With the Royal New Zealand Ballet bringing its dance adaptation back to the city, we take a look at cinema’s various treatments of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. 

1. Warm Bodies (2013)

Those steeped in Shakespeare and zombie movies will get more of the jokes but there’s plenty in this zom-rom-com for anyone to enjoy. The fight this time is between zombies and humans rather than Capulets and Montagues. Our unlikely couple are a zombie named R (Nicolas Hoult) and a living, breathing Julie (Theresa Palmer). And waddya know, love cures everything, even the lack of a pulse.

2. Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 interpretation replaces swords with guns and sets the title characters in Verona Beach, California. Luhrmann’s trademark visual assault owes more to Mad Max than The Globe Theatre but hey, it’s a helluva ride!

3. Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Again, you will get more of the jokes if you are up on your Bard references but there’s still plenty here if you aren’t. The film depicts a fictional love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) while Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet. Amid the twists and turns of the plot there are many allusions to this and other Shakespeare plays.

4. West Side Story (1961)

Romeo and Juliet become Tony and Maria in this film adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same title, which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare's play. This time the feud is between two teenage gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, in New York City in 1957. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10, including Best Picture. A 2021 remake by Steven Spielberg has also found an appreciative audience.

5. Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

For once, our lovebirds get a happy ending. In this tale of star-crossed garden gnomes, it’s their owners, Mr Capulet and Miss Montague, who are the feuding parties. Team Gnomeo’s blue Montagues have been taught to despise the red Capulet gnomes, but Gnomeo and Juliet fall in love when she wanders out for a flower.

6. Bollywood Queen (2002)

This take on our tale is set in London, where a young Indian girl, Geena (Preeya Kalidas) falls in love with an English guitarist, Jay (James McAvoy). Families and cultures clash in true Shakespearean style but this time the whole thing ends in a glorious Bollywood-style wedding.  

7. Runaway Robots! Romie-0 and Julie-8 (1979)

Proving Shakespeare’s tale is as timeless as the scholars say, this animated short tells the story of two robots from rival robot manufacturing companies who fall in love despite a taboo against their kind having such relationships.

8. The Punk (1993)

Trust the Brits to bring class into it, although Shakespeare also had a lot to say on that. Rich girl Rachel and poor boy David fall in love in modern-day London. The fashion owes more to late 1980s trends such as big hair and geometrics than safety pins and punk. Someone dies but the whole double-suicide thing gets cut.

9. Romeo Must Die (2000)

Aaliyah, the Queen of Urban Pop, made her film debut in this retelling set in California, with the feuding parties being African-American and Chinese-American gangs. It’s Jet Li’s fight scenes that steal the show, though, and the fusion of hip-hop and martial arts is another saving grace.

10. Die in a Gunfight (2021)

Here’s a twist – our lovers live to drive off into the sunset but nearly everyone else dies! Mary and Ben are the star-crossed black sheep of two powerful families engaged in a centuries-long feud. Reigniting their affair sets off a firestorm of violence. So bad it’s good seems to be the consensus.

Did we miss any? What’s your favourite?

Romeo & Juliet,
Royal New Zealand Ballet,
Isaac Theatre Royal,
Thu 25 - Sat 27 May,
rnzb.org.nz/shows/romeo-juliet/