Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Director:

Baz Luhrmann

Writers (WGA):

William Shakespeare (play)
Craig Pearce (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Two households both alike in dignity, In fair Verona where we lay our scene. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life.

Plot:

Shakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Shakespeare | Star Crossed Lovers | Romeo And Juliet | Shot In The Head

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 13 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Romeo
Claire Danes	...	Juliet
John Leguizamo	...	Tybalt
Harold Perrineau	...	Mercutio
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Father Laurence
Paul Sorvino	...	Fulgencio Capulet
Brian Dennehy	...	Ted Montague
Paul Rudd	...	Dave Paris
Vondie Curtis-Hall	...	Captain Prince
Miriam Margolyes	...	The Nurse
Jesse Bradford	...	Balthasar
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Apothecary
Zak Orth	...	Gregory
Jamie Kennedy	...	Sampson
Dash Mihok	...	Benvolio
Vincent Laresca	...	Abra
Carlos Martín Manzo Otálora	...	Petruchio
Christina Pickles	...	Caroline Montague
Diane Venora	...	Gloria Capulet
Pedro Altamirano	...	Peter
John Sterlini	...	Sacristan
Harriet Sansom Harris	...	Susan Santandiago (TV Gossip) (as Harriet Harris)
Michael Corbett	...	Rich Ranchidis
Edwina Moore	...	Anchorwoman
Quindon Tarver	...	Choir Boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jorge Abraham	...	Post Haste Delivery Man
Fausto Barona	...	Altar Boy
Ricardo Barona	...	Altar Boy
Catalina Botello	...	Post Haste Clerk
Mario Cimarro	...	Capulet Bouncer
Farnesio de Bernal	...	Undertaker
Des'ree	...	Diva
Ismael Eguiarte	...	OP Officer
Rodrigo Escandon	...	Kid With Toy Gun
Paco Morayta	...	Middle Age Occupant
Alex Newman	...	Altar Boy 2
Cory Newman	...	Altar Boy 2
Lupita Ochoa	...	Attractive Girl
Gloria Silva	...	Nun
Carolyn Valero	...	Middle Age Occupant
Margarita Wynne	...	Station Mother
Leontyne Price	...	'Liebestod' Vocalist (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Baz Luhrmann

Writing credits (WGA)
William Shakespeare		(play)
Craig Pearce		(screenplay) &
Baz Luhrmann		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jill Bilcock	....	associate producer
Martin Brown	....	co-producer
Baz Luhrmann	....	producer
Catherine Martin	....	associate producer
Gabriella Martinelli	....	producer

Original Music by
Nellee Hooper

Cinematography by
Donald McAlpine		(as Donald M. McAlpine)

