera work, costuming, everything really about the opening gas station scene alone

When I read romeo and juliet I read it as a story about the dangers of confusing infatuation with love, and the dreadful idea children have that their emotions have permanence and act on that notion for no reason. I always had heard it was a romantic story, but it certainly didn't read like it.

Because of the scene in Hot Fuzz this movie will always be hilarious to me.

I did NOT expect you to react to this, holy shit. As soon as I saw the notification, I braced myself because I knew it was either gonna be regarded a complete success, or it was gonna be an absolute fiasco HAHAHA because there's no in between with this movie! There really isn't! Either people love it, or they hate it. And the thing is I completely get it, because it's such a wild, ambitious take-- like every single decision they made for this movie was a risk, so even though I absolutely love this movie, I can understand people that say it's not their thing?? Having said that, I'm so delighted you're one of the people who DID like it, who DID get it and what it was trying to do. You noticed how everyone was strapped cause the guns represented the swords and allll the little details that were adapted and the intention with the editing and the camera movements and the use of music to accentuate and elevate the scenes. A little extra I wanted to comment on (just cause I thought it was an interesting point that was brought up at the beginning and end of the video, about how Shakespeare is taught in the classroom etcetc), is that I feel like a lot of people are kind of..intimidated by Shakespeare? Cause I think it's often handled as this thing that you need to be a Connossuer on Shakespeare in order to get into it.. and it's a real shame that it's handled that way, because if we remember, Shakespeare was a playwright who did popular plays, as in, for the general public! He didn't write material for like, a niche group of intellectuals that twirled their moustaches and drank champagne and chortled and were familiar with "Shakespeare lore", FUCK no!! He wrote plays about the mundane, and about people's feelings, and political corruption FOR THE ORDINARY MAN that went to the theater back then! Which was the equivalent of going to the movies and watching the next Marvel movie today, cause that's what they had for entertainment!! And THAT'S why his plays have survived the test of time. So anyone can get into Shakespeare, even if they're not familiar with it, even if they've never HEARD of the guy. That's the way his plays were designed and I really wish more people just watched a movie like this or read one of his plays and didn't feel self-conscious because they're not well versed with the material. Shakespeare is SO wonderful. And this is one of the best adaptations for the big screen ever made for his material, in my opinion. If you ever felt like watching another modern Shakespeare adaptation, I'd recommend My Own Private Idaho starring Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix, directed by Gus Van Sant (director of Good Will Hunting). Also kind of trippy, but in a less LSD trip kind of way, and in a more mind-bender sort of way? Anyway, THANK you for watching, I don't know if you can tell that you made my day with your reaction!

I'm only about ten minutes into this reaction and you're hyped over how cool the adaptation is. I had to pause it to say this movie is ALL VIBES! I was in high school when it came out and this hit pretty hard within my friend group. Everybody had this sound track.

I'm so glad that you found this! THIS is the genius of Baz Luhrmann. And the framing device of the news coverage of the gang war between the families. Chef's kiss!

By far one of my favorite scored films, with an incredible soundtrack to boot. My wife walked down the aisle to "Kissing you"

This dude always picks the best variety of films to react and commentate on.

My high school did ‘A Seussification of Romeo and Juliet’ one year as a stage production. Imagine a Shakespeare play written in the style of Dr. Seuss!

Baz Luhrmann rocks! Watch "Moulon Rouge" also. And Claire Danes ist probably the all time best pick for Julia, she is just so radiant!

The 90's gold.

This movie has done almost the impossible... to take words on paper that are close to 500 years old and convert those same words into a piece of cinematic art that is completely relatable and contemporary. That, my fellow chatlanders, demonstrates how amazing this film is.

Romeo + Juliet is a masterpiece, props to doing it justice despite your condition. If romance is the theme, the astounding Moulin Rouge proves the statement ~ all you need is love.

The hype on this film was unreal. Constant trailers and spots on every channel Viacom controlled or could pimp it to. It was THE movie to see if you were in high school. It didn't hurt that Claire Danes was still riding the _My So-Called Life_ fandom to the silver screen. Lurhman's stylization and the monumentally successful soundtrack did the nigh-impossible: *it made Shakespeare cool.* That's why there's a dozen+ Shakespeare film adaptations between 1996-2002.

Dude...the song "Kissing You" was a staple for teenagers in my area to make out to. So you are not wrong in regards to being impossible to fumble >

I loved “Kissing You” so much I bought the piano score when it first came out when I was in high school. Just beautiful ❤

James, I could tell you really liked this movie. And I knew you would! And as much as I love this movie, I have only watched it a few times. Because, well, you can only watch this movie for the first time once. And that's where you come in. I can feel like perhaps I'm watching Romeo + Juliet for the first time, again, with you. Thanks for making this!

I was just thinking a few days ago how few react channels have touched this movie. Nice to see you do this one James! It was definitely wild back in the day and still holds up today IMO!

Baz Luhrmann is such a banging director!

I went with a friend to see this in the theater when it came out, we were both in our mid to late 20s, but the theater was PACKED with teenage and pre-teen girls and there was so much crying and sighing and giggling and screaming everytime Leo was on screen, we were just cracking up the whole time.

