Romeo + Juliet

In the mid90s Australian director and scriptwriter Baz Luhrman came up with a daring concept to transform the classic story of star-crossed lovers to a modern setting while retaining the original Shakespearean dialogue and at the same time to conceive the whole film as an MTV-style musical. Even though many were turning their heads in disbelief at that time, the film has positioned itself deep in the hearts of several generations exactly thanks to its over-the-top style, which actually is the ideal frame for all the larger-than-life emotions of Shakespeare’s play. The film’s fame is also to a large extent due to the phenomenal cast, led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, both rising young talents at that time. The overall emotional palate is perfectly fleshed out by the soundtrack, which includes songs by artists such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Prince, Garbage, Des’ree or The Cardigans and original tracks by music industry veteran Nellee Hooper. Giving the whole film a perfect final touch is the balladic end titles song written and performed exclusively for the movie by Radiohead.