Film Editing by
Jill Bilcock

Casting by
David Rubin

Production Design by
Catherine Martin

Art Direction by
Doug Hardwick

Set Decoration by
Brigitte Broch

Costume Design by
Kym Barrett

Makeup Department
Sylvia Fernández	....	assistant hair stylist
Carlos Horcasitas	....	assistant hair stylist
Vincenzo Mastrantonio	....	key assistant makeup
Ferdinando Merolla	....	key assistant hair stylist
Aldo Signoretti	....	key hair stylist
Maurizio Silvi	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Bruce Devan	....	production manager: additional photography
Sandy Dworniak	....	music production manager
Héctor López	....	production manager
Michael Nelson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Monica Castellanos	....	second assistant director
Efren del Moral	....	second assistant director (as Efren Gilberto del Moral Ortega)
Miguel Gil	....	first assistant director
Everardo Valerio Gout	....	second assistant director
Harry A. Jarvis III	....	second assistant director (as Harry Jarvis)
Miguel Lima	....	first assistant director (as Miguel Lima Martínez)
Grant Lucibello	....	second assistant director
Martin Walters	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Kasia Adamik	....	paintings: Capulet mansion (as Katarzyna Adamik)
Luis Amezquita	....	drafter
Juan Barreto	....	greensman
Jesus Buenrostro	....	art director: Mexico
Jesus Buenrostro	....	construction liason: Mexico
Simon Buenrostro	....	scenic artist
Eugenio Caballero	....	assistant set decorator
Nigel Churcher	....	third assistant art director: Toronto
Elizabeth Colomba	....	paintings: Capulet mansion
Claudio Contreras	....	lead man
Marc Corriveau	....	property master
Gilberto Cortes	....	property coordinator
Steve Craine	....	head scenic artist
Eduardo De La Rosa	....	head painter
Nikki DiFalco	....	assistant designer
Catherine Doherty	....	first assistant art director
Catherine Doherty	....	set designer
Alisarine Ducolomb	....	art department coordinator
Francisco Espejel	....	property laborer
Gerardo Fernández	....	sculptor
Bernardo García	....	construction coordinator: Veracruz
Francisco García	....	drafter
Antonio Gómez	....	sculptor
Guillermo Granados	....	property assistant
Inés Jácome	....	set decorating coordinator
Enrique Lechuga	....	stand-by painter
Lynn Ledgerwood	....	model maker
René Marquéz	....	assistant on-set dresser
Juan José Martínez	....	sculptor
Ramiro Martinez Landeros	....	property assistant (as Ramiro Martinez)
Mike McLeod	....	construction manager: Mexico City
Dale Menzies	....	construction manager: Veracruz
Zaida Monteforte	....	lead man
Jose Luis Nava	....	swing gang
Ligia Ornelas	....	first assistant art director
Marco Antonio Palma	....	sculptor
Miguel Pineda	....	buyer
Francisco Ramos	....	assistant graphic designer
Sandra Laura Ramos	....	sketch artist
Ana Solares	....	assistant to set decorator
J. Fernando Solorio	....	on-set dresser
Ricardo Spinacé	....	paint foreman
Carlos M. Torres	....	property master
Ernesto Trejo	....	construction medic
Jorge Julio Zepeda	....	assistant on-set dresser

Sound Department
José Manuel Aguilar	....	additional boom operator
Lisa Bate	....	atmosphere editor
Donald D. Brown	....	boom operator (as Don Brown)
Peter Burgess	....	foley editor
Peter Burgess	....	sound effects editor
Steve Burgess	....	foley recordist
Fernando Cámara	....	additional sound mixer
Craig Carter	....	dialogue editor
Sean England	....	sound re-recordist
Ken Fischer	....	sound effects editor
Ben Gold	....	assistant sound editor
Karen Harding	....	assistant sound editor
Tim Holland	....	supervising sound editor
Frank Lipson	....	sound effects editor
Gerard Long	....	foley artist
Marilyn McCoppen	....	adr editor
Al Nelson	....	machine room operator
Jonathan Null	....	assistant sound editor
Paul Pirola	....	assistant sound mixer
Gary Rizzo	....	sound mix technician
Livia Ruzic	....	dialogue editor
Leon Sandoval	....	cable person
Roger Savage	....	sound supervisor
Michael Semanick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tony Sereno	....	sound mix technician
Mario Vaccaro	....	foley artist
Gareth Vanderhope	....	sound designer
Hugh Waddell	....	adr editor
Rob Young	....	sound mixer
Stephanie Wiand	....	adr artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Laurencio Cordero	....	special effects coordinator (as Laurencio 'Chovy' Cordero)
Manuel Cordero	....	special effects assistant
Pedro González	....	special effects assistant
Sergio Jara Jr.	....	special effects assistant (as Sergio Jara Morales)
Sergio Jara	....	key special effects
Juan Carlos Rodríguez	....	special effects assistant

