Baz Luhrmann stopped by the Fox Studios last Tuesday to discuss the release of the Romeo+ Juliet Special Edition DVD, coming this Tuesday, March 19. Mr. Luhrmann answered many questions about his trio of films, which he describes as a ten year journey.

The journey began a little over a decade ago with the release of Strictly Ballroom, an offbeat romance set in the world of competitive dance. The film had a unique, surreal look that has become a Luhrmann trademark. Luhrmann readily accepts comparison to the lush musicals of the thirties and forties. He openly admits that he is “not into naturalism in any way”.

For his next film, he chose to take on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but not as we have seen it before. Set in modern day Miami Beach, the feuding families have become powerful gangs, carrying 9mm swords. Even with the modest success of Strictly Ballroom, Romeo and Juliet was not an easy sell. Baz remembers the pitch as “one of the darkest days of [his] life”. Not completely sold on the idea, Fox allowed Baz to make a low-budget video to give them an idea of what the finished project would look like. This rough run through, along with Baz’s passion and persistence, convinced Fox to go ahead with the project. The film was a hit, and made bankable commodities of both Baz and its star, Leonardo DiCaprio.

For his third film, Baz wanted to delve deeper into the musical genre. He wanted to make a truly spectacular musical. He chose turn of the century Paris, and set his story in the famed Moulin Rouge. This venue lent itself to the theatrical nature of the film, which incidentally is being adapted to the stage. He cast Nicole Kidman as Satine, the tragic heroine, and Ewan MacGregor as her lovesick suitor. While both talented actors, neither had any experience in song and dance. But, as at least two times before, Luhrmann’s gamble on his artistic vision paid off. Moulin Rouge has been the biggest success of Baz’s career thus far and is nominated for eight Academy Awards. Noticably absent from the list of nominations is best director.

As a director, Luhrmann has his hand in every aspect of the film, the set design, the music, the hair and costumes, and even sometimes the story. So it is no surprise that he is equally protective of his films releases on to DVD, helping to design the graphics and choose the material. He is a self-proclaimed “crazed DVD fan”. Whereas video, “reduced the experience” for him, DVD allowed for a “deeper relationship to the film”. The special edition DVD includes deleted scenes, cinematographer’s gallery, interviews with stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Daines, and John Leguizamo, and even excerpts of the rough video that convinced Fox to go ahead with the film. Luhrmann feels that the material adds to a viewer’s appreciation of the film, without taking away the magic or simply elongating the film. He describes the DVD as adding depth to the film, without actually re-editing a longer directors cut. It expands the film “vertically, but not horizontally”.

Now that he has completed his trilogy, Luhrmann doesn’t like to speculate on what will come next. He says that if he gets an idea in his head, he might not get it out for ten years. Right now he is staging an opera in San Francisco, and working on adapting his films to the stage. But it is clear that he has not lost his passion for the silver screen. Toward the end of the afternoon, Luhrmann encouraged his entourage to stop him if he went too far over time, because he knows he “can talk endlessly about anything to do with film”.

On March 19th, 20th Century Fox releases Romeo+Juliet "Special Edition" DVD and Miramax will release Strictly Ballroom on to DVD & Video.  Moulin Rouge "Special Edition" is currently available in stores now.

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