Synopsis: Inventive, unconventional, controversial, Luhrmann’s Oscar-nominated adaption of William Shakespeare’s Romeo+Juliet finds the star-crossed lovers in the modern world of Verona Beach where Romeo drives a car and Juliet packs a gun. Set to a thumping soundtrack, amidst the threat of gunfire through and the delicate embrace of forbidden love, the audience is invited to drink from an intoxicating cinematic cocktail that takes them on a ride from Romeo and Juliet’s budding love, their first kiss, through to their separation and ultimate demise.

Considered a modern classic, this iconoclastic film adaptation that redefined the timeless tale for a new generation stars a pre-Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island, Inception) and Claire Danes (The Family Stone, Shopgirl), as the youthful star-crossed lovers. The film went on to achieve box office success and widespread acclaim, a multi-platinum soundtrack album, and won four BAFTA Awards including the David Lean award for best direction and two Berlin Film Festival awards including the Silver Bear for Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance as Romeo.

Review: Romeo + Juliet re-invented the way that I saw literature as a kid.  I remember seeing this film as a teenager and being blown away.  Baz Luhrman took something as dull and cliche as Shakespeare and made it epic again.  He took a medium that is all but dead in the modern world and saw the beauty in it.  The hard-hitting music, the badass feel, I still can't believe that he pulled it off! 

The blu-ray version of this film looks amazing.  Baz took the time to oversee the transfer personally and as such it turned out wonderfully.  This film and his epic Moulin Rouge are both on blu-ray now and they're ultra crisp, have no grain and fantastic sound!

The special features on this blu-ray release include: New High Definition Transfer supervised by Director Baz Luhrmann, Shaking Up Shakespeare Picture-in-Picture Mode with Audio, Commentary by Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Donald M. McAlpine and Craig Pearce and featuring Behind-the-Scenes Footage and Stills, Uncut Footage from the Bazmark Vault, Romeo + Juliet: The Music Documentary, Filmmaker and Interview Galleries and BD-LIVE**: Live Lookup™ powered by IMDb® 

Interest Range: Drama, Romance, Shakespeare