Visual Effects by
Thad Beier	....	software
Michael Bladen	....	digital animator
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	digital scanning & film recording
Daniel Chuba	....	visual effects producer
Murray Curtis	....	digital animator
Daniel Hernandez	....	car modelling coordinator
Christopher Leone	....	digital scanning & film recording
Rebecca Marie	....	visual effects supervisor
Fumi Mashimo	....	3D animator
Barb Meier	....	lead animator
Peter W. Moyer	....	compositing
Mike Nassell	....	visual effects photography
Chris Schwarze	....	visual effects producer
Sharon Stetzel	....	digital services coordinator
Peter Webb	....	visual effects designer
Tim Trumble	....	film recording technician (uncredited)

Stunts
Gerardo Albarrán	....	stunts (as Gerardo Moreno)
Guy Bews	....	stunts
Tom Eirikson	....	stunts
Jim Finkbeiner	....	stunts
Corry Glass	....	stunts
Jason Glass	....	stunts
Tom Glass	....	stunts
Alex Green	....	stunts
Ernie Jackson	....	stunts
David Jacox	....	stunts
Ken Kirzinger	....	stunts
Jacob Rupp	....	stunts
Greg Schlosser	....	stunts
Melissa R. Stubbs	....	stunt double: Claire Danes
Brent Woolsey	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Ricardo Arvizu	....	grip
Chuck Brown	....	Steadicam operator
Jose F. Campos	....	key grip
Luis Canedo	....	electrician
Joaquin Cervera	....	camera loader
Héctor G. Gallardo	....	generator operator
Manuel García	....	electrician
J. Antonio González	....	electrician
Heriberto Gutiérrez	....	additional assistant camera
Roberto Gutierrez	....	electrician
Ricardo Hernandez B.	....	grip
Dean M. King	....	dolly grip
Robin P. Knight	....	key grip (as Robin Knight)
Brett Laumann	....	best boy
Kim Marks	....	camera operator: additional photography
Kim Marks	....	director of photography: additional photography
Steve Mathis	....	gaffer
Patrick McArdle	....	first assistant camera
Enrique Morales	....	best boy
Merrick Morton	....	still photographer
Patricio Pereda	....	grip
Guillermo Rosas	....	camera operator (as Guillermo 'Memo' Rosas)
Carlos Sánchez	....	electrician
Luis David Sansans	....	video assist operator
Reyes Santamaría V.	....	rigging gaffer
Ernesto Serrano	....	dolly grip
Cesar R. Solis	....	second assistant camera
Antonio Vargas	....	grip
Pedro Vázquez	....	second assistant camera
Eric Amundsen	....	second assistant camera: additional photography (uncredited)
Enrique del Rio	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Daniel Dietrich	....	electrician (uncredited)

Animation Department
Cathy Wagner	....	animator

Casting Department
Claudia Becker	....	casting consultant: Mexico
Deirdre Bowen	....	casting: Canada
Jorge Guerrero	....	extras casting
Ronna Kress	....	casting associate
Michelle Levi	....	casting assistant: USA

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sylvie Clément	....	head cast dresser
Josée Comeau	....	head seamstress
Mario Davignon	....	costume supervisor
Javier Delgado	....	dresser (as Javier Cuero Delgado)
Blancaa Hilda Fernández	....	seamstress
Miguel Angel Galarza	....	car dresser
Zeferino Gutierrez	....	dresser
José Hernández	....	wardrobe assistant
Ismael Jardon	....	head dresser
María de Jesús Lina	....	seamstress
María de Lourdes López	....	seamstress
Jose Luis Montero	....	costume buyer
Jose Luis Montero	....	wardrobe
Mercedes Olea	....	wardrobe translator
Jaime Ortiz	....	head dresser
Leticia Pichardo	....	assistant cast dresser
Adolfo Ramírez	....	costume supervisor (as Adolfo 'Fito' Ramírez)
Carlos Salom	....	car dresser
Michael Wilkinson	....	costume design assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Tristan M. Brighty	....	first assistant editor
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Laurie Butler	....	lightworks consultant
Sarah Flack	....	second assistant editor
Robert Grahamjones	....	second assistant editor
J.R. Grubbs	....	supervising assistant editor
Peter McBain	....	second assistant lightworks editor
Dennis McNeill	....	color timer
Dana Mulligan	....	assistant editor
Cleo Myles	....	assistant editor
Rochelle Oshlack	....	first assistant editor: lightworks
Edgar Pavon	....	assistant editor
Michel Proulx	....	head cutter
Claire Sanfilippo	....	supervising assistant editor
Kate Williams	....	first assistant editor: lightworks

