The Movie: The following is from my journal update from February 1999, which was written right after I saw Shakespeare in Love at the movie theater:

This film was great. It's a fictional story about William Shakespeare meeting an out of reach woman who later becomes the inspiration for Juliet.

The story is very engaging and the acting is convincing. Also, if you have even the slightest interest in theatre (and the history of theatre), this movie is great, because it gives you a good idea of how things were back in the day. I especially liked the scene where all the actors went over to a tavern after a rehearsal and drank beer and just relaxed and were rowdy. I liked it because that exact thing is still going on today in bars all across America that are situated near theatres.

I also thought the EDITING was really great, and you'll see what I mean, especially if you have some knowledge of Shakespeare... even if all it is was you read Romeo and Juliet in high school, that would be enough.

It's entertaining, and it is one of those films that dances on that thin line of the "chick flick" without any chick flick cheeziness. Unless you are a total cultural numbnuts and never read Shakespeare before.

The DVD: I've read that this was Buena Vista's first anamorphic widescreen DVD release, and what a beauty it is! Clean, crisp and clear, with fantastic color. Given that this is a dialog-driven story set in the 16th century, you won't find a whole lot of surround effects, but for what it is, the audio is just fine.

Special features consist of a theatrical trailer (1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen), and Shakespeare Facts -- a text based listing of some facts about Shakespeare, and also the true life stories of some of the other characters in the movie.