| ROMEO
MUST DIE is the story of fathers and sons, of the
importance of blood, of star-crossed lovers willing to
risk their lives for their love. Two warring families,
one Chinese, one African American, are fighting for
control of the Oakland waterfront. It's an eye for an eye as members of
each gang keep turning up dead--including the son of
Ch'u Sing, the Chinese gang leader, which escalates the
war to epic proportions. Into this fray comes Han Sing
(Jet Li), Ch'u's other son, a cop who has escaped from a
Hong Kong prison where he was serving time for not
arresting his father and brother. Han soon becomes a
little too friendly with Trish O'Day (Aaliyah), the
daughter of Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo), the leader of
the African American gang. The growing romance between
Han and Trish parallels the growing body count.
ROMEO MUST DIE is a fast-paced, hip-hop retelling of the
classic Shakespeare tale. A thumping soundtrack and
wicked special effects--including martial arts battles
in which the fighters virtually fly through the air--add
to the excitement. Jet Li and Aaliyah turn in fine
performances laced with just the right amount of comedy.
Director Andrzej Bartkowiak has a keen visual sense--he
previously served as cinematographer on such films as
THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, SPECIES, and SPEED--that pumps up
such standard fare as car chases, prison breaks, and
even a pickup football game. The film includes an
awesome special effect that reveals a person's skeleton
as he dies--it has to be seen to be believed. Filmed in Vancouver and on location in
California.
Jet Li appeared in Aaliyah's video for "Try
Again."
The soundtrack includes songs by Aaliyah, DMX, Fatboy
Slim, Confidential, Groove Armada, Destiny's Child, the
Crystal Method, and Joe, among others.
There are two versions of the officially released
soundtrack; one is edited because of language.
ROMEO MUST DIE is Jet Li's English-language debut film.
Jet Li said that ROMEO MUST DIE is "essentially
ROMEO AND JULIET with the two warring families being
African American and Chinese….This film has a solid
story and the action sequences come very
naturally."
Russell Wong, who plays Kai, said of Li, "He is
truly the Mikhail Baryshnikov of the martial arts."
The name of Trish's boutique is Serpentine Fire.
ROMEO MUST DIE's special effects team also worked on THE
MATRIX.
ROMEO MUST DIE is Andrzej Bartowiak's feature-film
directing debut and Aaliyah's feature-film acting debut.
Producer Joel Silver said, "Jet has enabled us to
make all of the action in this film completely
authentic, without fooling the audience. All the
fighting, all the stunts and wire work--it's all
Jet."
Li said that the fight scene in the beating room, when
he's suspended upside down, was one of the toughest
scenes to film in his 25-movie career thus far.
Li's Hong Kong choreographer, Corey Yuen, did the
martial arts choreography for ROMEO MUST DIE!! |
- Attractive Retail Box
- Rating:
R (MPAA)
- Rating Reason:
Violence, Some Language and
Brief Nudity.
- Starring:
Aaliyah, Anthony Anderson, Edoardo Ballerini, DMX,
Aaliyah Houghton, Jet Li, Delroy Lindo, Tong Lung,
Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, DB Woodside,
Francoise Yip
- Directed By:
Andrzej Bartkowiak
- Release Information:
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- Theatrical Release Date: March 22,
2000
- DVD Release Date: September 2, 2003
- Run Time: 115 minutes
- Production Company: Warner Home
Video
- Package Type: Snap Case
- Number of Discs/Layers:
Single Side - Dual Layer
- DVD Features:
- Encoding:
Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other
countries.
- Aspect Ratio(s):
- Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1
- Available Audio Tracks:
- English (Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround)
- French (Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround)
- Available Subtitles: English and
French
- Language:
English
- Dubbed:
French (Quebec)
- Closed Captioned:
Yes
- Bonus Features:
- 13 Behind-the-Scenes Documentaries
- 3 Music Videos featuring recording
Star Aaliyah - "Try Again," "Come
Back In One Piece" and "Making Of
Aaliyah's 'Try Again' Video."
- Filmographies
- 2 Theatrical Trailers
- Enhanced Features for your
DVD-ROM PC:
- Interactive "A Martial Arts
Experience" Challenge
- Web Events and Chat-Room Access
- Original Theatrical Web Site
- Sampler Trailers
- Interactive Features:
- Scene Access
- Interactive Menus
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