Music Department
Craig Armstrong	....	composer: additional music
Craig Armstrong	....	conductor
Craig Armstrong	....	orchestrator
Doug Brady	....	music editor: Australia
Jane Chapman	....	music production assistant
Marius De Vries	....	composer: additional music
Marius De Vries	....	music programmer
Hannah Dickson	....	music production assistant
Geoff Foster	....	score mixer
Mark Graham	....	music copyist
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestral contractor
Gary Thomas	....	score mixer
Mark Jan Wlodarkiewicz	....	music editor
Tim Atack	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Richard Ziegler	....	music coordinator (uncredited)
Laura Ziffren	....	music supervisor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Margarito Fuentes Gutiérrez	....	picture vehicles (as Margarito Gutiérrez)
Javier Gunther	....	transportation coordinator
Francisco Paredes	....	picture vehicles mechanic
Carlos Ponce de León	....	transportation captain
Doug Stewart	....	driver: camera car
Ricardo Díaz	....	driver (uncredited)
John R. Lopez	....	driver (uncredited)
Alfonso Paredes	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Rachel Aberly	....	unit publicist
Jesús Almontes	....	assistant armorer
Amy Alson	....	studio teacher
Lucila Anlleu	....	accounting assistant
Gerardo Arellano	....	second assistant accountant
Ingrid Arias	....	fabric painting assistant
Irma Avila	....	fabric painting assistant
Jose Manuel Ballesteros	....	craft service
Ana Barreto	....	fabric painting
Kym Barrett	....	hero weaponry design
Michel Bellego	....	set production assistant
Jill Bilcock	....	title designer
Catalina Botello	....	assistant dialog coach
Susannah Brengel	....	post-production auditor
Nuria Bronfman	....	accommodation liaison
Alma Bulas	....	set medic
Tania Burkett	....	title designer
Marco A. Castillero	....	production assistant
Paul Cross	....	film conformer: Melbourne
Patricia De Burgos	....	metal artist
Pilar De Burgos	....	metal artist
Dayna Dunbar	....	assistant production coordinator
Matt Dunkley	....	copyist
Mark Ellis	....	film conformer: Melbourne
Gabriel Ellstein	....	production assistant
Victor Esparza	....	assistant to body shop supervisor
Ella Fairbairn	....	backroom operator
Gerardo Fernández	....	metal artist
Lily Flaschner	....	location manager
Terri Garbutt	....	production assistant
Jason Gaudio	....	cinemaestro operator
Sydney Gilner	....	script supervisor
Jose Antonio Gout	....	set production assistant
Alex Green	....	gun trainer
Sonia Guerrero	....	crowd control assistant
Elsa Hermoso	....	production auditor
Justin Herwick	....	set production assistant
John Hillman	....	assistant post-production accountant
Daniel Horvat	....	assistant production accountant
Ben Jacob	....	backroom operator
Inés Liverato	....	extras assistant (as Ines Liverato)
Linda Locke	....	production assistant
Sophia Lofters	....	assistant to producer
Roberto Neri López	....	milliner
Lilene Mansell	....	dialogue and speech coach
Catherine Martin	....	title designer
Nahomi Martin del Campo	....	buyer, properties
Michael Q. Martin	....	production lab supervisor
José Alfonso Mata	....	metal artist
Jaqueline Matuk	....	set production assistant
Arnulfo Mayorga	....	union payroll clerk
Greg McEvoy	....	technical weaponry drawings
Heather McIntosh	....	production auditor
Anton Monsted	....	assistant to director
Carlos 'Pollo' Munguia	....	aging artist
Alexa Muñoz	....	assistant location manager
John 'Cha Cha' O'Connell	....	choreographer
Francisco A. Palma	....	metal artist
Salvador Parra	....	head sculptor/prop maker/car body sculptor
Juan Carlos Pavián Neri	....	milliner
Leonel Perez	....	assistant armorer
Diana Carr Portillo	....	crowd control assistant
Bonfilio Ramirez	....	group leader
Carla Raygoza	....	assistant to producer
Ana Rebuelta	....	script supervisor: second unit
Juan Rivera	....	body shop supervisor
Gerardo Rojano	....	helicopter pilot
Kevin Saffer	....	second assistant accountant
Paul Schindler	....	set production assistant
Caroline Scott	....	film conformer: Melbourne (as Carolyn Scott)
José de la Serna	....	head of security
Alejandro Solar Luna	....	assistant to co-producer
Phil Spangenberger	....	gun trainer
Lee Strugnell	....	car illustration and design
Charles Taylor	....	armorer/gun handler
Jennifer L. Thompson	....	production assistant
Fernando Uriegas	....	assistant location manager
Jorge Valdés García	....	stand-in: John Leguizamo
Juan Carlos Vega	....	metal artist
Emilio Vidaurreta	....	production assistant
Hugo Vidaurreta	....	production assistant
Humberto Vilchis	....	assistant head of security
Desiderio Vite	....	helicopter pilot
Christine White	....	production coordinator (as Chris White)
Alan Woodruff	....	film conformer: Melbourne
Karen Yokomizo	....	first assistant accountant
Ruth Zermeño	....	assistant to cast
Diana Zock	....	production secretary
Lucy Amador	....	first assistant accountant (uncredited)
Grant Grabowski	....	assistant: Baz Luhrmann (uncredited)
Norberto Nava	....	security coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Bazmark Films
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1996) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (2001) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (Germany)
• Gativideo (2008) (Argentina) (DVD) (musical edition)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (Spain)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1997) (Netherlands) (video)

