Romeo + Juliet, 30 years on, and still giving us goosebumps

There was Leo. There was Claire Danes. There was that soundtrack. And there was an entire generation of teenage girls and boys who suddenly discovered Shakespeare wasn't quite so boring after all.

It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet first hit our screens in 1996, turning a centuries-old love story into one of the most memorable films of the decade.

Who could forget Leonardo DiCaprio's floppy blonde hair, those Hawaiian shirts, the fish tank scene where Romeo and Juliet first lock eyes, or that unforgettable balcony (well, swimming pool) moment?

And of course, there was the music.

Des'ree's Kissing You, The Cardigans' Lovefool, Garbage's #1 Crush and Radiohead's haunting Talk Show Host. It was the kind of soundtrack you played on repeat, knew every word to and probably still have tucked away somewhere in your music collection.

Luhrmann took Shakespeare's tragedy, dropped it into the colourful, chaotic world of Verona Beach, threw in guns, fast cars, Catholic imagery and some seriously good-looking young actors, and somehow made a 400-year-old story feel like it had been written just for us.

So when William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet Film in Concert made its world premiere at the Sydney Opera House on September 29, there was absolutely no way we were missing it.

And what a night!

Thirty years after its original release, the film returned to the big screen, this time accompanied by a live 12-piece ensemble featuring musicians and vocalists from The Metropolitan Orchestra, performing the soundtrack and score in perfect sync with the action.

Developed in collaboration with Disney Concerts, the sold-out production brought together live music, atmospheric lighting and all the drama and romance that made the original film so unforgettable. And hearing those familiar songs performed live, particularly Kissing You, brought all those memories flooding back.

Watching Leo and Claire fall hopelessly in love all over again, against the magnificent backdrop of the Sydney Opera House, was a lovely reminder of just how much this film meant to so many of us growing up.

Of course, we all knew how the story ended. We knew about the missed messages, the terrible timing and that heartbreaking final scene. But that didn't stop us getting swept up in it all over again.

And perhaps that's the magic of Romeo + Juliet. It wasn't just a film we watched. It was a film we grew up with, fell in love with and never quite forgot.

We had an absolute ball revisiting Verona Beach, and this journo has to admit that 30 years later, Leo still makes her swoon, the soundtrack still gives her goosebumps, and she's still wishing someone had delivered that bloody letter on time!