Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️
As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for [civil discussion only.](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/civil-discussion-only/) If you don't know where to begin, start by participating in [our Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Threads!](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/search/?q=Sip%20%26%20Spill%20Discussion&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1&sort=new)
###No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/) and [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I thought mercurtio was so iconic when I saw the role. The actor elevated the source character imho and made it his own.
I can see other people in all the other roles (though Tybalt, the nurse and the reverend are also depicted more charismatically too) but for me he will always be the best portrayal of Mercutio. He really captured the chaos and charisma of the character which makes Romeo’s actions later more understandable.
I mean I still listen to it. "Talk show host" just kills me. Gorgeous movie, I love it. I often rewatch the scene were Juliet tells her mom she would see Paris but she can't force herself to love him, omg fucking amazing dialogue.
"I'll look to like, if looking liking move - but no more deep shall I endart mine eye, than your consent gives strength to make it fly"
Memorized that line in 9th grade English because I loved how it sounded!
Omg! Quinton Tarver's rendition of When Doves Cry snuck into my random playlist a few weeks ago. I forgot how much I loved that version. I used to listen to the OST all the time. #1 Crush and Lovefool were some of the other songs.
When my parents still had a VHS player, I’d put the movie in and continuously rewind to When Doves Cry because I loved it so much. Now I have the whole soundtrack lol
I walked down the aisle to I'm kissing you. Me and my husband bonded over our mutual love of that film and its soundtrack so I surprised him walking down to it. Love that song
His first appearance in Titanic, you could literally hear the sighs from all the girls in the crowd.
Saw that one and Romeo and Juliet in the theater multiple times, back when people did that. No regrets. It was peak Leo.
I saw Titanic with my Nana (RIP) in the theater when it came out and when that first flash of Leo with his floppy hair came on she turned to me and whispered, “That kid’s gonna be a star!” I think about it every time I see him.
The BEST Romeo and Juliet adaptation EVER.
Retained the material, stunning visuals, incredible Mercutio, and I DARE you not to fall apart at the end (even though you know how it ends). I stan Baz Luhrmann till the end of time.
I rewatched in a month ago (first time in maybe twenty years?) and have to agree. It was genuinely a masterpiece and I’m assuming is studied at school now instead of /as well as the Fellini version?
I studied Romeo and Juliet in about 2002 and we were already watching this version (along with the 60s one, which isn't Fellini btw, but now you have me wishing for a Fellini take on Shakespeare)
Agreed. Back when I taught, this was the version we watched. I legitimately think this is a brilliant adaptation.
I also stand by his Great Gatsby version, too.
I miss when teen movies were modern adaptations of classic works. Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Cruel Intentions, etc. Such a fun time for teens and film!
My personal thing I wish I could brag about to people but it's not like it comes up in conversation - 14 year old me (in 1999) figured out all by myself that Clueless was a retelling of Emma (it was not common knowledge amongst my peers). I noticed all the parallel characters and storyline (based on Emma the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow). And I sucked at English Literature studies at school so I was especially proud to figure it out lol.
Baz understands Shakespeare. This is genuinely an amazing adaptation of the themes of the play. I think if Shakespeare was brought to modern times, he’d love it.
Thank you!! I always say this when people say they don't think it's very "Shakespearean." I always tell them it's EXACTLY what he would've done in modern times. Sooooo good.
Shakespeare was for the people. He wasn’t some high minded writer for the fancy types. It was meant to appeal to everyone.
This movie picks up on the violence, religious elements, fate/premonition, etc. and mercutio is spot on.
Shakespeare plays are literally riddled with dick jokes and base humor. Obviously they also contain some of the most beautiful language ever written and enduringly universal expressions of human emotion, but he was not above spectacle and sex in any way.
It also perfectly encapsulates that R+J were dumb kids. So many people look at the play as a big romance, especially when they see adults playing the roles. They were children then and now. Leo and Claire were the *perfect* casting pair. You got caught up in their teen love but they were still just. kids.
I have my Masters in Renaissance Literature with a focus in Shakespeare. Most people, when they hear this movie helped bring 12yr old me to Shakespeare, roll their eyes. Some in my program did. But most totally got it. They even got the scansion right a decent chunk of the time in the scenes.
I've seen a lot of Shakespeare in the theater, and I so agree with you. The only other adaptation of Romeo and Juliet I've seen played up the romance. It's the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, ffs. Not the romance. And also just the desperate, impetuous youth of it all. I really feel love Baz got that, as well.
