In Denmark we love John Neumeier's legendary ballet, but in London and New York it is Kenneth MacMillan's version of the love story that is the favourite. The Royal Ballet in London is one of the world's very best ballet companies, and their film version of 'Romeo and Juliet' was shot on location in Italy.

The film is a retelling of one of the world's best love stories, danced to Sergei Prokofiev's original music. Emmy-winning Michael Nunn and William Trevitt are behind the innovative film version.

As members of the warring Capulet and Montague families, Romeo and Juliet should be sworn enemies, but they fall in love and marry in secret. Catastrophic circumstances incite Romeo to kill Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, setting in motion a chain of events that culminates in tragedy. Juliet drinks a potion to avoid her fate, and Romeo, thinking she is dead, subsequently poisons himself. When Julie awakens from her deep sleep, she finds her lover's lifeless body. Desperate, she stabs herself with a knife and follows him to his death. 

The films are introduced by ballet critic and historian Erik Aschengreen