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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Modern Costumes With Some Flaws, December 13, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Romeo & Juliet (1993) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
As other people have observed about other videos in this collection, this isn't high quality in terms of the video tape. But the performance itself, which is basically a tape of play is a sound version of Romeo and Juliet. This time, they set it in more modern times, ladies are in evening dresses for example, but the dialogue is unchanged really. There are some good and not so good performances. The leading man does a good job as Romeo, though I prefered his dramatic scenes to his romantic ones. I felt the leading lady was very finicky in the role and very dramatic, perhaps too dramatic. She didn't seem to me like a teenager. Otherwise, Juliet's father and Romeo's best friend Mercutio I believe are both splendid. If you are just interested in viewing different Romeo and Juliet videos, this is fine, but the other versions, the 1960's version, the 1930's version and even the newer version are just as good or better in other ways. I've watched them all, and this version does hold up to the others, more or less
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Romeo and Juliet with Megan Follows, June 2, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Romeo & Juliet (1993) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
For someone who is interested in a nuanced production of Shakespeare's almost full text in an edition which is still accessible to the average teenager, this is great! It is unique in the versions I'm familiar with in keeping the sexual joking from II:i, and the fight with Paris and the death of Lady Montague from V:iii intact, for instance. The Romeo is a bit of a shock at first, used as we are to the romantic hero of most versions - but he is, in fact, much closer to Shakespeare's bookish and naive romantic who is caught in events much too powerful and real for him - the Romeo who "[kisses] by the book." We see his ridiculous, college-precious persona get truly caught and overwhelmed by love and tragedy, developing and maturing as the play progresses. Megan Follows is too old for the part, but any true stage version actress will be - and she does a commendable job of being "young" without being stupid. Lord Capulet is wonderful, as is Tybalt, and Paris is entirely sympathetic. The production is nicely balanced among themes, with the tragedy of the lovers intertwining well with the failure of the adults who should have been guiding their lives.
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