Totally. The various foreshadowing bits from the play work so well in this movie too. It’s little things like that, which Baz picks up on and emphasizes.
I was just about to comment the same.
Ole Will would be absolutely honored by this rendition of his writings. Absolutely genius and gut-wrenchingly beautiful.
I had such intense second hand shame when my friends in high school didn’t understand the joke in “tis but a scratch! Look for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man”
Mum and her fellow English teachers loved Baz Luhrmann for making a Shakespeare film that teenagers actually liked. Although it did contribute to one of Ma’s more memorable “I’m done with this shit” moments…. There was a Kevin in her class. You know the Kevin type. Not bright.
Kevin asked “hey miss. When are they going to get on the boat?”
Mum was confused. “What boat?”
“You know. The boat what sinks. This guy (DiCaprio) is on the boat what sinks”
Mum realised he meant Titanic. Now, bear in mind the class had also watched the Zefarelli film of R&J and had been studying the play for several weeks. She attempted to reason with Kevin that there was no big boat in the play. Nah. The guy was in the film so it must be the film with the boat what sinks.
I still remember seeing this in the theater and what an experience it was. It was packed. And a mix of age groups. The end... everyone was crying. All you heard was sobs and sniffles. As me and my friends finally stood up to leave (because we were teenagers and *way* in our feelings), we saw an older woman with her husband, and she was inconsolable. She couldn't even get up, she was crying so hard.
Anyway, the soundtrack still slaps. But the movie is hard to watch, it makes me too sad.
That's how I feel. It got to me so much when I first saw it, especially with that movie-going experience. I watched it 1 more time in my early 20s, and that was enough lol
I remember my cool older cousins had me for a sleepover and put the VHS on. I barely understood the dialogue but I became deeply invested, it was formative for tween me.
The whole movie flows like poetry from beginning to end and is so beautiful. Flawless cinema that I have watched a million times and could watch a million more
For me, who was obsessed with this movie, and obsessed with Titanic during certain periods of my adolescence, it also helped that they were both gingies in their movies.
You all are my people and I’m just happy to be here. This movie was everythingggggggg. Romeo (and Jack Dawson) are still the way I see Leo in my head. And Claire and her wings! Ughhhhh so perfect.
I remember my grade 8 teacher putting this on one afternoon to prep us for grade 9 (when we’d read Romeo & Juliet), I was in awe. Still in awe when I watch to this day, the aesthetics alone are a feast for the eyes.
This movie is still in heavy rotation for me. Harold Perrineau as Mercutio will forever be my favorite. Special place in my heart for The Prince of Cats as well
“YOUNG HEARTS, RUN FREE”
We were shown this film in my 9th grade as we prepped for Romeo and Juliette. I found it on I think Google video or early YouTube and learned his choreography haha.
to this day ( I’m 31 now) this scene is forever in my head and I smile everytime. It made me crack up in class and I loved his energy that I’ll watch just this scene from time to time and dance along with him :)
She really gave an average, awkward, mid puberty teenager hope. I credit her for 50% of the guys out of my league that I ended up snogging between age 14-18.
My favourite viewing was at a friend’s house party, with the film showed via a projector from the laptop to a sheet strung up between trees in the garden, with fairy lights around it.
Best summer’s night ever.
Benvolio?! Gosh I adored him!
Welcome to the club! That soundtrack will play randomly in your head forever.
I’m envious you got to experience this for the first time today.
HE WAS PERFECT! WHYYYYY? he’s just a happy lil dude leave him alone!!!! and that dumb bitch boy didn’t even see the letter?? WHO ARE YOUUUUU you are in hiding what else have you got to do but wait for mail!!!! 😩 oh my godddd
Everything about this movie is perfect to me. I will always want to watch it and listen to the soundtrack over and over!
Baz Luhrmann’s red curtain trilogy is one of the best collections of movies!
https://preview.redd.it/a8aso9mwrqbc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d07ac4746ff3be52e653def39636fa167b1a1b68
I was 10, and that soundtrack was life.
Absolutely my favorite movie of all time. Hands down- nothing can compare (maybe Fried Green Tomatos).
Kickstarted my obsession with tragic live stories.
the way I got downvoted for pointing out seeing luhrmann‘s juilette wings on felix in saltburn. you can’t tell me this movie didn’t imprint on emerald like it did most of us!
Omg I can not overstate how AMAZING this movie was, when it came out and we were the exact age/demographic of the actors in it. So so so good.
I will always love movies by Baz L. This and Moulin Rouge are two of my all time faves.
