Props, stage directions, and settings are changed drastically from the original play though. Very few plot points(but still, a few) were changed from the original play. When watching Luhrmann’s interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, the visuals steal the show when compared to any other aspect of the original play. It was a mixture of all the aspects of the film- the use of the play’s original lines, Leonardo DiCaprio, the soundtrack, and the beautiful cinematography as well as the comedic nature of the work- that made me understand the original play more and understand the characters to an extent I never expected I would. It wasn’t until I saw the play interpreted by Baz Luhrmann, in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, that I finally understood a little more why and how Romeo and Juliet ended up in the situations they did, and how they eventually ended up dead. I was dumbfounded that love could make kids so careless, so naive, and so stupid. Beyond being frustrated with the unfamiliar old English I was being exposed to, I remember being extremely frustrated and upset at the characters Romeo and Juliet themselves. I first read Romeo and Juliet when I was in high school, as part of the mandatory high school English curriculum. The changes made to the play were done in order to reach a younger audience, mostly teenagers, as a way to keep Shakespeare relevant and show that his original works can still be relatable and entertaining. Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 blockbuster ‘Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet’ takes the classic, old English stage production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and transforms it into a fun, vibrant spectacle by injecting the original play and the lines of the original play with emotion, changing the original setting of the play into a colorful, modern cinematic masterpiece, adding a queerness and a relatability to the characters with costumes and a cast of attractive, well known actors, and adding a soundtrack and score to the film.

Susan Bye, a film reviewer, wrote in her comparison of the film and the play that “Romeo and Juliet is a musical and visual extravaganza, its aesthetic of excess combining fast paced editing, unconventional cinematography, an ornate and eclectic soundtrack, a pastiche of styles, and a collage of religious and pop-culture iconography” (Bye, 109). The film grossed over $147 million, according to its official IMDB page. The film was directed by Baz Luhrmann and produced by Baz Luhrmann and Gabriella Marinelli. In 1996, yet another version of the play was released with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The 16th Century play has had countless adaptations, interpretations, and works that have been inspired by the timeless plot surround young, forbidden love. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare continues to be one of the most influential and widely spread pieces of literature in history, even over 400 years after the play was written.

Romeo and juliet 1996 script