What are some movies that are based on "Romeo and Juliet" that I can use with my students?

Question

I already have the newer version of "Romeo and Juliet" with DeCaprio, and "West Side Story". I was hoping for a list of more contemporary movies using the same theme to show my students how Shakespeare is still relevant today.

Answer 1

References in popular culture
The Buddy Rich Big Band arranged and recorded "West Side Story Medley" on the 1966 album Buddy Rich's Swingin' New Big Band.
The Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded Johnny Richards' "West Side Story", an entire album of jazz orchestrations based on the Bernstein scores, in 1961. It was previewed by the producers of the motion picture, who lamented that, had they known of its existence, it would have used as the musical foundation of the new film. The Kenton version won the 1962 Grammy award for Best Jazz Recording by a Large Group.
The Hindi movie Josh, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai was inspired by West Side Story.
The video for the Michael Jackson 1983 song "Beat It" was inspired by "The Rumble."[citation needed]
An ESPN ad in the 1990s featured many of the sportscasters divided into two "gangs," due to a fictitious "dispute" at ESPN, facing each other and rhythmically snapping fingers, parodying the opening number and the "rumble" scene in West Side Story.[citation needed]
Selena, the Tejano singer, recorded the song "A Boy Like That" in March, 1995, just seven days before her death, so this song turned out to be her last recording. In early 1996, that song was released as the first single from the album The Songs Of West Side Story.
The mid-1990s Animaniacs segment "Goodfeathers" spoofed the musical, going so far as to parody nearly every song from "Maria" (as "Carluta") to "America" ("Perching on Scorsese's Head").[citation needed]
In comedian Robin Williams' stand-up show, "Live on Broadway," he talks about the fact that before the 9/11 attacks, one was allowed to take a four-inch blade onto an airplane. He says, "What, are they afraid you're gonna do a little West Side Story? "Going down the aisle! Crazy aisle!" This was edited out of the U.S. release of the filmed version of the performance.[1]
The character Paul Viti from the 2002 movie, Analyze That sings a variety of West Side Story songs to try and prove he is legitimately insane.[citation needed]
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) spoofed the musical in a commercial for the 2005 Royal Rumble.[citation needed] One gang was composed of Raw wrestlers and the other of SmackDown wrestlers singing about how they will be the "last one standing" at the Royal Rumble.[citation needed] A fight quickly broke out between the two gangs before the TV cameras cut to Vince McMahon waking up, revealing he had dreamed the whole thing.[citation needed] The bit ended with McMahon saying, "That wasn't the Rumble I had in mind!"[citation needed]
"America" has been covered in several different ways:
The Tijuana Brass released an upbeat version on an early album, with no apparent irony about its theme of anger and frustration felt by the Puerto Rican community ("Life is all right in America / If you're a white in America").
1960s progressive rock band, The Nice, recorded a cover version of "America" in the form of an instrumental protest song (much to the annoyance of Bernstein.[1]).
Keith Emerson would continue to perform it in concerts with his later groups, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer and 3.
The melody of "America" is heard at the beginnng of the Yes cover of Paul Simon"s America.
The melody of "America" is heard at the beginning of the Metallica song "Don't Tread On Me," which appears on their Black Album, which was released by Elektra Records in 1991.
The BBC used the song "America" as the theme song for their telecasts of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, again with no apparent irony.
In 1997, the British singing group The Pet Shop Boys recorded a cover version of "Somewhere", which also used elements of "I Feel Pretty." During their 1997 series of concerts at the Savoy Theatre, London, they used an extended version of "Somewhere" that started with "One Hand, One Heart."
The Santana/Product G&B Maria Maria was inspired by the musical.[citation needed]
The popular children's show Sesame Street made a spoof of West Side Story called "Veg Side Story". It features a muppet reluctant to eat his zucchini. Once he tries it, he realizes that he likes it, and bursts into a song about his zucchini that is a parody of "Maria".
The popular Nicktoon Rugrats also had a West Side Story homage in 2001, Wash-Dry Story, in which the Rugrats battle with the McNulty babies at a laundromat.
Liverpudlian band The Zutons used West Side Story in their video for Why Won't You Give Me Your Love? in 2006.
In the movie Anger Management, the song "I Feel Pretty" was used in a number of scenes.
In the tv series Family Guy, the episode Saving Private Brian has a reference in the cadence as they run through the forest as well as a choreographed bit in after using the music from the "Mambo."
West Bank Story is an Academy Award-winning comedy/musical short film, directed by Ari Sandel which won Best Live Action Short Film at the 2007 Academy Awards.

References
^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330829/quotes, Feb 6 2007

Answer 2

My favorite to show is Shakespeare in Love, where the writing of R&J is involved in the plot. The more you know about Shakespeare, the funnier the movie is.

I also like to have them compare the Zephirelli (old) version with the Romeo+Juliet (new) one. It makes for some great conversations on how movies have changed over the years.

Answer 3

A Bronx Tale with DeNiro is sort of similar although the love story isn't the main theme of the movie.

Answer 4

How about other modern Shakespeare movies, "10 things I hate about you" and "She is the man.

Answer 5

Someone mentioned Shakespeare in Love, which is good... but there is a nude scene, so preview it first. (There is also nudity in the Zeffirelli).

Answer 6

"Never been kissed" is based on "As you like it"