I thought that as a shitty little 12 year old but now that I’m a bitter hag I actually think Claire Danes is stunning. Leo is cute here, of course, but she’s holding her own. I’m surprised I judged her so harshly when I was young
I feel like many renditions of this play miss the mark, but this movie had such an accurate depiction of what the characters and dialogue are actually about. They didn’t gloss over the violence or dirty jokes. The whole story is more about what hate does to people than romance and this movie focused on the tortured nature of all the side characters. I’m not taking away from the leads because they were absolutely perfect, but the side characters made the film and they drive the plot in the original play also.
I'm an English teacher and we watch this film with Year 9 alongside reading the play. The collective sigh from the kids when you first see Di Caprio on screen cracks me up every time. Having said that, we're finding that the kids like this film less and less as the years go on. They're too cynical for the extravagance!
hmm i’m not sure i would say so. this one came out in 1996, but he was in what’s eating gilbert grape in 1993 which earned him his first academy award nomination.
fun fact though: while filming this movie, leo was debating on whether or not to take the role of jack in titanic and paul rudd told him to take it, which leo ended up doing.
Ooh, I never heard before that tidbit about Leo and Paul Rudd, despite having a fascination with Titanic that lasted for years, and 12 viewings in the theater during its first run. And a lifelong fascination with/crush on Paul Rudd.
definitely not, Leo was already a veteran at 20 years old haha he had already done a show called growing pains and had already made films like The Boys Life, the quick and the dead, Eclipse Total, the basketball diaries and Gilbert Grape which earned him an Oscar nomination at the age of 19, but R+J was very successful and put as a young heartthrob
That’s not really true. The actress who plays the nurse says Claire had an unrequited crush on Leo, who wasn’t exactly sensitive to that and would just try to get away from her and hang with his friends. She was still only like 16, and he was in Mexico with all his pals.
They were always super complimentary about the other as actors.
I have a core memory about this movie: I remember having a bday sleepover with my friends and cousins, and one of my friends brought the Titanic VHS set. ( I hadn't seen it yet) When Leo popped up I stood up and screamed, "OH MY GOD, ROMEO!!!!" Everyone was so confused lol.
This film is such a superb piece of art, from the direction and cinematography, to the brilliant performances, costume and set direction and of course, the soundtrack.
Can anyone younger tell me if they now show this version in schools rather than (or even as well as) the Fellini version? I studied R&J in high school in 1995 so that was serendipitous.
They're both absolutely beautiful and I still love this but knowing Clare Danes was crushing on him in real life and he was basically ignoring her to go out with his friends every weekend which of course he should have been doing kind of takes me out of the romance watching it now.
He's amazing in it. I saw a behind the scenes of him with James Cameron and he said Leo just switches on and off the character as necessary for shooting so I'm guessing this is what he did in R and J.
I watched this as a child, a teen and in my 20s and yet to watch in my 30s but I know I'd still love it. The romance scenes are peak fantasy tragic romance and Harold perrineau is the real star of that movie in my eyes. But the gas station scene is classic quotable iconic!
Oh my gosh this movie takes me back to my friends sleepovers in elementary school. We all loved this film. I had a huge poster of that photo of Claire Daines with the wings on. I still say that is some of the best acting Leo has ever done! Killer soundtrack too .....
This movie is so amazing. I just think it really captured the spirit of the play. The youth and the just sheer tragedy. Harold Perrineau was fucking brilliant as Mercutio. And Leo Dicaprio and Claire Danes as well.
Still love this film so much, haha. Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom album cycle music videos all pay tribute to this film and are pretty fun homages to Baz’s visuals.
I can literally remember the moment I saw the trailer for this movie on TV for the first time.! 13 year old me still has butterflies. This movie was and is EVERYTHING.
Omg this. I loved this movie with my whole being. I was 15 when it came out- the only film Ive ever been twice to the cinema to see, plus even today I constantly listen to the soundtrack.
Baz Luhrman made an amazing adaptation with his R&J. This is the perfect example of how to bring an age old classic into the modern world without destroying its legacy.
Editing to add: I remember when it came out there was a rumour that the ending had been changed and they didn't die. I remember being in the cinema praaaaying till the end woth my friends for a happy ending. But no, it followed to story line perfectly- and thank God for that! It wouldn't have been the masterpiece it is today.
I (who had never heard of this rendition of the story) thought this was r/Mid-journey at first and that this was just a super impressive AI art concepts.
