Romeo + Juliet
My only love sprung from my only hate.
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Production
Budget
$14 500 000
Revenue
$147 554 998
Director
Scenario
Composer
Nellee Hooper
Producer
Actors
Leonardo DiCaprio
Romeo
Claire Danes
Juliet
Jesse Bradford
Balthasar
Vondie Curtis-Hall
Captain Prince
Brian Dennehy
Ted Montague
John Leguizamo
Tybalt
Miriam Margolyes
Nurse
Harold Perrineau
Mercutio
Short description
Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet sets Shakespeare's tragedy in Verona Beach, a modern American city divided by a violent feud between two wealthy families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Their disputes are fought with guns rather than swords, and the streets are marked by fear and crime. Romeo, a Montague, meets Juliet, a Capulet, at a party held by her family, and the two fall in love at first sight. They marry in secret with the help of a friar, but the hostility between their families closes in on them, and Romeo's friend Mercutio becomes caught in the conflict.
The film keeps Shakespeare's original dialogue while moving the story into a contemporary setting. Luhrmann directed and wrote the screenplay with Craig Pearce, and produced it with Gabriella Martinelli. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play the lovers, with John Leguizamo as Tybalt and Brian Dennehy as Ted Montague among a credited cast of 42.
It followed Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom and came before Moulin Rouge! in his filmography. Made for 15 million USD, it took about 148 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.7/10 from 259,000 votes and on TMDB 6.8/10 from 5,458 votes, while film critics gave it 7.1/10 from 69 reviews, slightly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Natalie Portman, who auditioned for the role of Juliet, even flew to Sydney (the hometown of the film’s director, Baz Luhrmann) to film scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Romeo. According to Luhrmann, her candidacy was rejected because she was much shorter than DiCaprio. Next to Natalie (who was 14 years old at the time), 21-year-old DiCaprio seemed much older and certainly didn’t look 18. Portman later said: “I was told it looked like Leonardo was molesting me in the kissing scene. I was very upset, but I didn’t want to be in a movie that I wasn’t right for. If I do something, I want it to be perfect.”
- Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale, and John Leguizamo auditioned for the role of Mercutio.
- Christina Ricci and Kate Winslet were contenders for the role of Juliet. Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Natalie Portman were also considered.
- Claire Danes wore a wig during filming. She wore a special waterproof wig for the underwater scenes.
- The billboards featured in the film contain quotes from other Shakespearean works: “Shoot forth thunder” (“Oh, would I were a god to shoot down the insulting, vile scoundrels with thunder!”) — Henry VI, Part 2, Act IV, Scene I; “Experience is by industry achiev’d” (inscription on the wall in the elevator in the Capulet office) — a quote from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act I, Scene III; “Such stuff as dreams are made on” — a quote from The Tempest, Act IV, Scene I; the billiard club where Romeo and Benvolio play at the beginning of the film is called Globe Theatre – the name of the theatre where William Shakespeare's plays were performed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
- Benicio del Toro was considered for the role of Tybalt.
- Most of the sets were built from scratch to make the film look unique. The Sycamore Grove Theatre and the huts on Verona Beach were destroyed by a hurricane during filming.
- The film's duration is exactly 2 hours, which corresponds to the text of the prologue, "Is now the two hours" ("For two hours shall the play of this be done").
- All firearms in the film are named after types of bladed weapons (sword, dagger, rapier). The pistols belonging to Benvolio (SWORD 9mm Series S), Mercutio (DAGGER 9mm), and Tybalt (RAPIER 9mm) are Taurus PT99 9mm Parabellum pistols. In the scene where Mercutio holds Romeo's pistol, a Para-Ordnance P-14 was used. The pistols belonging to Romeo, Samson, and Gregory (DAGGER .45s) are Colt M-1911 Combat Commander .45 caliber pistols. The weapons of Abra and Petruchio are Beretta 92FS 9mm. Fulgencius Capulet's Longsword is a South African MAG-7.
- Baz Luhrmann sent the British alternative rock band Radiohead a video containing the last 20 minutes of the film and asked the musicians to create a song for the end credits. They composed "Exit Music (for a film)", which was then included on their 1997 album, OK Computer.
