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Romeo and Juliet
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0012569795273
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Item Dimensions: 100
Label: Warner Home Video
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled),
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
MPN: 79527
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 14, 2007
Running Time: 119 minutes
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: September 03, 1936
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Editorial Review:
The lovers of Shakespeare's tragi-romance are brought to suitably quivering life by Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard in this glossy 1936 MGM take on the play. And yes, they're a tad older than the headstrong youths of Shakespeare's story (Howard was 43!), but they make up for that with sheer fervor. Shearer's performance looks like Great Lady acting at times, but she commits completely to Juliet's passion, and Howard is a delight. Basil Rathbone and Edna May Oliver are slam-dunk casting as Tybalt and the Nurse, respectively, and if John Barrymore is too weathered for Mercutio, he nevertheless works up an antic, sarcastic energy in the role. The production was supervised by MGM boy wonder Irving Thalberg (Shearer's husband), and it's an utterly lavish affair; the courtyard for the balcony scene looks exactly as expansive and studio-moon-drenched as your romantic imagination tells you it should. The film went the way of many such prestige productions: director George Cukor later said it lost a million dollars. (This was the same year he made Sylvia Scarlett, another box-office flop that has aged well.) It may be Shakespeare Lite, but the film zips along on the back of a love story that has been, to say the least, quite durable over the years. --Robert Horton
Shakespeare's classic tale of love and youth ruined by a family feud. The Montagues and the Capulets two powerful families of Verona hate each other. Romeo a Montague crashes a Capulet party and there meets Juliet. They fall in love and secretly marry. After killing a nephew of Lady Capulet in a fight Romeo is banished from Verona. Capulet tries to marry Juliet to Paris a prince. Juliet seeks the counsel of Friar Laurence who married her and Romeo. He suggests a daring plan that ends tragically.Running Time: 119 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569795273 Manufacturer No: 79527
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Hooray For Norma
While this movie does require a certain suspension of belief (Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard cast as teenagers?), the general glossiness of the end-product compensates for the slight tweaking regarding casting. This film reflects MGM at its best doing what the studio was noted for: mounting a production with the grandeur expected for a writer no-less than the great Shakespeare.
Actually, Norma Shearer was effective playing the giddy and girlish Juliet and conveyed an incandescent loveliness. ... Read More
Rating: - Exquisite Despit the Flaws
This 1936 production of "Romeo and Juliet" was the last that Irving Thalberg saw to completion. It is certainly replete with what has become known as the "prestige" details MGM was bent on in the 30s and 40s. However, there is much more here than may meet the initial eye. Yes, John Barrymore is too old (visually) and so over-the-top that he seems to be performing in a another film (or medium). It's hedgehog acting with no subtleties in performance - yikes! And the production values, while grand, represent ... Read More
Rating: - Opulent Production
Visually - this is one of the best looking black and white period films I've ever seen. The photography, costumes and sets are spectacular. Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard are too old for their roles and were not Shakespearean actors, but are better than most Hollywood actors in classical parts. It was common during this era for older actors to play these roles on stage. John Barrymore stands out from the rest. I've only seen this on VHS, but the DVD transfer should be sharp and clear.
Rating:  - pimple-free and genuinely moving
One of my favorite teaching units over the years has been comparing film versions of Shakespeare. My adult students preferred the "active gore" in Polanski's MACBETH over what I found to be the riches of the Densch/McKellan version, and similarly preferred the panting adolescents of Zeffirelli's version to the double-aged Cukor film. Eros by any other name....
My bias for the Cukor version is based on impact. Zeffirelli's adaptations of Shakespeare never trusted the language, and therefore resorted ... Read More
Rating: - "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!"
Starting out with wonderful characters that might be new to you or might be old. This film is one of my absolute favourites. Nothing can compare to Shakespeare, or Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer portraying Romeo and Juliet. The costumes, were more than beautiful. Yes, I'd give anything to have some of those beautiful gowns worn by Norma as Juliet. Even if you find it difficult to understand Shakespeare, you find that when you watch Leslie and Norma, you know everything that's going on and you may even think that you ... Read More
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