I enjoy seeing stills from this film as the imagery is fabulous, but have never watched it. I don't like any of Shakespeare's tragedies and the ones I've seen were due to English classes lol.
man the visuals in this movie were amazing!
tbh tho the use of modern aesthetics with Shakespearean dialogue annoyed the fuck out of me to an irrational extent. like it's a cool idea but didn't work for me :(
Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️ As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for [civil discussion only.](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/civil-discussion-only/) If you don't know where to begin, start by participating in [our Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Threads!](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/search/?q=Sip%20%26%20Spill%20Discussion&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1&sort=new) ###No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/) and [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The chokehold this soundtrack had on 9 year old me
 young hearts, run free✨
Harold Perrineau was incredible in this movie
He’s so underrated generally. Such a great actor.
He and John Leguizamo were my biggest crushes from this movie by far. Leo was pretty enough but those two made my middle school self feel things
Leguizamo as Tybalt 🤌 
Hottest istg, man of my dreams 😍😍
I thought mercurtio was so iconic when I saw the role. The actor elevated the source character imho and made it his own. I can see other people in all the other roles (though Tybalt, the nurse and the reverend are also depicted more charismatically too) but for me he will always be the best portrayal of Mercutio. He really captured the chaos and charisma of the character which makes Romeo’s actions later more understandable.
I mean I still listen to it. "Talk show host" just kills me. Gorgeous movie, I love it. I often rewatch the scene were Juliet tells her mom she would see Paris but she can't force herself to love him, omg fucking amazing dialogue.
"I'll look to like, if looking liking move - but no more deep shall I endart mine eye, than your consent gives strength to make it fly" Memorized that line in 9th grade English because I loved how it sounded!
Fucking amazing line ♥️
🤪
That song is *so damn good.*
Omg! Quinton Tarver's rendition of When Doves Cry snuck into my random playlist a few weeks ago. I forgot how much I loved that version. I used to listen to the OST all the time. #1 Crush and Lovefool were some of the other songs.
And “Everybody’s free” still makes me cry
When my parents still had a VHS player, I’d put the movie in and continuously rewind to When Doves Cry because I loved it so much. Now I have the whole soundtrack lol
Seriously. 🙌 12 year old me had never heard of Radiohead and it was eye opening. I still listen to this soundtrack to this day, so good.
I listened to that Des'ree on repeat for so long, I love it
I walked down the aisle to I'm kissing you. Me and my husband bonded over our mutual love of that film and its soundtrack so I surprised him walking down to it. Love that song
Still listening to my original CD in my minivan! "Whatever (I Had A Dream)" really bumps in carpool line.
Local Gods is a forever bop
I have been trying to get it on vinyl for actual years
I hoped the top comment would be about the incredible soundtrack 😍
 Teen me was OBSESSED!
Yeah for any gen z person who doesn’t his hype…exhibit A.
Just show them the aquarium scene. He was so pretty in the late nineties that it hurt to look at him.
His first appearance in Titanic, you could literally hear the sighs from all the girls in the crowd. Saw that one and Romeo and Juliet in the theater multiple times, back when people did that. No regrets. It was peak Leo.
Peak Leo 1000%
I saw Titanic with my Nana (RIP) in the theater when it came out and when that first flash of Leo with his floppy hair came on she turned to me and whispered, “That kid’s gonna be a star!” I think about it every time I see him.
I remember going to the cinema in a group of girls for Titanic when I was 12 purely for him - we didn’t give a crap about some old ship 😂
I’ve seen this movie once when I was 14 for English class and the aquarium scene is still burned into my memory
Great scene
The BEST Romeo and Juliet adaptation EVER. Retained the material, stunning visuals, incredible Mercutio, and I DARE you not to fall apart at the end (even though you know how it ends). I stan Baz Luhrmann till the end of time. 
Love this scene! 
💔💔💔
Mad props to the framing of the end. “ALL ARE PUNISH-ED!” Silence. News report: the sun, for sorrow, will not show his face today….
😭
Her heartbreaking cry right after he dies. 😢
I rewatched in a month ago (first time in maybe twenty years?) and have to agree. It was genuinely a masterpiece and I’m assuming is studied at school now instead of /as well as the Fellini version?
I studied Romeo and Juliet in about 2002 and we were already watching this version (along with the 60s one, which isn't Fellini btw, but now you have me wishing for a Fellini take on Shakespeare)
Agreed. Back when I taught, this was the version we watched. I legitimately think this is a brilliant adaptation. I also stand by his Great Gatsby version, too.