- As with all of Shakespeare's works, the play "Romeo and Juliet" is written in iambic pentameter. The only actor in the film who maintained this meter in his monologues was Pete Postlethwaite, playing the role of Friar Laurence.
- The lead stylist, Aldo Signoretti, was kidnapped by members of a youth gang during filming and ransomed for $300 (the ransom was paid by Baz Luhrmann).
- Baz Luhrmann always intended for Leonardo DiCaprio to play the role of Romeo.
- In Australia, Baz Luhrmann's homeland, the film's soundtrack was the second best-selling album of the year and went five times platinum.
- Claire Danes was only three years older than her character. And this was her first experience performing Shakespeare.
- To secure the necessary funding from sponsors, Leonardo DiCaprio flew to Australia at his own expense, where he and Baz Luhrmann filmed a video of his audition.
- The statue of Jesus was actually only 60 centimeters tall.
- Shakespeare described Tybalt as a dashing swordsman. To transform this into vibrant gunfights, John Leguizamo worked with choreographer John “Cha Cha” O’Connell.
- Filming the confrontation scene at the gas station took 7 days.
- Cinematographer Donald McAlpine faced a real challenge in the scene where Romeo and Juliet meet at the aquarium. Due to the reflections from the water and the aquarium glass, it was almost impossible to light him. McAlpine solved the problem by placing a couple of fluorescent lamps in the aquarium. They ended up being the only light sources in that scene.
- On their very first day of filming together, Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio filmed a topless scene, after Romeo and Juliet had spent the night together.
- Romeo and Juliet’s first kiss takes place in a cramped elevator, with the camera spinning dizzyingly around them. This effect was achieved by dividing the elevator into sections and attaching the camera to a special trolley that moved in a circle. During the rotation of this mechanism, the crew had to quickly lift and reposition the elevator panels so that such large equipment could continue moving.
- The phrase from Juliet, as performed by Claire Danes, "I long to die!" was sampled and used in the Evanescence song "Tourniquet".
- At the Capulet masquerade ball, the main characters wear costumes that reflect their personalities: Romeo – a knight, Juliet – an angel, Tybalt – a devil, and Capulet – an emperor.
- Neil Patrick Harris was considered for the role of Romeo.
- Kathryn Martin and Kim Barrett (production designer and costume designer, respectively) play the roles of Gloria Capulet's handmaidens in the scene where Juliet's mother dresses in a Cleopatra costume before the ball.
- Martin Brown, an associate producer of the film, appeared in the balcony scene in a cameo role as a security guard sitting at monitors.
- Choreographer John “Cha Cha” O’Connell plays a waiter at a reception before the scene of Mercutio’s death.
- In the scene at the end of the film, where Juliet shoots herself, music from Richard Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde” plays, in the finale of which Isolde dies at the feet of the dead Tristan to the same music, in order to reunite with him after death.
- Numerous moments in the film are associated with water. When we first see Juliet, she dips her head into the water. Romeo and Juliet first see each other through an aquarium. The balcony scene is moved to a swimming pool. Mercutio dies on the beach. When Tybalt is shot, he falls into a fountain. The exiled Romeo comes to Juliet’s room, having been soaked in a downpour. Leaving Juliet in the morning, he falls into the pool.
- Romeo’s monologue, performed by Leonardo DiCaprio, delivered at Juliet’s tomb, was so good that Claire Danes almost burst into tears on camera and nearly ruined the scene. When the director said “cut!”, Danes kissed DiCaprio’s hand and said, “Don’t make me cry. I’m supposed to be in a coma.”
- In the scene where Tybalt’s car flips over, the special frame used to protect the stunt driver was so deformed that it almost broke his neck.
- Romeo's last words on the altar, before he dies, are: "The drug is quick." He says the same phrase earlier at the Capulet ball, before going to refresh himself after taking ecstasy.
- When Mercutio fires a pistol on the beach, and the Nurse leads Romeo aside to talk to him, there is no flash of fire or recoil from the pistol during the shots.
- During the slow song at the Capulet ball, the violinists playing are not shown. At the beginning and end of the song, the violins are resting on their shoulders, but during the moments when the music is heard, it wasn't visible that they were playing at all.
- At the end of the gas station scene, as the camera pans past the car window, a microphone is visible.
