Watching the 1936 Romeo and Juliet feels like walking through a museum

Is it worth your time?

If you like your Shakespeare with a side of 1930s Hollywood scale, you might actually enjoy this. It is a massive, sprawling thing that looks like it cost a small country's GDP to set up.

However, if you struggle with people talking in verse for two hours, skip it. You will probably hate it. It is not exactly what I would call a breezy afternoon watch. 🎭

Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard look like they are carrying the weight of the world. Sometimes that works. Other times, I just wanted someone to crack a smile. They are both quite old for these parts, and you can tell. It gives the whole thing this weirdly mature energy that makes the "star-crossed teenagers" angle feel a bit shaky.

Basil Rathbone as Tybalt is the best thing here. He walks into a room and the air just changes. He is sharp, he is mean, and he actually looks like he knows how to hold a sword. Most of the other nobles just sort of stand around in their velvet tunics looking vaguely annoyed.

Oddly Specific Details

• The sets are huge. Like, distractingly huge. I kept looking at the background to see if the extras were bored.
• The lighting in the balcony scene is so dramatic it is almost funny. It is like they wanted to make sure we knew it was very serious love.
• The sound of the sword clashing feels like it was recorded in a kitchen. It is very metallic.

The pacing is a bit of a slog. There are moments where the dialogue just hangs there, suspended in the air. Sometimes it’s poetic, but often it just feels like the actors are waiting for their turn to speak. It is not as frantic or messy as The Legion of the Condemned, which at least keeps things moving.

I found myself thinking about how much work went into these costumes. Every sleeve has a dozen buttons. It must have been a nightmare to film in the summer. You can practically see the heat radiating off them.

There is this one bit where a minor character is delivering a message and he looks absolutely terrified. Maybe he forgot his lines? I don't know. It felt like a real human moment in a movie that is otherwise very polished and stiff.

It is not a bad movie. It is just… heavy. It takes itself so seriously that it forgets to be human. Still, it is a fascinating piece of history. Like stepping into a time machine that smells like old velvet and dust.