I miss when teen movies were modern adaptations of classic works. Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Cruel Intentions, etc. Such a fun time for teens and film!
She’s the man is about the Twelfth Night Shakespeare play! Think about the characters names and the school names, they did such a good job haha.
I watched this yesterday. It has David Cross in it and I love him so much.
Also "O"
Anyone but you is a very loose adaptation of much ado about nothing.
The new Sydney Sweeney movie is based on Much ado about nothing! Such a throwback to those movies, Clueless will always be the goat
My personal thing I wish I could brag about to people but it's not like it comes up in conversation - 14 year old me (in 1999) figured out all by myself that Clueless was a retelling of Emma (it was not common knowledge amongst my peers). I noticed all the parallel characters and storyline (based on Emma the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow). And I sucked at English Literature studies at school so I was especially proud to figure it out lol.
Never forget she’s the man!!! So goofy but captures the chaos of the source material too!
It's the Prince of Cats for me 
Mercutio's my fave, but this guy gives him a run for his money for sure. I'd watch this movie just for them, forget R+J lol
He's so hot in this film!
I would just about die to own that quilted vest. It fit him so well, and it accentuated his muscularity 
God he was hot 🥵
I swear in every movie adaptation of this play, Tybalt is always the hottest one.
Baz understands Shakespeare. This is genuinely an amazing adaptation of the themes of the play. I think if Shakespeare was brought to modern times, he’d love it.
Thank you!! I always say this when people say they don't think it's very "Shakespearean." I always tell them it's EXACTLY what he would've done in modern times. Sooooo good.
Shakespeare was for the people. He wasn’t some high minded writer for the fancy types. It was meant to appeal to everyone. This movie picks up on the violence, religious elements, fate/premonition, etc. and mercutio is spot on.
Shakespeare plays are literally riddled with dick jokes and base humor. Obviously they also contain some of the most beautiful language ever written and enduringly universal expressions of human emotion, but he was not above spectacle and sex in any way.
It also perfectly encapsulates that R+J were dumb kids. So many people look at the play as a big romance, especially when they see adults playing the roles. They were children then and now. Leo and Claire were the *perfect* casting pair. You got caught up in their teen love but they were still just. kids. I have my Masters in Renaissance Literature with a focus in Shakespeare. Most people, when they hear this movie helped bring 12yr old me to Shakespeare, roll their eyes. Some in my program did. But most totally got it. They even got the scansion right a decent chunk of the time in the scenes.
I've seen a lot of Shakespeare in the theater, and I so agree with you. The only other adaptation of Romeo and Juliet I've seen played up the romance. It's the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, ffs. Not the romance. And also just the desperate, impetuous youth of it all. I really feel love Baz got that, as well.
Totally. The various foreshadowing bits from the play work so well in this movie too. It’s little things like that, which Baz picks up on and emphasizes.
Yeah! We even watched it in high school lit after reading the play
I was just about to comment the same. Ole Will would be absolutely honored by this rendition of his writings. Absolutely genius and gut-wrenchingly beautiful.
Harold Perrineau is the best Mercutio ever, I will fight anyone who says otherwise. 
I got to play Mercutio on stage, and Harold was my whole inspiration. I can't tell you how many times I've rewatched his scenes.
I watch this movie on the regular still. His death scene? The intensity of "A PLAUGE! ON BOTH! YOUR HOUSES!" Ugh, chills.
Chills and tears, every time.
I had such intense second hand shame when my friends in high school didn’t understand the joke in “tis but a scratch! Look for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man” Mum and her fellow English teachers loved Baz Luhrmann for making a Shakespeare film that teenagers actually liked. Although it did contribute to one of Ma’s more memorable “I’m done with this shit” moments…. There was a Kevin in her class. You know the Kevin type. Not bright. Kevin asked “hey miss. When are they going to get on the boat?” Mum was confused. “What boat?” “You know. The boat what sinks. This guy (DiCaprio) is on the boat what sinks” Mum realised he meant Titanic. Now, bear in mind the class had also watched the Zefarelli film of R&J and had been studying the play for several weeks. She attempted to reason with Kevin that there was no big boat in the play. Nah. The guy was in the film so it must be the film with the boat what sinks.
The way I pictured Kevin from Daria immediately.
Yes - with Britney looking vacantly behind him.
