Comparing Zeferelli's Adaptation Of Romeo And Juliet

A Comparison of the Fight Scene in Act 3 of Shakespeare's Play ‘Romeo and Juliet' in the Film Version by Zeffirelli (1968) and Lurhmann (1997)

Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo and Juliet has adapted different film techniques in the first scene and final death scene using different methods whilst still holding on to the original Shakespearean mixture of love, hate, excitement, foreboding and passion (Marked by Teachers, 2012 ). Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo and Juliet has a very dramatic opening because we see a new modernistic beginning in comparison with William Shakespeare’s play. The types of filmic devices that were used in the film were all very different. This essay will aim to discuss how Baz Lurhmann captured the original story and combined it with a contemporary location and style, with the use of a great number of filmic devices in his 1996 production of Romeo and Juliet.

Luhrmann’s variation of the film is more suited to a teenage audience than Zeffirelli’s due to the vibrant settings and modern sets utilised throughout the film. Several of these sets include the beach, high rise buildings and petrol stations. These factors are used to tempt a younger audience. Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, however takes place in a medieval Italian city. Although the original play was based and performed in this location, teenage viewers cannot relate to the surroundings, hence making it difficult to understand or appreciate the plot.

Baz Lurhmann’s creation of the film Romeo and Juliet has shown that today’s audience can still understand and appreciate William Shakespeare. Typically, when a modern audience think of Shakespeare, they immediately think it will be boring, yet Lurhmann successfully rejuvenates Romeo and Juliet. In his film production he uses a number of different cinematic techniques, costumes and a formidably enjoyable soundtrack; yet changes not one word from Shakespeare’s original play, thus making it appeal to a modern audience.

Comparison of the Opening Sequences of Two Different Versions of Romeo and Juilet The objective of this essay is to compare two different film adaptations of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juilet. Franco Zefferelli directed the first rendition of this play in 1968. This was the more conventional, traditional version of the play. It was slow, peaceful, and in my opinion, how Shakespeare would've wanted it.

Act III, scene i of Romeo & Juliet is the climax of the story, in which two fights are portrayed, one between Mercutio and Tybalt, and one between Romeo and Tybalt, which lead to the deaths of both Mercutio and Tybalt. When portrayed in film form in Zeffirelli’s 1968 version, and Luhrmann’s 1996 version, there are many differences, and similarities. While these two films are telling the same story, it is the differences between the two that lead to Luhrmann’s 1996 version being superior. Due to its more dramatic settings, and character interactions and actor portrayals.

The film and the play, Romeo and Juliet is an ever grey due to tragic over tones play which draws undivided attention of Shakespeare’s writing even during this modern era. The 1996 version, Baz Lurhmann adopted the storyline to reflect the revealing trend of dispute between two feuding families. A film which shows a detailed study of the play of the immensely popular 1996 version directed by Baz Lurhmann.

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

Luhrman has based his version at Verona Beach; America and instead of basing it in the 16th century like Zeffirelli, he had his film based in the 20th century, with mansions, shiny cars and bright lights. While Zeffirelli paced his film in an Iambic pentameter – a traditional Shakespeare pace; Luhrman never kept his film at a solid pace. “By modernizing these aspects of the play, and reconstructing the prologue, Luhrmann creates a movie that is more interesting to the modern viewers.” ("Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet." 123HelpMe.com). As Zeffirelli may have believed famous actors would steal his show he instead hired fresh new faces to give the movie a more fresh, innocence value, But Luhrman used well known actors to play the lead roles. This worked because more people were attracted to the film by the actors.

This director’s choice shows that both directors cherished and respected Shakespeare's written text. In Zeffirelli’s film, the dialogue fits in with the other aspects of the film, such as the costumes and set. since everything is traditional, but what is interesting is that the actors manage to sound very natural and comfortable with the dialogue. They managed to convey strong emotion with help of the text and entirely transformed into the characters. Since, Zefferelli's version both includes the traditional sets, costumes, and language it makes it easy for the audience to understand the original play, the film is straightforward and does not contradict the original play, making the film a credible resort for those who want to have a better understanding of the story. Unlike Zeffirelli’s version, Luhrmann’s costumes and set do not suit the dialogue, making the Shakespearean dialogue in his version both strange to watch and hear, another odd aspect is that at times the characters did not precisely mean what they were saying, for instance, when a character was talking about their sword, they were actually talking about their guns named sword, consequently, this made the dialogue confusing to follow at times. Nevertheless, the actors in both films managed to execute an admirable performance and did Shakespeare's text

In the different film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zefirelli best conveys an emotional impact through the set design, blocking, and other theatrical elements. Zefirelli also chooses to have the film in the fourteenth century so that Shakespeare’s diction is comprehensible. From this, Zeffirelli adaptation is best conveys the romantic impact Shakespeare intends to emphasize.

Comparing Zefferelli's Production of Romeo and Juliet with Luhrman Production In this essay I am going to write how the production of Romeo In Franco Zeffirelli's production of Romeo and Juliet, the setting and language are of a traditional, realistic nature. This is in complete contrast to Baz Luhrmans production, with the exception of the language used in both productions. Zefferelli's production however is far more effective, as he has tried to keep the film close to the original script and intended exactly how Shakespeare wrote it.

In each film, the first scene is a fight between multiple side characters of the Montague and Capulet family. In summary, there are multiple similarities between the 1968 Zeffirelli and 1997 Luhrmann version of Romeo

Romeo and Juliet is a play written by Shakespeare which tells of a tragic story between two star crossed lovers. Both Luhrmann and Zeffirelli filmed movies of this play, giving life to Shakespeare’s words. Luhrmann’s movie of Romeo and Juliet is set in modern times of California while Zeffirelli’s movie is based on the 1500’s of Verona, Italy. Though Luhrmann’s version is great cinema with dramatic scenes and emotional actors, it did not do justice to the play. Zeffirelli’s movie was almost exactly accurate to the original play write. Out of the two Romeo and Juliet movies, the ending of Zeffirelli’s is the most accurate because of it’s setting, inclusion of characters and emotions.

Comparing The Opening Shots in Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli's Versions of Romeo and Juliet