- After Juliet runs upstairs following the decision to marry Romeo, the camera quickly changes angle as she goes out onto the balcony. As this happens, a microphone briefly appears at the top of the screen.
- During the wedding scene, the nanny constantly changes her position between shots.
- When Romeo encounters Fulgencio Capulet at the ball, his mask changes position between shots.
- Romeo’s notebook disappears from his hand when he stands up, noticing the car at the beginning of the film.
- After Juliet drinks the potion, she falls asleep in bed, her left arm initially uncovered by the blanket, but is already under it in the next shot.
- The vial of poison falls from Romeo’s hands when Juliet touches his cheek, but she later takes the same vial from his hands.
- After Romeo shoots Tybalt, the position of the gun on the ground changes between shots.
- In the balcony scene, Romeo nervously knocks over a metal candlestick. It falls to the floor, but in the next shot it's standing again, as if nothing happened.
- The position of the blanket on Juliet's bed changes several times between shots after she drinks the potion.
- Romeo falls from the balcony into a pool when the nurse appears, warning that Juliet's mother is coming. However, judging by the pool's structure, he should have fallen onto a stone floor and could not have landed in the pool by jumping from that spot.
- When Abra shouts 'boo!' at the gas station, his sunglasses disappear after a cut.
- After buying the poison, Romeo descends the stairs along the wall. In the next shot, as they drive away in the car, a sofa and other items appear against that wall that weren't there before.
- When Juliet meets Lorenzo in the church, gloves are visible on her hands. When he hands her the vial of potion, the gloves are gone.
- The length of Tybalt's cigar changes drastically between shots at the beginning of the film.
- At the gas station, the Montagues never actually insert the fuel nozzle into the gas tank. One of them tried to, but was so frightened by Tybalt that he put it back. When they drive away, the nozzle is seen sticking out of the tank, after which the hose breaks, and this is what causes the fire.
- After spending the night together, Romeo and Juliet wake up, and when Romeo jumps out of bed, covered in a sheet, his shirt is initially crumpled around his shoulders, but in the next shot it completely covers his body.
- Juliet's mother calls for her while she is underwater in the bathtub. She emerges a second later with dry hair.
- When Juliet exits the pool, her dress is wet and clings to her body. But in the next shot, the dress is completely dry, only her hair remains wet.
- The position of Romeo's hair changes as he looks at Juliet through the aquarium.
- When Romeo enters the church to find Juliet, he shoots several times at police officers, which would have left the slide in a cocked position. But then, when he places the gun next to Juliet, the hammer is down.
- When Juliet is talking to her mother, the mother turns with a cigarette, and at that moment black marks can be seen on her chest. When she leaves the room, these marks are gone.
- At the masquerade ball, when Romeo first meets Juliet, she is dancing with Paris. In the background, a man in a green mask, with a mustache and a mohawk, is visible dancing. After a scene change, the same man is standing behind Romeo.
- Gregory was shot in the shoulder while leaving the gas station. However, there are no further mentions or visual cues in the film indicating this.
- When Juliet's house is first shown, the footage of the fountain is played in reverse.
- After Romeo kills Tybalt, while he is talking to the Nurse and the Friar, a microphone shadow can be seen falling on Romeo.
- When Mercutio and Benvolio are on the beach, Mercutio's shirt is sheer and made of thin silk. In the next scene, when Mercutio is killed, his shirt is opaque and made of a different, heavier material.
- In the scene where Juliet shoots herself, the position of her hands and the gun changes abruptly after a cut.
- When Romeo learns of Juliet's death, his shirt is buttoned. Then, when Balthazar tries to comfort him, and Romeo pushes him away, his shirt is completely unbuttoned. After Romeo screams while sitting on the ground, he stands up, and his shirt is buttoned again.
- In Mantua, when Romeo learns of Juliet's death, he shouts Juliet's name while facing the sun. Then he stands up and turns his back to the sun, but in the next shot, the shadow reveals he is walking towards it facing forward.
- When Romeo embraces the dying Mercutio, and the latter curses both families, blood is visible on Romeo's collar and left sleeve. When Romeo stands up, the blood is gone.
- During his monologue at Juliet's tomb, Romeo removes his necklace and puts a ring on Juliet's finger. Later in the scene, the necklace appears and disappears on his neck.
- The film is based on William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" (The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, 1597).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