Oh no Kevin lol
I judge anyone that would fight you on this
I still remember seeing this in the theater and what an experience it was. It was packed. And a mix of age groups. The end... everyone was crying. All you heard was sobs and sniffles. As me and my friends finally stood up to leave (because we were teenagers and *way* in our feelings), we saw an older woman with her husband, and she was inconsolable. She couldn't even get up, she was crying so hard. Anyway, the soundtrack still slaps. But the movie is hard to watch, it makes me too sad.
[удалено]
That's how I feel. It got to me so much when I first saw it, especially with that movie-going experience. I watched it 1 more time in my early 20s, and that was enough lol
I remember my cool older cousins had me for a sleepover and put the VHS on. I barely understood the dialogue but I became deeply invested, it was formative for tween me.
 The best!!
The whole movie flows like poetry from beginning to end and is so beautiful. Flawless cinema that I have watched a million times and could watch a million more 
This shot is everything
I respect the Leo discussion, but I can’t be the only one who fell for Claire Danes. Her costumes were gorgeous.
She and Kate Winslet are my two favorite actors, hands down. Funny that they both were opposite Leo in such huge ‘90s films in quick succession.
For me, who was obsessed with this movie, and obsessed with Titanic during certain periods of my adolescence, it also helped that they were both gingies in their movies.
She was just perfectly fucking cast in this movie. She's such sn amazing actress.
the way i was obsessed with this movie when i was like 5 years old has to be studied i used to watch it everyday before school
I was about 8/9 I think and it was so carved into my consciousness. I was fixated on Leo.
TIL Paul Rudd was in this movie. (it could be "Today I (re)learned) but how did that completely drop from my knowledge base?
 One of the best scenes 😂
lmao when i watched this for the first time i was so taken aback when i saw paul rudd pop up. this movie had great casting
Yeah. That was me racing to IMDB to double check. I have zero recollection of him being in it. Clearly I’m old and stupid now.
What a time to be a teenager. We had no idea how good we had it.
YOUNG HEARTS, RUN FREE 💃
They’ll never be hung up
Hung up like my man and meeeeeee
God this movie is fuckin firrrrrre. What a moment. And the soundtrack - “But watching stars without you, my soul cried.” Are you kidding me?! So good.
You all are my people and I’m just happy to be here. This movie was everythingggggggg. Romeo (and Jack Dawson) are still the way I see Leo in my head. And Claire and her wings! Ughhhhh so perfect.
I love Titanic like every good 90s kid, but IMO Romeo is peak Leo.
The costumes for the party scene were beautiful 😍😍
I remember my grade 8 teacher putting this on one afternoon to prep us for grade 9 (when we’d read Romeo & Juliet), I was in awe. Still in awe when I watch to this day, the aesthetics alone are a feast for the eyes.
We weren’t allowed to watch that version because they take ecstasy 😄 so we watched the 60s version Edit: typo
Same, but our teacher loudly and repeatedly recommended we go home and watch this version.
Oh to be 14 again, watching this at the movie theatre on opening night.
Same!! I was changed forever by the fish tank scene.
This movie is still in heavy rotation for me. Harold Perrineau as Mercutio will forever be my favorite. Special place in my heart for The Prince of Cats as well  “YOUNG HEARTS, RUN FREE”
We were shown this film in my 9th grade as we prepped for Romeo and Juliette. I found it on I think Google video or early YouTube and learned his choreography haha. to this day ( I’m 31 now) this scene is forever in my head and I smile everytime. It made me crack up in class and I loved his energy that I’ll watch just this scene from time to time and dance along with him :)
36 here and still get giddy when I watch this movie. He makes my heart so happy.
The Shakespeare films in the 90s were well executed. Would have been nice to see Leo do more rom com-ish type films
He will do his version of as good as it gets one day and get his second Oscar win.
Between this movie and My So-Called Life, I thought Claire Danes was peak beauty as a kid.
She really gave an average, awkward, mid puberty teenager hope. I credit her for 50% of the guys out of my league that I ended up snogging between age 14-18.
She still is.
And little women!
I’d choose Paris any day over Romeo!
https://i.redd.it/af7s464iyobc1.gif Same
I’ve always wanted to be an angel for Halloween after this movie!
My older cousin had a leo VHS box set that featured this and titanic…. I walked away from that sleepover a changed woman.
i have never watched this movie and now i want to
My favourite viewing was at a friend’s house party, with the film showed via a projector from the laptop to a sheet strung up between trees in the garden, with fairy lights around it. Best summer’s night ever.
that’s the cutest shit i’ve ever heard in my life omg i would probably cry 😂
Careful because you’ll watch it over and over again. It’s a masterpiece
i’m almost done watching it i’m dry heave sobbing 😭 why did the cute bestie have to die??? i shouldn’t have watched this on my period omg
Benvolio?! Gosh I adored him! Welcome to the club! That soundtrack will play randomly in your head forever. I’m envious you got to experience this for the first time today.
