"For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tragic play about two star crossed lovers written by Shakespeare in 1595. The play is a timeless teenage tradgedy. “The play champions the 16th Century belief that true love always strikes at first sight,” (Lamb 1993: Introduction) and even in modern times an audience still want to believe in such a thing as love at first sight. Act II Scene II the balcony scene displays that romantic notion perfectly.
“The most filmed of all plays, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, with its universal themes… remains uniquely adaptable for any time period,” (Botnick, 2002). Directors Franco Zeffirelli (1968) and Baz Luhrman
…show more content…
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.
Zeffirelli used symbols to help capture his audience. Some were subtle, others were meant to get the audiences attention. For example Romeo climbing over the high wall to reach Juliet’s balcony was a subtle symbol showing the heights and challenges he would face for true love, and even the fact the scene was set on a balcony overlooking an orchid which was may have been meant to symbolise the ‘natural love’ or ‘green’ being fresh and inexperienced. Some more prominent symbols were used, such as Juliet’s particular costume in this scene, a symbol
Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film, Romeo + Juliet effectively appropriates the Shakespearean 16th century love tragedy. So why has Luhrmann decided to appropriate Romeo and Juliet? By changing the context, Luhrmann effectively makes the play relevant, discussing his contextual concerns of the 1990’s. This is done through the use of themes in the film, love, family disputes and hate which have remained similar to the original play, although the way they have been presented are different, in particular the form and characters. The form has had an obvious change as the original play has been adapted into a film. Characters in the film have also been appropriated to correspond with Luhrmann's contextual concerns. Hence, Luhrmann successfully appropriates the original Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet by maintaining similar themes, but altering the form and characterisation to fit his contextual concerns.
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.
Zeffirelli and Luhbrmann, both had the task of displaying the story of Romeo and Juliet in a cinematic form. Their adaptations of a
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.
One of the most memorable lines from the film is Romeo’s “Oh I am fortune’s fool,” which is repeated three times after he kills Tybalt. That scene is also very powerful with Romeo kneeling before the large statue of Jesus, covered in blood and rain falling all around him. This makes Romeo appear to be very weak and defenceless. This idea is enforced by Luhrmann’s camera angle. He chose to make a very high camera angle, looking down on Romeo, making him seem even smaller. This gives us the idea that Romeo is being controlled by an above force that has already decided his future. Another example of how Luhrmann develops fate is by having Romeo comment on how alive Juliet gazes before looking away while she moves slightly. When he looks at her again she is still but then he stares up at the ceiling and says his final few words. During his speech Juliet opens her eyes. Just as Romeo swallows the poison Juliet touches his face. When Romeo first sees Juliet after breaking into her tomb in the play, he comments on alive she appears but she is still asleep and does not wake until shortly after his death. After seeing her soul-mate dead, Juliet kills herself. This really emphasises Shakespeare’s idea of fate because Luhrmann shows us that no matter how close Romeo and Juliet were to spending their lives together, they were never going to because fate was never on their
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.
The 1996 film, Romeo and Juliet, is Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of William Shakespeare’s play by the same name. This film is part of Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy where Luhrmann uses a theatre motif in each, with poetry and language being the motif used in Romeo and Juliet. This play was originally written by William Shakespeare who was an English poet, playwright, actor and a man who is considered one of the greatest contributors to English literature as he invented over 1700 now common words and wrote some of the world’s most famous plays. Romeo and Juliet was written in 1595 so Luhrmann had to give the film a contemporary twist but keeps the original themes of forbidden love and young romance to appeal to a modern audience. In the
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.
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 the two cinematic portrayals of the climax, in Act II, scene i, of Romeo & Juliet, the Luhrmann version from 1996 is superior to the Zeffirelli version. When comparing the two one can notice that 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
Romeo and Juliet is a timeless story about two ill-fated lovers. Originally written by, Shakespeare, this story has been adapted by different directors who all commonly try to add their own unique twist to it. Two of the most prevalent adaptations of Romeo and Juliet have been done by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann, who have taken this love story to the big screen. Franco Zeffirelli’s movie, which was produced in 1968, is extremely authentic and stays true to Shakespeare's vision, whereas, Baz Luhrmann’s version produced in 1996, is contemporary and appeals more to younger audiences. There are various differences and a couple of similarities between Zeffirelli’s and Luhrmann’s movie versions such as the costumes, their interpretations of
Another reason I believe Luhrmann's interpretation was better is how he portrayed the nurse. The nurse in the play is a very comical and important character. Her strong bond with Juliet is shown in Luhrmann’s movie but in Zeffirelli's movie the bond seems weaker. Luhrmann I believe does a better job showing that the nurse cares for Juliet. However Luhrmann does cut out nurses more lengthy speech, but I believe it's for the best as the speech in my opinion was more confusing than helpful. The nurse in Zeffirelli's movie cares for Juliet but it didn't seem as sincere, they didn't have the same friendship shown in Luhrmann's. The nurse in the more modern movie I believe showed the relationship better while still keeping the comedy needed. I think
was the first film of Romeo and Juliet. It was produced in 1968 and it
In different adaptations of Romeo and Juliet by Luhrmann and Zeffirelli, they portray different settings that truly alters how the balcony scene illustrated Romeo and Juliet’s infatuation for each other. The balcony scene in Baz Luhrmann’s film takes place at a modern mansion, differentiating from the classic book. Not only does the director spotlight the pool, but also the moonlit night to show the lover’s passion. When the characters jump into the water - without any prior thought - the pool can be seen as the fluidity of their relationship, going from the first meeting to making wedding plans. Meanwhile, the Zeffirelli version shows a setting much more realistic to the time period, thus contradicting Luhrmann's
Some of the most dramatic films inspired by Romeo and Juliet directly used Shakespeare’s sonnets in the films. First of all 1936 brought MGM’s black-and-white Romeo and Juliet produced by Irving G. Thalberg. On the good side, the film was unbelievably luxurious and authentic, spending close to the equivalent of $80 million dollars (Rosenthal 122). Sadly the young lovers could not be accurately portrayed by the well-aged actors of 35 and 43 years (Rosenthal 122). As the 19th century continued, Franco Zeffirelli directed his highly successful 1968 Romeo and Juliet in full color (Zeffirelli, “Romeo and Juliet”). Contradicting the 1938 rendition, “he chose actors almost as young as their characters” with 17-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo and 15-year-old Olivia Hussey as Juliet (Rosenthal 128). Despite the controversial wedding-scene nudity, in addition to some minor changes in Shakespeare’s words, the film was still highly successful (Rosenthal 128). Finally in 1996 came the film William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. Using Shakespeare’s verse in a modern 1990s Miami-like Verona Beach, Baz Luhrmann, the director, stated, “We wanted to look at how Shakespeare would’ve made a movie if he were here today” (qtd. in Rosenthal 130). Luhrmann’s truly stunning couple is played by