Overview
A modern retelling of a timeless love story that defies family feuds and societal expectations.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- romantic
- ecstatic
- frantic
- date night
- teen movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized the adaptation as fresh, inventive, and strongly performed, while remaining divided over its aggressively stylized aesthetic and collision of modern imagery with Shakespearean language.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Baz Luhrmann places Shakespeare's dialogue and plot in modern Verona Beach with guns, television news, and corporate family dynasties.
The film combines vivid color, rapid editing, religious imagery, elaborate costumes, and expressive production design around the lovers' romance.
Romeo and Juliet must conceal their relationship because the Montague and Capulet families are locked in violent rivalry.
The star-crossed lovers premise and repeated omens frame the romance through dramatic irony and foreknowledge of catastrophe.
Films like Romeo + Juliet, and why
West Side Story
modernized shakespearean tragedy, forbidden teenage romance, stylized visual energy, and feuding families
Moulin Rouge!
highly stylized romantic tragedy, heightened theatricality, and young lovers caught in social conflict
O
contemporary adaptation of classic romance, heightened performances, and conflict between social groups
Movie Details
- Director
- Baz Luhrmann
- Release Date
- 1996-11-01
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (5465)
Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Claire Danes
- Jesse Bradford
- Vondie Curtis-Hall
- Brian Dennehy
- John Leguizamo
- Miriam Margolyes
- Harold Perrineau
- Christina Pickles
- Pete Postlethwaite
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Hulu, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Romeo + Juliet about?
- A visually explosive 1990s reimagining turns Shakespeare’s doomed lovers into gun-slinging teenagers trapped by a modern family feud.
- What is Romeo + Juliet like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Romeo + Juliet as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Romeo + Juliet violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Romeo + Juliet as moderate.
- What did critics think of Romeo + Juliet?
- Critics broadly recognized the adaptation as fresh, inventive, and strongly performed, while remaining divided over its aggressively stylized aesthetic and collision of modern imagery with Shakespearean language.
- Which films are like Romeo + Juliet?
- Films with a similar feel include West Side Story, Moulin Rouge!, and O.
- How long is Romeo + Juliet?
- Romeo + Juliet runs 120 minutes.
- Where can I watch Romeo + Juliet?
- In United States, Romeo + Juliet streams on Hulu, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel.