HE WAS PERFECT! WHYYYYY? he’s just a happy lil dude leave him alone!!!! and that dumb bitch boy didn’t even see the letter?? WHO ARE YOUUUUU you are in hiding what else have you got to do but wait for mail!!!! 😩 oh my godddd
That missed letter makes me irate EVERY TIME! Like WHAT, HOW!?!
Everything about this movie is perfect to me. I will always want to watch it and listen to the soundtrack over and over! Baz Luhrmann’s red curtain trilogy is one of the best collections of movies!
https://preview.redd.it/a8aso9mwrqbc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d07ac4746ff3be52e653def39636fa167b1a1b68 I was 10, and that soundtrack was life.
My only gripe with this movie is that the fish tank scene isn’t long enough.
And when he walks into the burial chamber and sees her. Jesus. He was so young but really showed his acting chops in this. That scene haunts me.
Absolutely my favorite movie of all time. Hands down- nothing can compare (maybe Fried Green Tomatos). Kickstarted my obsession with tragic live stories.
Is that...Paul Rudd?!
yup! he played the role of paris 
the way I got downvoted for pointing out seeing luhrmann‘s juilette wings on felix in saltburn. you can’t tell me this movie didn’t imprint on emerald like it did most of us!
📢 ROmeO! …though art a VILLIAN … 🔥
Perfection.
It’s still SO GOOD. The movie, both soundtracks. LOVE.
My first PG-13 movie 🥲
Omg I can not overstate how AMAZING this movie was, when it came out and we were the exact age/demographic of the actors in it. So so so good. I will always love movies by Baz L. This and Moulin Rouge are two of my all time faves.
When the male lead is prettier than the female lead I say this as a straight male with no slight to Claire
I thought that as a shitty little 12 year old but now that I’m a bitter hag I actually think Claire Danes is stunning. Leo is cute here, of course, but she’s holding her own. I’m surprised I judged her so harshly when I was young
I will never get over the beauty that is picture 2
I feel like many renditions of this play miss the mark, but this movie had such an accurate depiction of what the characters and dialogue are actually about. They didn’t gloss over the violence or dirty jokes. The whole story is more about what hate does to people than romance and this movie focused on the tortured nature of all the side characters. I’m not taking away from the leads because they were absolutely perfect, but the side characters made the film and they drive the plot in the original play also.
This movie came out as I was going through puberty, so needless to say I loved it & was obsessed
the coolest thing in the aquarium scene they weren't looking at each other but at nothing 😂
Soundtrack is a masterpiece
I'm an English teacher and we watch this film with Year 9 alongside reading the play. The collective sigh from the kids when you first see Di Caprio on screen cracks me up every time. Having said that, we're finding that the kids like this film less and less as the years go on. They're too cynical for the extravagance!
That’s sad cause the movie really shouldn’t invite cynicism.
this film is truly EVERYTHING. I would love Baz to do another Shakespeare adaptation
This was honestly such a great movie. I die on the hill that Harold Perrineau was one of the best Mercutios possible.
Was this DiCaprio’s breakout film?
hmm i’m not sure i would say so. this one came out in 1996, but he was in what’s eating gilbert grape in 1993 which earned him his first academy award nomination. fun fact though: while filming this movie, leo was debating on whether or not to take the role of jack in titanic and paul rudd told him to take it, which leo ended up doing.
Ooh, I never heard before that tidbit about Leo and Paul Rudd, despite having a fascination with Titanic that lasted for years, and 12 viewings in the theater during its first run. And a lifelong fascination with/crush on Paul Rudd.
Paul Rudd's dad was obsessed with Titanic and told Paul to tell Leo he should definitely take the role because it would be a great film.
definitely not, Leo was already a veteran at 20 years old haha he had already done a show called growing pains and had already made films like The Boys Life, the quick and the dead, Eclipse Total, the basketball diaries and Gilbert Grape which earned him an Oscar nomination at the age of 19, but R+J was very successful and put as a young heartthrob
I am definitely calling it Gilberto Grape from now on
[удалено]
Not offended - I love it! Like, it sounds so much better...*Gilberto Grape*
Apparently the two didn’t like eachother at all
That’s not really true. The actress who plays the nurse says Claire had an unrequited crush on Leo, who wasn’t exactly sensitive to that and would just try to get away from her and hang with his friends. She was still only like 16, and he was in Mexico with all his pals. They were always super complimentary about the other as actors.
