Romeo and Juliet

In the mid-1990s, Australian director and screenwriter Baz Luhrmann conceived a bold idea: to transplant the most classical tale of ill-fated love into a contemporary setting, preserve Shakespeare's original dialogue, and frame the entire film as a music-video musical. Many were skeptical at the time, yet the result embedded itself in the hearts of more than one generation. The hyperestheticized style paradoxically proved to be the perfect framework for the pathos and heightened emotions of Shakespeare's source material.

The ensemble's performances, led by then-rising stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the central roles, played no small part in the adaptation's enduring popularity.

The soundtrack plays a crucial role in the overall stylization. The playlist features works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Prince, Garbage, Des'ree, and The Cardigans; original film music was composed by Nellee Hooper. The closing credits are accompanied by a ballad written and performed for the film by Radiohead.