I had avoided going to see this film when it was first released, simply because I never go and see hyped films if I can help it. However, the local arts cinema was playing it for Valentine's Day yesterday, and a big group of us went down and.....*WOW!!!* What a superb film! I was utterly amazed the whole way through at the integration of the original dialogue and manner, with contemporary settings and situations. The two together seemed to cancel each other out, which I thought was amazing. I didn't focus either on the obscurity of the dialogue and sentence construction, nor the incongruity of the dress and background with that dialogue. Simply all that was left was the story, in stark relief. I feel like I understood the film on a somewhat "deeper" level than most of my friends who saw it - I can't saw why, and I can't say how, I just "feel" it. There was so much more wrapped up in the construction of the film than simply a contemporary Romeo and Juliet, and I felt like I have a vague insight into it - I just can't force it to come out of my brain!

Haven't seen it, but I'll have to see if it's at the rental store!

You simply *must*, it is amazing.

My niece went to the theatre 4 times to see this movie when it was out! Needless to say, it is her favorite movie of all-time. I really should rent it too and see what all the fuss is about.

i thought it was truly wonderful (and i'm not a particular fan of the play)... was prepared to hate this film, i must confess, but it won me over rather quickly... decapprio's scene (after romeo slew tybalt) was simply mesmerizing... one of my fav. moments from any film...

I avoided it for the same reason of being hyped up. Now will definately rent it!

Heheh....strange you should mention Leonardo, because I thought he was the only mis-cast person in the whole film. To me, his playing of Romeo simply didn't hold up - there wasn't enough tragedy involved, something just wasn't quite right. I guess perhaps it was because he's such a pretty-boy, which kinda makes me think that the bad stuff can never be that bad :)

heard he was, well, gay. can anyone verify this info?

gay in real life? I don't think so. There are homosexual overtones in the film, between him and his bestest bud, whose name temporarily escapes me (ah! the embarrasment!), though.

Whew! Did rent the film. Lemme see....it was good and loved how they used the language from the play. Was kinda put back in the beginning, trying to figure it all out. Seemed as though everything was moving way to fast and I couldn't keep up with it. But once the "introductions" were made, found the rest of the film pretty good. Didn't see it as homosexual overtones really. And it was difficult for me to know that he was his best friend (if it wasn't for the introductions of all the characters, I would never have guessed). Really should've told Romeo via his friend what was going on (after he was banished and Juliet was "sleeping"). Would've saved a lot of grief, but then it wouldn't have been a tragedy. And Nick, I think Tybalt set in motion his own death, not Romeo......

Well, the homosexuality came in when Mercutio(?) found out about the marriage etc. and went bonkers.

Couldn't tell when he went bonkers (wasn't he bonkers to begin with?) When did he learn of the marriage? Was it when Tybalt was attacking Romeo? (BTW, nice to meet you *grin*, you're in England? How's the weather and stuff over there? And what's the time difference? I mean, are you posting in the wee hours of the morning?)

(by killing tybalt, romeo set in motion his own death, and that of juliet... and i thought decapprio was outstanding, by the way (as always... gay or not, i think he's one of the best young actors alive... he's brando-esque)... his despair, in the aftermath of the slaying, affected me as deeply as anything i've seen in a long while... claire danes was beautiful, too, and nearly flawless, i thought... i think shakespeare would've been quite pleased with this film)...

sorry, Nick, I tend to disagree with you there, but let me think about it a sec... what set in motion Romeo's death was the plan by the father once Juliet learned she would wed the prince. Had father the forethought to warn Romeo by way of that kid who walked in on Juliet's "funeral" none of the tragedy between them would've happened. Or maybe, it just would've been put off a bit. But then, had Romeo the knowledge, he could've waited until Juliet was able to escape, it would've mattered not that Romeo was banished, because they had their love. Yes, Claire Danes is a beautiful young lady. Loved her in "My So-Called Life" and am glad to see her moving on and not being trapped in the sitcom thing. Saw her on the cover of some magazine and barely recognized her. Also agree on Decapprio. He was excellent, pretty boy or not. Once he realized what he had done, man, he really captured that in his being. The only part that I didn't like (save the fact that the lovers die in the end) was the beginning. I thought it must've been a joke, but once those "intros" were made, the film settled down into the story. Didn't really seem "present day" as they advertised, but somewhere in the future. (BTW, hi Nick)

tybalt's death changed everything... nothing romeo did beyond that point really mattered... the end could be prolonged or abrupt, but everything he did from that point served only to rearrange the details of their end... nothing could've altered the fact of it... romeo had no choice, of course (but to kill tybalt)... it was the only thing he could do, and he was compelled to do it by everything he was... (that's why he's "star-crossed")... by killing himself, he did exercise choice, but it was the right one, i think... better to die the quick death, within the flush of living, breathing passion, than to risk the other kind (which is diseased, and probably worse than death)...

but he was a fool to end his life, Juliet was alive! Romeo was not violent in his nature, but the slaying of his best friend took him right to the edge (which would happen to anyone). He still had choices.

Claire Danes was absolutely amazing! I was completely spellbound by her beauty throughout the whole film, and I think she played the part better than anyone ever could have. She seemed, to me, to understand exactly what was going on with her character and with her character's interactions, which I felt Leonardo missed out on a bit. Romeo is a far more complex role than Juliet, and I didn't feel that he quite had a grip on it. And hey, his sexuality is of no interest to me :)

Me either. He, too, is beautiful to look at. *smile*

Has anyone gone and rented the movie? I hope so, it's totally worth it :) Incidentally, there is a crossover here to the "Babes" conference, where I've opened a Claire Danes topic...*sigh* *swoon* *grin*

saw it in the theatres... really enjoyed it.

I *need* to see it again. We were sat in the second row of the cinema, so the screen was huge! :)

Mike, did you hear that Claire Danes is going to reprise the Emma Peel role in the movie version of "the Avengers"? Wow, just imagine her in all that black leather....

(somebody needs to pick Mike up off the floor... he swooned, I think)

Autumn, I didn't need to hear that. I never need to hear that. Claire Danes. Black leather. Someone call an ambulance.

*cackle*

lol

you girls are evil creatures. and anyway, i have a real-life person to swoon over now :) *swoooooooooon*

Oh, do tell all, Mike!

and post pictures!!!

girl or boy??? (if it's a little green alien I do NOT want to hear about it!)

i went to see the film again. after you all disagreed so much with my view over leonardo, i decided to concentrate on him a little more (with only some Claire swooning ;) I have to admit that, second time around, he was better. I felt more tragedy from him this time, although I'm not sure why. Can't explain it. He was just somehow "better" - I guess that shows how subjective movie criticism is.

yeah yeah yeah, that's the best you can do? sounds like you're trying to passify the leo maniacs *grin*. So c'mon, you really want to talk about Claire, right?? *wink*

naturally, of course :-)) I had her on my Windows backdrop today, but Bill decided it wasn't a good idea, and I haven't seen her for a couple of hours. I'm rather fed up with Mr. Gates deciding what's good for me and what isn't. Hmm. Claire. SCHWOOOOOn.

David. SCHWOOOOOOOON.