I’ve never made any secret about my devotion to Shakespeare in Love. I think it quite rightly won the Academy Award for Best Picture, beating out Saving Private and Life as Beautiful. The only film I would have been okay with beating it would have been Terrence Malick’s beautiful Thin Red Line.

But because it came out of nowhere and beat out a popular favorite in Saving Private Ryan, people seem to discount it for some reason.

You shouldn’t. You should check it out once more.

Everything about this film is a 10. The script is a finely tuned swiss watch, carefully taking you from scene to scene, increasing the stakes with every moment and offering a wonderful and heartbreaking and romantic story. For Shakespeare geeks, the way it weaves in nods to Shakespeares work (particularly Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night) is a master stroke. The acting is second to none. This, not Iron Man, is the film that made me fall in love with Gwyneth Paltrow. Joseph Fiennes (little brother to Ralph) is absolutely brilliant as young Will Shakespeare, and the supporting performers (including Tom Wilkinson, Geoffrey Rush, Judi Dench, and Ben Affleck, among others) are stunningly perfect… The music is wonderful, the cinematography brings you to the place. Above all, it’s funny and warm.

It’s a cinema geek’s dream.

With the release of the new Blu-ray clocking in at less than $10, I’m hoping that some of you will revisit this film and give it another chance. Let go of all the baggage from it beating Saving Private Ryan. And it looks and sounds fantastic in this format.

If you’re a cinema geek, I really think you’ll find a lot to love in revisiting this film. It easily rates on my top 10 list (not counting the 10 movies that comprise the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises). It’s a movie I revisit often and will continue to do so. It’s timeless, getting better with age and repeated viewings.

And while you’re revisiting it, you simply HAVE to (re)watch George Lucas in Love. It marries the creation of Star Wars to the plot of Shakespeare in Love. It’s one of the best fan films out there.