This week, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet turns 30. The film channelled the MTV generation and remains a fan favourite. From the fight-scene teaser that sold Fox to the locations built in Mexico, here are eight things you didn’t know.
DiCaprio paid his own way to Sydney
After the success of Strictly Ballroom, Luhrmann obtained some funds from Fox to run a workshop and shoot teaser footage in Sydney. Leonardo DiCaprio agreed to pay his own expenses to fly to Sydney and be part of it. Once Fox saw footage of the fight scene, the studio agreed to support the film.
Shakespeare as a relentless entertainer
Luhrmann said his question was how Shakespeare might make a movie of one of his plays if he were a director. He described Shakespeare as ‘a relentless entertainer’ who was playing for 3000 drunken punters, from the street sweeper to the Queen of England, with bear-baiting and prostitution as his competition.
Most of Verona Beach was built in Mexico
While some parts of the film were shot in Miami, most of the film was shot in Mexico City and Boca del Rio, Veracruz. The Capulet mansion was set at Chapultepec Castle, the ballroom was built on Stage One of Churubusco Studios, and the church exterior was the Templo del Purísimo Corazón de María in the Del Valle neighborhood.
A four-country co-production
The film was an international co-production involving principals from the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Canada. All development was done in Australia, with pre-production in Australia and Canada and post-production in Australia.
An opening weekend at number one
The film premiered on November 1, 1996, in 1,276 theaters in the United States and Canada, grossing $11.1 million and ranking number one at the US box office. It went on to gross $46.3 million in the United States and Canada. Overall, it has grossed US$147,554,998 worldwide.
Critics split, audiences went A−
Rotten Tomatoes reported 75% of 71 critics gave a positive review. Metacritic gives a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A− on an A+ to F scale.
Berlin, BAFTA and Oscar attention
The film competed for the Golden Bear at the 47th Berlin International Film Festival, winning the Alfred Bauer Prize for Luhrmann and the Silver Bear for Best Actor for DiCaprio. It received seven BAFTA nominations and won four categories, including Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also received a single Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction at the 69th Academy Awards.
A pan that became a reappraisal
Some reviewers significantly revised their opinions as time passed. Stephanie Zacharek went from calling the film ‘destined for the trash heap of Shakespeare adaptations’ in Salon to writing that she now thinks it is one of the best Shakespeare adaptations in a 25-year retrospective for Time.
Which behind-the-scenes detail is your favourite: the teaser flight, the Mexico locations, or that 25-year reversal? Tell us.
Facts from Wikipedia: Romeo + Juliet, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.