Ben says: From it's opening titles through to its final credits I was riveted to my seat, my face a picture of rapt concentration. Now, partly, that has to do with Shakespeare's impenetrability, but mostly because it's such a cool film, taking the piss out of itself as much as laying to rest the notion that Shakespeare has to be played in doublet and hose. The amount of detail that has gone into the production is astounding and whoever thought up the idea of a gun manufacturer called Sword is a genius. I shan't bother going over the plot, but instead look at Baz Luhrmann's direction. He knows he has photogenic faces on his screen, so he makes sure you can see them as often as viable in loving close up.

The use of slow motion, fast motion and snap cuts all contribute to making what was already a frenetic play really rock on the cinema screen. If you've seen Strictly Ballroom, you'll know how Mr. Luhrmann likes to use captioning and flashback to relate his tale, but because of the constriction of having to use the dialogue without any changes, he has been forced to move a step beyond what he normally does and really bring to bear his whole style of film-making to this piece of work.

The performances from all concerned are excellent, apart from Pete Postlethwaite's roaming accent, the costumes are magnificent and the sets are divine. This was my favourite film of the year so far.

Ben gives it:

last updated: 20th April 1997