The Best Old Movies on a Big Screen This Week: NYC Repertory Cinema Picks, October 12-18
Tromeo & Juliet (1996)
Directed by Lloyd Kaufman
James Gunn (now of Marvel Cinematic Universe fame) was paid $150 dollars for the script of this modern exploitation classic, which both adapts and riffs on Shakespeare. One of the most violent films of the 90s (only surpassed by Peter Jackson’s Braindead and Troma’s own Terror Firmer), it doubles as one of the most loyal adaptations of the play in the history of cinema, going back to the first Romeo and Juliet film in 1900—at least in terms of the words that are said, which are dotted with a bit of profanity (and gore and incest and etcetera) here and there. Any aura of seriousness shatters as soon as Lemmy appears as the narrator… speaking in iambic pentameter. A fun time, for those who can stomach it. Jaime Grijalba (October 15, 2pm at MoMA’s Shakespeare on film series)