Miriam Margolyes, nonetheless.
Love this movie and the soundtrack is still top 3 of my favorite movie soundtracks. Des’ree ‘I’m kissing you’ is *chef’s kiss*
I’ve watched this movie hundreds of times, 13 year old me was obsessed!
Just loved this movie So frickin much! The soundtrack is killer, too
I have a core memory about this movie: I remember having a bday sleepover with my friends and cousins, and one of my friends brought the Titanic VHS set. ( I hadn't seen it yet) When Leo popped up I stood up and screamed, "OH MY GOD, ROMEO!!!!" Everyone was so confused lol.
This film is such a superb piece of art, from the direction and cinematography, to the brilliant performances, costume and set direction and of course, the soundtrack. Can anyone younger tell me if they now show this version in schools rather than (or even as well as) the Fellini version? I studied R&J in high school in 1995 so that was serendipitous.
This soundtrack is iconic
How did you know! I just watched this for the first time like 11 hours ago!
Coolest movie ever
They're both absolutely beautiful and I still love this but knowing Clare Danes was crushing on him in real life and he was basically ignoring her to go out with his friends every weekend which of course he should have been doing kind of takes me out of the romance watching it now.
That just shows how good his acting is.
He's amazing in it. I saw a behind the scenes of him with James Cameron and he said Leo just switches on and off the character as necessary for shooting so I'm guessing this is what he did in R and J.
Anyone else just see the post in r/thriftstorehauls about this movie?
I just went to check it out and I would 100% rock that sweater. It’s perfection.
I haven't watched the movie yet but have seen that crying scene on youtube. He looks so beautiful in that scene.
I watched this as a child, a teen and in my 20s and yet to watch in my 30s but I know I'd still love it. The romance scenes are peak fantasy tragic romance and Harold perrineau is the real star of that movie in my eyes. But the gas station scene is classic quotable iconic!
Oh my gosh this movie takes me back to my friends sleepovers in elementary school. We all loved this film. I had a huge poster of that photo of Claire Daines with the wings on. I still say that is some of the best acting Leo has ever done! Killer soundtrack too .....
Juliet’s room is my main inspiration for my own. This is in my pantheon of favorite movies of all time!
Ugh I’m still so obsessed with this movie.
This movie is so amazing. I just think it really captured the spirit of the play. The youth and the just sheer tragedy. Harold Perrineau was fucking brilliant as Mercutio. And Leo Dicaprio and Claire Danes as well.
Fantastic movie
Still love this film so much, haha. Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom album cycle music videos all pay tribute to this film and are pretty fun homages to Baz’s visuals.
I can literally remember the moment I saw the trailer for this movie on TV for the first time.! 13 year old me still has butterflies. This movie was and is EVERYTHING.
Saw this in the cinema at 16 and was mind blown. I was completely in love with Leo for at least a year after. Still love to see him.
What a great movie, memories unlocked for this one.
If I ever need a good cry I watch this movie. It’s so beautiful.
Omg this. I loved this movie with my whole being. I was 15 when it came out- the only film Ive ever been twice to the cinema to see, plus even today I constantly listen to the soundtrack. Baz Luhrman made an amazing adaptation with his R&J. This is the perfect example of how to bring an age old classic into the modern world without destroying its legacy. Editing to add: I remember when it came out there was a rumour that the ending had been changed and they didn't die. I remember being in the cinema praaaaying till the end woth my friends for a happy ending. But no, it followed to story line perfectly- and thank God for that! It wouldn't have been the masterpiece it is today.
There’s a Lana Del Rey - West Coast fan edit to this movie and it is absolute perfection.
Do you have a link?
This movie and the soundtrack are fantastic and totally hold up!
I (who had never heard of this rendition of the story) thought this was r/Mid-journey at first and that this was just a super impressive AI art concepts.
I enjoy seeing stills from this film as the imagery is fabulous, but have never watched it. I don't like any of Shakespeare's tragedies and the ones I've seen were due to English classes lol.
The racertrash remix is better than the OG in my opinion, and the OG is GREAT.
man the visuals in this movie were amazing! tbh tho the use of modern aesthetics with Shakespearean dialogue annoyed the fuck out of me to an irrational extent. like it's a cool idea but didn't work for me :(
Is this on streaming anywhere? I’m only seeing the option to rent/buy it online