How lucky I was that this came out on VHS the very year we were doing R&J in school…And the teacher totally leaned into using it to help us understand the story. Watching Leo in class, as work?! The teenage dream at the time 😂

I saw this in a cinema and my mind and senses were blown in the best possible way. To breathe such life and energy into the complex language of Shakespeare connecting it to a modern world was ingenious. I love all the red carpet films from Baz Luhrmann, should definitely check the other two out, they’re equally impressive in their different ways.

As you rightly mentioned, the score and sound design are incredible in this film. This came out my senior year of hs and all of the girls were OBSESSED with this movie. It was great fun. It's so rare when hs obsessions hold up over time, so this is a rare treat. The entire soundtrack is amazingm I have my original 1997 CD that I have moved with 12+ times because it's fucking incredible. This movie was #aesthetic before that concept existed.

I'm so glad you were *_feeling_* this film. It's SO nostalgic to me--_and_ it's great to be reminded that it artistically holds up. I was in middle school when it came out, and became predictably obsessed (I couldn't see it in the theaters so we rented it from Blockbuster on VHS and watched it in my friend Jenna's basement). I printed out stills from the movie (no small feat in AOL Online days) and taped them to my Trapper Keeper. I bought the sheet music to the song Des'ree sings and learned it my heart. I memorized basically all of the movie / play. I saved up money to buy the soundtrack AND the soundtrack vol. 2. This movie was the way I discovered Radiohead and fell in love with them. It was pivotal for me.

That incredible songstress is Des’ree and I 100% agree with you. The song sung as the camera pans over them is the Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde (the 1859 opera iteration of Romeo and Juliet) - Isolde mourns Tristan, singing over his lifeless body, imagining him ascending to heaven. In the final portion of the aria she’s imagining how blissful it must be to be in heaven with Tristan, “shall I…breathe my life away?” The part you hear of the aria contains the lyrics “versinken, - unbewusst, - höchste lust!” Which translates to “to founder, unconscious, utmost bliss.” Isolde essentially talks herself out of living and sinks down beside Tristan, dead. I always found this scene very sad but knowing about the aria and what it means made it extra sad. I recommend listening to it. It was composed by Wagner (terrible human being, good at music) if you’re interested. This song was also used in Promising Young Woman :) I’ll catch ya in the uncut, toodles!

Terrific Soundtrack that was released with this movie

One of my favorite CD soundtracks

So glad you reviewed this film. Such a masterpiece and highly underrated. I worked at Fox when this was released and was blown away by this work of art. Baz Luhrmann is a genious.

A truck load of creative energy went into this film. Easily Baz's best work.

I saw this in the theater when I was 14, and many times since. It's easily my favorite adaptation of the play. The emotion practically pours off the screen.

My mom took such a risk showing me this movie when I was 10 but I was so fascinated! And imo this is the BEST Mercutio in any adaptation.

HELL YES. Glad you've reacted to R+J, this is one of my favorite 90s films. A daring adaptation but I think it worked. The soundtrack is really good too. Thanks James and feel better!

Baz Luhrmann is a genius director and filmmaker. Every shot is so intentional and communicates so much

I saw this in the theater with my friends and some of my boyfriend’s buddies and it’s the only movie of my adolescence that I can remember where an entire group of teenagers were absolutely silent the whole time. Just completely immersed.

This film ages better than many many others. Phenomenal.

When this movie came out, my friends and I could NOT stop listening to the soundtrack. It's one of the first times I remember being captivated by the music of a movie. And shortly after this, Titanic did something similar. I'm glad to see the music in this movie still affects people today.

Peace, peace Mercutio, peace. Thou talks'd of nothing!

As much as I hated watching this film at school, I can't deny the beauty and a very clear artistic approach to it. Baz Luhrmann overall did a great job with this adaptation. It's not a flawless film, but it clearly was made with passion. The same can be said about Elvis which Baz also directed.

I bought that soundtrack cassette tape and wore that out in every car I had until there was no tape player in my car anymore, and don't get me started - the visuals & the culture that is still relevant - the poetry and the love, Baz Luhrmann brovo x 10 - great reaction

When this movie came out it was one of my favourites and I’ve watched it so many times and the soundtrack still hits so hard for me. Such a fantastic movie!

This film goes hard! One of my favorites.

I love that you are almost the trend setter for reactions, you're the first I always see react to something then a week later everyone else uploads reactions to what you did. Killing it out here keep it up!

Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet is THE masterpiece and the one I would watch again and again. Filmed on location in Verona with a to die for cast.

For some us, we used to wonder why our high school English literature teacher was so into Shakespeare's plays and then as adults, we got to see this movie and finally got it. Great film.

When this came out I was studying film and English in college and I went to see it 5+ times. So well done and right up my angsty late-teen alley. 😄 I love the soundtrack too.

I was in 7th grade when I saw this and it WRECKED ME for like a year. The heightened hormones just exploded during this film! I had posters on my wall of Leo as Romeo and the album (which was widely celebrated) was on constant repeat. I became obsessed with Shakespeare and maintain a lifelong adoration for anything Baz Luhrmann. I just showed my 12 year old this movie for the first time a few weeks ago!

One of the greatest adaptions of Shakespeare's work ever - endlessly re-watchable. Just Sublime.

Matching the original old english with a modern setting, Somehow made me understand some of the words a lot better. Maybe because i'm a visual learner.