13, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Two words: Leonardo DiCaprio. This 1996 film from creative genius Baz Luhrmann made our teenage hearts skip about a billion beats back when the film first came out nearly 20 years ago. And even now we can’t help but smirk when we first lay eyes on Romeo. Sigh. This remake is set in modern day Verona but uses only the original Shakespearean dialogue, so it’s a fun combo of old and new. But above all, this movie is about love, and when Romeo and Juliet first meet there is no denying that they are head-over-heals swooning for one another. We all know how this story of star-crossed-lovers ends (badly) and yet, you still hope that maybe they’ll end up happily ever after. It’s a story of first love…and possibly one of the greatest love stories we’ve ever known.
