William Shakespeare’sRomeo and Juliet

Directed by Baz LuhrmannPresented by Max Power, Ellis Highland, and Joe English

Publication Information

• Originally written in mid 1590s and first published in 1599

• New screenplay by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce

• Released November 1, 1996, by Bazmark Productions and Twentieth Century Fox

Setting

• Original Play: Verona, Italy during the Renaissance (1400s or 1500s)

• New Version: Verona Beach, probably Florida or California in the present day

Effects of Modern Setting

• Instead of swords, the feuding families fight with pistols.

• Instead of a Prince Escalus, the movie features Police Captain Prince.

• Mercutio’s “Queen Mab” speech refers to LSD.• Instead of a plague preventing Friar Lawrence’s

message to Romeo that Juliet is not dead, a FedEx-like courier service cannot deliver the message to him in Mantua.

• The final scenes take place in a church rather than the Capulet family tomb.

Characters

Leonardo DiCaprio

Romeo

Montague

Harold Perrineau

Mercutio

Romeo’s Best Friend

Dash Mihock

Benvolio

Romeo’s Cousin

Characters

Claire Danes

Juliet

Capulet

Miriam Magolyes

Juliet’s Nurse

John Leguizamo

Tybalt

Juliet’s Cousin

Characters

Pete Postelthwaite Vondie Curtis-Hall Paul Rudd

Father Lawrence

Romeo’s Priest

Captain Prince

Chief of Police

Dave Paris

Juliet’s Suitor

The Plot-Act I

• There is a family feud between the Montagues and Capulets. After the last fight, Prince Escalus threatened death to any who broke the peace.

• Benvolio, Mercutio, Romeo and others attend a masked ball at the Capulet house, hoping to cheer the depressed Romeo.

• Spotting Romeo, Tybalt vows revenge for his attending uninvited.

Plot-Act I

• At the masked ball, Romeo meets Juliet, a girl whose parents intend her to marry Dave Paris. They kiss before Romeo is led away by his friends. It is love at first sight.

• Only then do they realize that they have fallen in love with their mortal enemies

Plot-Act II

• Instead of going home after the ball, Romeo sneaks into the Capulet garden and seeing Juliet at the her window, professes his love for her.

• The two agree that if Romeo proves true, that they will wed the following day.

Plot-Act II

• The next day, Romeo visits Father Lawrence, who agrees to marry them in the hope that it will stop the family feud.

• Later, after Romeo reunites with his friends, Juliet’s nurse appears. Romeo asks her to tell Juliet to meet him at Friar Lawrence’s cell at three o’clock, when they will be married.

• They wed.

Plot-Act III

• That afternoon, Tybalt approaches Benvolio and Mercutio, looking for Romeo. Mercutio insults him and the two nearly fight.

• When Romeo approaches, Tybalt challenges him. Not wishing to fight his new wife’s cousin, Romeo tries to make peace.

• Still angry, Mercutio begins to fight Tybalt. Romeo tries to part them, but in doing so, provides the opportunity for Tybalt to stab Mercutio with a piece of glass.

• Infuriated, Romeo kills Tybalt. As punishment, Captain Prince banishes him, promising death if he should be found in Verona Beach.

Plot-Act III

• Learning of Tybalt’s death, Juliet is heartbroken, but sends the Nurse to Romeo with her ring as assurance of her devotion.

• The nurse finds the distraught Romeo at Father Lawrence’s cell. Lawrence tells Romeo he is lucky to be alive and that Captain Prince may change his mind. After spending the night with Juliet, Romeo will go into exile in the neighboring town of Mantua.

• After Romeo leaves Juliet’s room at dawn, Juliet’s mother tells her that she will be married to Dave Paris on Thursday. Seeing no escape, Juliet plans to ask Father Lawrence for help.

Plot-Act IV

• After dissuading Juliet from suicide, Lawrence offers an alternative: take a sleeping potion that will make her appear dead in order to avoid marrying Paris. Lawrence will be there when she wakes to help her escape to Mantua with Romeo

• Late that night, Juliet takes the potion. In the morning when her body is discovered, wedding plans change to funeral plans.

Plot-Act V

• In Mantua, Romeo learns the news from Verona Beach from his servant. He rushes back, stopping on the way to purchase a vial of poison, meaning to take his own life.

• At the church where Juliet’s body lies, Romeo says goodbye and takes the poison. As he dies, Juliet awakes. Heartbroken, she takes Romeo’s gun and kills herself.

Plot-Act V

• As the two families gather on the scene, Captain Prince says that the heavens have punished their feud by killing their children.

Additions and Subtractions

• The humorous, illiterate Capulet messenger carrying invitations that Romeo and his friends intercept is missing.

• In the balcony scene, Juliet comes down to where Romeo has fallen in the swimming pool.

• Romeo does not kill Paris in the movie, although he does in the play.

• Lawrence is not present in the church scene in the movie, although in the play he runs away at the end, fearing punishment.

Key Quotations

• “Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.” –Romeo, upon seeing Juliet at the Capulet ball.

• “My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy.” –Juliet, upon learning that Romeo is a Montague

Key Quotations

• “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other word would smell as sweet.” –Juliet in the balcony scene.

• “In one respect I'll thy assistant be; For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households' rancour to pure love.” –Father Lawrence, agreeing to marry Romeo and Juliet.

Key Quotations

• “A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”-closing lines (traditionally Prince; here, a newscaster).

Video Clip

• In the film’s opening scene, Montagues and Capulets meet and brawl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7lP4E_s80o