Special Effects

• Complete Post (as Complete Post)
• Hammerhead Productions

Other Companies

• Alimentacion Filmica Especializada  catering
• Angel Studios  score mixed at
• Angel Studios  score recording
• Capitol Records  soundtrack published by
• Digital Filmworks  digital film services
• Dolce & Gabbana  capulet boys' wardrobe
• London Session Orchestra, The  orchestra (uncredited)
• London Wild Bunch Studios  score mixed at
• London Wild Bunch Studios  score recording
• Maurice et Sylvain Berger  gloria capulet's jewelry
• Movie Armaments Group  firearms supplied by
• Olympic Studios  score mixed at
• Olympic Studios  score recording
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Prada  romeo's wedding suit
• Skywalker Sound  sound post-production: USA
• Soundfirm  sound post-production: Australia
• Temptu  tattoo design
• The Movie Armourer Inc.  armourer/gun handler
• Westpoint Studios  score recording and mixing

Also Known As:

Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for scenes of contemporary violence and some sensuality.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Hungary:16 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 (cut) | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Alameda, California, USA

Company:

Bazmark Films

Trivia:

Baz Luhrmann sent British alternative-rock band Radiohead a videotape containing the last 20 minutes of the movie and asked them to make a song for the end credits. They composed the song "Exit Music (for a film)", which appeared on their 1997 album "OK Computer" (the director has said in the DVD commentary that he believes it's one of the best exit themes ever written)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the outlands of Mantua Romeo calls out Juliet's name from his knees while facing the sun. He then stands and turns around. In the next shot, shadows indicate that he is walking towards the sun again.

