The programme includes a series of interviews with Baz Luhrmann and other key figures in the making of Romeo and Juliet, several of whom have collaborated with him since his students days at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. All played an essential role in creating the distinctive world of Verona Beach. Their words are accompanied by frequent references to designs, storyboards, and clips from the film.

The programme focuses on two scenes: the opening sequence of Romeo and Juliet involving the first confrontation between the Montagues and the Capulets at a service station; and the balcony scene.

We are taken deep into the business of film-making from drawing board to editing. What emerges is neatly expressed by Luhrmann’s Director of Photography on the film, Donald McAlpine, who says: ‘Nothing happens by chance on a movie.’

Those interviewed, in addition to a brief appearance by Baz Luhrmann, are: Craig Pearce (co-Scriptwriter); Catherine Martin (Production Designer); Kym Barratt (Costume Designer); Donald M McAlpine (Director of Photography); and Roger Savage (Dubbing Mixer).

1. The script. The programme examines the challenge the film-makers set themselves to work with the original Shakespearean language, and the choices of location that were made so as to give this 500-year-old play a modern context which reflected some of its essential characteristics.
2. Casting. It was not easy to persuade the actors they wanted for Romeo and Juliet to agree. The programme reveals the way Leonardo diCaprio had to be wooed, and the difficulties of persuading the studio, Twentieth Century Fox, to accept Claire Danes in her first film lead.
3. Costumes. The programme looks at the work of Romeo and Juliet’s costume designer Kym Barratt. She demonstrates some of the planning that went into creating the right look for specific characters, and explores the reasoning behind the fancy dress chosen for the romantic leads in the Capulet ball scene.
4. Shooting on location. The programme examines the use of a service station in Mexico City for the opening scene of the film.
5. Filming a scene. Staying with the same scene, the programme explores the dramatic effect that variations in the framing and movement of the camera can have on an audience. It also looks at the range of choices open to the film editor Jill Bilcock who was finally responsible for working the raw film into a coherent narrative that reflects Baz Luhrmann’s vision of the fight.
6. Style. Not only was the setting for this version of Romeo and Juliet unconventional, but the look of the film was often dictated by specific film references. The fight scene is shown to have been inspired by a Sergio Leone spaghetti western. The programme also considers the portrayal of Tybalt.
7. Attention to detail. The programme looks at the importance the Production Designer Catherine Martin and Costume Designer Kym Barrett placed on creating as complete a vision as possible of the invented world of Verona Beach. In particular, it looks at the design of the guns and the crucial messages they conveyed about the rival gangs.
8. The sound. The programme examines the complex business of creating a soundtrack for a film, and how sound was used in an exaggerated fashion which reflected the occasionally flashy style of the opening fight sequence.
9. The balcony scene. We focus on what is probably the most famous moment in the play. The programme asks how the film-makers managed to come up with a new way of depicting the scene.