William Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Presented 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 Harold Perrineau
Dash Mihock
Romeo
Mercutio
Benvolio
Montague
Romeo’s Best Friend
Romeo’s Cousin
Characters
Claire Danes
Miriam Magolyes
Juliet
Capulet
John Leguizamo
Tybalt
Juliet’s Nurse
Juliet’s Cousin
Characters
Pete Postelthwaite Vondie Curtis-Hall
Paul Rudd
Father Lawrence
Captain Prince
Dave Paris
Romeo’s Priest
Chief of Police
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