Quotes:

Sampson: I will bite my thumb at them, which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: The Night Club of Your Dreams: The Making of 'Moulin Rouge!' (#8.4)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Pretty Piece of Flesh

Poetry to Visual Affect

This is not Shakespeare's best play, but it has his best poetry; that's because the play is ABOUT language, about the difference between what something is and the language used to describe it. So among the plays, this may be one of the hardest to film. But alas it suffers from another blessing which is also a curse: the story itself is so powerful that one can build any sort of film or play or whatever around it and have it be likely to work. Thus, we often lose the language.

Zefrelli made his own choices in the earlier film; these were relatively conventional. While it cut some valuable language, sacrificed to the gods of contemporary patience, it is by far the better version. But here we have some interesting choices.

First the setting. Italians to Shakespeare's England were a comical people, and his setting of the play there would have encouraged the audience to bring heavy stereotypes to the drama. Latins in his day were considered: Foppish: Quick to violence (a stereotype that has been inherited by blacks today, but to Londoners, Italians were nearly Africans): Incredibly proud especially as regards slights to masculinity: Obsessed with weapons.

Today, we roll those up under the relatively crude notion of stupid Latin macho. In this film, the director has exaggerated the Latin macho ethic to have the same effect 16th century Londoners would get. It works because these stereotypes are powerful memes which attract many hosts which perpetuate their underlying truth. Baz adds the additional dimension of the people being captured by the superstitious underbelly of the Church.

He deliberately straddles the border between apparent truth and satire. These Latins are superficial visually and not verbally. So here is the solution to the problem on how to make a film (which is primarily a visual medium) out of a play that leverages poetic language. The solution is to convert all the metaphors from language to vision. Hence the much-noted lack of poetry. I imagine Baz directing the players to not worry so much about the poetry.

Both Romeo and Juliet are incapable of performing the poetry anyway: they are children learning on the job. And what acting skill they have from film is all in the face, not the tongue. They are pretty enough though.

I like this film for its boldness. Some of the experiment works since we get the message of the difference between what we see and what is true. This is why Juliet has to see a LIVE Romeo at the end. Living under water is used to good effect. But in the real play, there are so many and such subtle explorations of the theme, and these are scoured away here for a few broad effects. The real message, which comes through loud and clear if you know the play (or even Zefrelli's film) is not the distance between the reality of events and the language, but the reality of the richness of the real play and this film. Equally vast. Equally powerful statement. So we have a playhouse with the back part blasted out to the sea.

As a separate matter, the play has three anchors: Mercutio, the Friar and the Nurse. These are handled interestingly here.

The Friar is an alchemical master hiding under the cloak of the Church. The play equates the magic of language with the magic of potions, equally deadly. The congruence is lost in this film, but Baz definitely gets the magic part as well as the superfluous ritual of the church. This friar is a terrific, memorable performance of someone who believes he can defeat nature. Serves as an anchor as intended.

The Nurse is the true domestic, raw nature, full of uncompromised loyalty but ultimately compromised. Her character is lost here. We NEED to know about the dead sister and why the nurse turns on Juliet in order to save her life. Baz fails here, and so provides no center. For Shakespeare, she's the white space on the palette.

Mercutio in the play is a emotionally engaged visionary mystic. We understand that Romeo and Mercutio studied magic (`philosophy') abroad together much as Hamlet and Horatio had. The dream they shared the night before is the axis of the whole action: rather like the magic of the witches in Macbeth. Baz gets this as well: Modern magic is what? Drugs. So Hamlet is given a psychotropic by Mercutio before going to the party. Works for me, because it allows everything to be visually blasted and inexorably tragic. The whole thing after the party is a trip, see? It is why they can meet, become entranced and arrange marriage after an hour or two. (Remember that until this point Romeo is hopelessly smitten by Roseline.)

Anyone who wrestles with problems of filming the Bard and comes out alive deserves my respect. This is a weird interpretation, but that's the point.