Film Analysis Of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo And Juliet

In the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo and Juliet he modernised many scenes such as the balcony scene (pool scene), fight scenes and tomb scene. The scenes aren't the only thing that is modernised the costumes and props are also modernised.

How effective is Luhrmann’s film Romeo and Juliet as a modern day appropriation of Shakespeare's play you ask? Baz Luhrmann's appropriation of the original play of “Romeo And Juliet” is highly effective as it is modernized to meet the interests and expectations of a 20th century teenage audience. Throughout the original 16th century play, Shakespeare develops the themes of family rivalry and love. The theme of family rivalry has been implemented into the original play through the conflict between two powerful families in the city of Verona. Throughout his appropriation of the play, Baz Luhrmann successfully preserves the same concept of family rivalry but modernises it by portraying the two families as two large business corporations and brands who are constantly in competition with each other. Shakespeare implements the theme of love through main character Romeo being made to resemble and fulfil the role of a typical "Petrarchan lover". Luhrmann also effectively integrates the theme of love through his successful use of filmic techniques to illustrate the unbreakable love between Romeo and Juliet whose love resembles and portrays the characteristics of a 20th century relationship. Using these modern elements, Luhrmann’s film effectively appeals to the contemporary teenage audience whilst powerfully conveying the themes of family rivalry and love. These adaptations made by Luhrmann in his film create a more comprehensible meaning as teenagers can relate to the film with a

Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet was an accurate representation of the famous Shakespearean play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and was very entertaining for today’s audience. First, this modern version presented the original play in both an appealing and entertaining way for the younger generation. People today are interested in movies that are more romantic yet action packed, and Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet met these preferences. The film included many scenes from the original play that were changed to be action packed and tragic, such as the gunfights between the Capulets and Montagues, which appealed to the younger audience because of their modern day thinking. Because the film was action packed, the audience took an interest

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

The tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet” was originally a play created by William Shakespeare, one of many world famous plays by the same. This play has been converted into its intended style many times in the past, the earliest version in 1968 was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, the latest film in 1996 by Baz Luhrmann. The latter is quite modern and only occassionally uses the words of Shakespeare. On the contrary, the older version was very traditional, and almost completely stuck to the original script. In this essay, I will compare the modern day film to the traditional version of the tragic play, “Romeo and Juliet.

Analysis of a Scene from Luhrmann's Production of Romeo and Juliet It seems interesting at first that Baz Luhrmann should choose to rework Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet into a modern movie. However, when you think about the aims of a modern film-maker such as wanting to really affect the audience and create a series of moving and powerful images shot through with dialogue, then it is less surprising that Romeo and Juliet was Luhrmann's choice. Shakespeare's play is filled with emotion and suspense, so had limitless potential to be made into a great movie. Luhrmann adapted the play for the big screen very effectively, managing to portray the emotion of the film using visual storytelling techniques

The portrayal of adolescence in a film is a relatively new concept, and one that many directors have attempted in their career to varying results. Some directors are able to capture the awkward, bumbling phase of adolescence perfectly. However, there are some representations of teenagers that cause much debate, and can generally leave viewers confused about the director’s intentions. On one hand, a director can undoubtedly celebrate teenage culture through a variety of techniques, however on the other hand they can criticise teenagers and their aimed demographic, in some cases simultaneously, and especially when adapting Shakespeare. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet is an adaptation that has stirred much controversy since its release, and it’s easy to understand why. Critics deemed the film kitsch, tasteless, and even went as far as to dismiss it as “MTV Shakespeare” because of its fast-paced style and blatant advertisement in some of Shakespeare’s most paramount scenes. I thoroughly believe that Baz Luhrmann is attempting to get teenagers interested in Shakespeare by reducing the complex themes of forbidden romance and familial rivalry into a superficial film that contains many aspects of an MTV music video, which can be deemed problematic as it assumes that that is all that teenagers would ever be interested in.

It seems that modern Hollywood filmmakers are as much in love with Shakespeare's plays as were the 16th century audiences who first enjoyed them. Recent updates of Hamlet (1996) and Romeo and Juliet (1996), both highly successful movies, bear this out, as well as the two best film versions of Richard III; Sir Laurence Olivier's 1954 "period piece", and Ian McKellan's more modern interpretation (1995).

“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

In Act I Scene I we are introduced to the play’s antagonist, Tybalt. Perpetrator of the play’s violence and fuel to the conflict, Tybalt is constantly drawn to violence and uses family honour as his reasoning. His malevolence is shown from the onset of the play: “What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death.” Initial impressions of Tybalt include that his character is domineering and antagonistic, vindictive and unscrupulous. The topic of violence and death is the theme of his first few lines. Rather, the word “death” is syntactically placed at the end of the sentence, resonating and leaving a lingering impression. With regards to the context of the original play, status and power are explored within

When the play is looked at in terms of being performed the violence becomes even more prevalent and jarring — further emphasizing the pressure the men of Verona have to be violent. Frequent editorial stage directions explicitly state for fights and deaths to occur on stage. Even a director who aims for a subtle interpretation cannot escape the gruesome impact of the glorification of violence in Verona. Scenes are filled with “Clubs, bills, and partisans!” and calls for “down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!” (1.1.82-84). Even those who do not align themselves with one side or the other cheer on and encourage the fighting. The violence exists as a determinant of power above even the names of the top families in the community. Violence is important to the men in Verona because it gives them an outlet to display and show off their masculinity. Performing these scenes live in a production of the

The portrayal of adolescence in film is a relatively new concept, and one that many directors have attempted in their career to varying results. Some directors are able to capture the awkward, bumbling phase of adolescence perfectly. However, there are some representations of teenagers that cause much debate, and can generally leave viewers confused about the director’s intentions. On one hand, a director can undoubtedly celebrate teenage culture through a variety of techniques, however on the other hand they can criticise teenagers and their aimed demographic, in some cases simultaneously, and especially when adapting Shakespeare. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet is an adaptation that has stirred much controversy since its release,

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.

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

Discuss the appropriation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare and ‘Romeo+Juliet’ by Baz Luhrmann