A Comparison of the Two Film Versions of Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been modified numerous times and has been a source of inspiration for many playwrights and directors. Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann are examples of directors that use Shakespeare’s legendary tragedy as a basis for their films.

A Comparison of Scenes From West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet Cinematography The scene before the meeting scene in West Side Story Maria spins around in her dress the camera then carries on spinning which creates a colourful blurred effect on the screen. The effect makes her look like she is almost spinning into the next scene. When Tony and Maria meet, all the other characters that were dancing, slow down and fade behind Tony and Maria. The room becomes dark and there is a spotlight on Maria and Tony.

     There are many similarities and differences between the sixties version of Romeo and Juliet and the modern version of Romeo and Juliet. It is very easy to spot these differences considering the time period each movie was set in. There are some things in the play that totally got cut from both movies. There are also some things that they added to the movies that weren’t in the play. Let us get on to the similarities and differences.

Ever wondered who produced a “Romeo and Juliet,” movie or play, other than Shakespeare himself? If you didn’t well it’s time you do. Franco Zeffirelli is both an Italian producer and director. Zeffirelli was born February 12, 1923 in Florence, Italy. Baz Luhrmann, another producer and director, also produced a movie of “Romeo and Juliet”. Luhrmann’s version took place in modern time, when the Zeffirelli version was closer to the plot of the book. This is why the Zeffirelli does an exceptional job in retelling the tragedy.

In order to compare and contrast the play to the movie,first I will discuss the play .In the play there is a character named Romeo.Lovely Romeo wanted to marry Juliet and stay with her in Verona,Italy.But

Romeo and Juliet is a timeless, classic love story written by the incomparable William Shakespeare. Many of Shakespeare’s works are considered literary classics, but none are more loved than Romeo and Juliet. This play masterfully tells the love story of two teenagers in Elizabethan England. The title characters Romeo and Juliet are members of two feuding families, Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. There are different stylistic ways of portraying Romeo and Juliet, and the two most popular film versions portray two very different styles of this one play. Zeferelli's Romeo and Juliet was made in the 1970s, and is the film version most commonly shown in high school classrooms. The newest film version of this play is Baz Luhrmanns

Of all the treasures in the world, true love is of the most valued. They say that when you are truly in love, the universe around you simply stops, and no one else matters except you and your love. Love has the mesmerizing beauty of a stunning red rose, but it also has spiteful thorns surrounding it. But between friends and family, love can quickly go from black and white to shades of grey and can become fatal and suspenseful.

The time period of the play and the time period of the movie are very different. In the movie, the prologue was on a T.V. screen and it was not in the play. Also in the movie, they used cars instead of horses to get around. In the movie, Romeo and his friends always smoked and would take drugs and they did not do that in the play. In the play, the different families owned castles and in the movie they own different businesses and buildings. They also had guns instead of swords in the movie. Also in the movie, they dressed more modern than they would have in the play.

In Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet, is a traditional adaptation of Shakespeare’s original Romeo and Juliet, with some variations. Baz Luhrmann directed the 1996 version, also known as the MTV Romeo † Juliet. This version is very modernized, but keeps the language intact with few changes.

exact to what we read in the book. Romeo sees what he perceives to be

was the first film of Romeo and Juliet. It was produced in 1968 and it

The scene that was most different between the play and the movie of Romeo and Juliet was how the two crossed lovers first met each other. In the play Romeo and the Montague boys find out about the Capulet party through a poor peasant who could not read the invitations. While in the movie the Capulet party is announced through a newscast over T.V. I think the director changed this so the invite can go more along with the time period of the movie. This could change how the viewers see it by making the invite less secret. Over a newscast anyone who was paying attention to the T.V. could of heard the invite. Another main difference in this scene would be Romeo and Juliet first seeing each other in the bathroom across a fish tank rather than across the ballroom in the play. This could take away from the romantic side of the two first seeing each other. In the play it seems Romeo and Juliet have more privacy when they first speak to each other. In the movie the two are getting on and off an elevator just not to be seen. This could add more suspense to the scene and make the viewers see the movie from a lofty viewpoint.

“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?” These are words spoken by Juliet in both versions of the movie Romeo and Juliet produced by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968 and Baz Luhrmann in 1996. Both, the masquerade ball and the balcony scene, portray the characters of Romeo and Juliet very different as well as the overall production of the adapted versions of the play The masquerade ball between the two versions of the movie is portrayed differently. The differences were in the production, acting and the wardrobe. For instance, one difference was that in the original version was that Romeo danced with Juliet.

There are many differences between the scenes in the play and in the movie. In the movie, Romeo had jumped out of the car and then ran back to Juliet’s balcony where he climbed on the garden trellis to listen for Juliet. Romeo and Juliet end up in the pool hiding from the watch guard which had came to check on Juliet because of the weird movement on the cameras. In contrast, in the play there was no mention of a pool and Juliet had warned Romeo that if he was caught by the watchmen he would be a dead man, but a watchman never went to check on Juliet. When Juliet had gave her ring to the Nurse to give to Romeo, Romeo had put it on a necklace and wore it under his clothing.

Though the 1977 version of “Romeo And Juliet” is decent, the original had qualities that the modernized version did not. There was so much more of a connection between Romeo and Juliet in the original, however the modernized version did show Shakespeare justice. The 1997 movie version is an effective version of Shakespeare’s original play “Romeo And Juliet” because all of Shakespeare's most valuable points are made such as; it showed exactly what they were feeling, we can relate to their problems, and the actors showed what the characters were willing to do for love.. The actors show the intense emotion of Shakespeare's literature.