Discuss Baz Lurhmann's Interpretation of "Romeo + Juliet". Is it sucessful?

The tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare was performed a few centuries ago in the Elizabethan theater. In 1996, the movie, Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann was shown in our modern cinema. Using the same plot, language and theme, Luhrmann presents the audience with a new, yet controversial interpretation of the play. Baz Luhrmann's film Romeo + Juliet is a very successful adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy. Luhrmann retains the same values and ideas of …

…message to them - that suicide is romantic. Baz Luhrmann's version of Romeo + Juliet is an adaptation like no other. It successfully approached the Shakespearean story in a different way, though some parts of Luhrmann's interpretation are quite debatable. However, all these modern adaptations suggest that Shakespeare has always, in some sense, been modern. In the final analysis, his genius lies in his ability to transcend time and place, age and language, stage and screen.