Product Description

Triumphant winner of 7 Academy Awards(R) -- including Best Picture -- this witty, sexy smash features Oscar(R)-winning Best Actress Gwyneth Paltrow (SLIDING DOORS, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS) and an amazing cast that includes Academy Award-winners Judi Dench (Best Supporting Actress), Geoffrey Rush (Best Actor -- SHINE), and Ben Affleck (GOOD WILL HUNTING, PEARL HARBOR). When Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes -- ELIZABETH) needs passionate inspiration to break a bad case of writer's block, a secret romance with the beautiful Lady Viola (Paltrow) starts the words flowing like never before! There are just two things he'll have to learn about his new love: not only is she promised to marry someone else, but she's successfully impersonating a man in order to play the lead in Will's latest production! A truly can't-miss motion picture event with outstanding critical acclaim to match its impressive collection of major awards -- everyone will love this funny behind-the-scenes look at the writing of the greatest love story ever told!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4833 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-05-03
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: DVD-Video, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen, Collector's Edition
• Original language: English
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.com
One of the most endearing and intelligent romantic comedies of the '90s, the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love is filled with such good will, sunny romance, snappy one-liners, and devilish cleverness that it's absolutely irresistible. With tongue placed firmly in cheek, at its outset the film tracks young Will Shakespeare's overwrought battle with writer's block and the efforts of theater owner Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush, in rare form) to stage Will's latest comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Jokey comedy, though, soon takes a backseat to ravishing romance when the beautiful Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) disguises herself as a young man to wangle herself an audition in the all-male cast, and wins both the part of Romeo and, after much misunderstanding, the playwright's heart. Soon enough, Will's pirate comedy becomes the beautiful, tragic Romeo and Juliet, reflecting the agony and ecstasy of Will and Viola's romance--he's married and she's set to marry the slimy Lord Wessex (Colin Firth) in the near future.

The way that Oscar-winning screenwriters Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard enfold their story within the parameters of Romeo and Juliet (and even Twelfth Night) is nothing short of brilliant--it would take a Shakespearean scholar to dissect the innumerable parallels, oft-quoted lines, plot developments, and thematic borrowings. And most amazingly, Norman and Stoppard haven't forgotten to entertain their audience in addition to riding a Shakespearean roller coaster, with director John Madden (Mrs. Brown) reigning in his huge ensemble with rollicking energy. Along the way there are small gems to be found, including Judi Dench's eight-minute, Oscar-winning turn as a truly regal Queen Elizabeth, but the key element of Shakespeare in Love's success rests on the milky-white shoulders of its two stars. Fiennes, inexplicably overlooked at Oscar time, is a dashing, heartfelt Will, and as for Best Actress winner Paltrow, well, nothing she'd done before could have prepared viewers for how amazing she is here. Breathtakingly beautiful, fiercely intelligent, strong-willed, and lovestruck--it's a performance worthy of Shakespeare in more ways than one. By the film's end, you'll be thoroughly won over--and brushing up your Shakespeare with newfound ardor. --Mark Englehart

Amazon.ca
Lauréat de sept oscars, dont celui du meilleur film et de la meilleure actrice (Gwyneth Paltrow), Shakespeare et Juliette (Shakespeare in Love), de John Madden, possède la fraîcheur et le piquant d’un verre de champagne glacé. Cette comédie romantique, qui joue habilement sur le travestissement, se veut aussi un hommage au théâtre.

Nous sommes en Angleterre, en 1592. Un certain Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) tombe amoureux de la belle Lady Viola (Paltrow). Cela suffit pour lui redonner l’inspiration ; il se met alors à écrire une pièce qui se déroule à Vérone. Déguisée en jeune homme, Lady Viola auditionne pour le rôle masculin et l’obtient. Malheureusement, il est interdit aux femmes de monter sur les planches dans le royaume d’Élizabeth I (Judi Dench)…. Qu’à cela ne tienne ! Roméo se transformera en Juliette et l’amour triomphera de ces mille et uns écueils.

Acclamé à l’unanimité par la critique, Shakespeare et Juliette repose sur un scénario intelligent, plein d’humour et de fantaisie. Certaines répliques ("Qui est-ce ?" "Oh, personne : l’auteur.") réjouiront ceux qui œuvrent dans le milieu du divertissement. Les scènes d’amour flatteront les cœurs tendres. Et puisque nous sommes au théâtre, il y a même un peu de transgression dans cette histoire aux allures de bluette inoffensive. Un film charmant qui séduira tous les publics, à ne rater sous aucun prétexte. --Hélène de Billy