"From that audacious opening - a black female newsreader
on Fox News reading Shakespeare's prologue - through the
gothic-inspired yet unique, overture-like titles sequence, this
is a film that every serious (and not so serious) DVD owner must
have. Not only is the film one of the masterpieces of modern
cinema, it takes your DVD system on a test drive which will
separate the pretenders from the real thing.
With the cars growling and the gangs (Capulet v Montague)
prowling, Baz Luhrmann's visual bravado stands out for being
totally in tune with its subject matter. This is the true art of
design following function in cinematic drama, and his homage to
the original text is symbolised by his insistence on calling the
film "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet".
Rich, fully saturated colours drip on the screen, and the
pristine sound delivers the firebrand score with the oomph of a
live concert. In fact, oomph is the only word to adequately
describe this DVD. The romantic design of the main menu is
coupled with fast and easy navigation to any one of the chapters
(29) or languages (10). There are no other features, but that's
perhaps just as well - a Baz Luhrmann commentary would be great,
but perhaps superfluous: the film speaks for itself - besides,
after the film had taken your breath away, you wouldn't have the
energy to enjoy it.
Andrew L. Urban
