Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Janis
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
vs-dot-vaughn
"Romeo and Juliet" on Broadway starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad is a well done production. The stars were top notch. Their energy, indeed that of the whole cast, moved the story along. The Shakespearean dialogue was delivered naturally.On the negative side, the direction could have been better for the deaths. They weren't very realistic. In comparison to the BBC 1978 version, Mercutio was significantly more raunchy in this production. There he was more clown with some rude jokes; here he was more pervy jokester. (If you like to assume that certain kinds of jokes will go over your children's heads, this is not the movie for them.)On the whole, though, the program was well done. It was true to original despite the cut scenes.If you like Shakespeare's R & J, you'll probably like this one. If you don't generally like Shakespeare, have a hard time understanding his plays, or usually avoid his non-comedic works, then the quick pace and quality acting makes this version of such a familiar story very accessible.
Bologna King
This is a recording of a performance of Romeo and Juliet on Broadway, and so must be approached with the mindset of someone attending the theatre, rather than the realism-obsessed eyes of the movie-goer. This is not an adaptation of Shakespeare's play; it is a performance of Shakespeare's play.And what a delightful performance! The actors deliver their lines carefully but with an easy casual grace which brings the meaning out. The balcony scene in particular sparkles; both Bloom and Rashad, but especially Rashad, perform it with giddy excitement and exuberance.The musical accompaniment, featuring a cello, is effective and inventive. The direction keeps the pace of the play moving at a breakneck speed, as it should. Cuts have been made, especially at the end, to keep the show close to the "two hours' traffic of our stage", and the audience is given no chance to get bored.The only real downside for me was the performance of Brent Carver as Friar Lawrence. I could not help myself from yawning every time he spoke; he rattled off his lines, and frequently left no impression of their meaning.
jane_corina
I've just watched the "Romeo and Juliet" play that I found on Youtube and my tears still didn't dry yet. It was played last year on Broadway and I don't understand why it has a small score on the gigantic IMDb (5,3 out of 10). I surely deserves 20 and not less.I've read the Shakespearean play when I was in the second grade and reread it in the ninth. I watched the movie in which acts Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo and I love Leo. I've even seen cartoons with "Romeo and Juliet", but I've never really felt the pain that lay ed in the characters' hearts.I've never been so overwhelmed at a play (except that one time when I've seen the actress Maia Morgenstern playing in "Jacta" at the National Jewish Theatre in Bucharest) and my tears are still rolling down my chicks.I've never ever seen a more natural interpretation of Romeo than the one that's been done by Orlando Bloom. His fear, his anger, his passion for Juliet, he expressed them all so naturally that I felt them myself. I felt his pain so deeply when he was informed that he was banned from Verona for having killed Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, in the day of their wedding. I felt his pain when he had to leave Juliet in the morning, but his heart wouldn't let him. I felt his pain when he wept over Juliet's body in the darkness.I felt his emotions so deeply that I found myself several times hiding with my fists a wall in my humble student room.This is one more reason, a reminder that I love Orly so much. This is a reminder that I must take acting lessons this summer too. I don't believe there are words that could possibly describe how beautiful this play is. And Orlando made it to be the best.
