Romeo And Juliet Comparative Essay

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.

I will be studying the fight scene where Mercutio and Tybalt die, and comparing, the two film versions of the play, I will find differences and similarities as well as describing how each director / producer interprets and makes their version of the film. I will describe how eight different factors are present in each version of the film:

The elements the filmmakers choose to use in the film, i.e. the music, location, editing techniques and special effects, help tell the story. Zeffirelli uses his elements to ease the viewer from scene to scene, he is employing the Classical Hollywood Filmmaking technique. A smooth flowing pace, where the viewer does not notice the cuts, plus the music assists in the movements within the cuts. Nothing daring is done in his film, he stays true to the historical appearance of the film, uses ideas that have already been exhibited, such as period piece music and historical costumes. The world famous balcony scene (Act II, scene II) is an example, Zeffirelli employs the same blocking that Shakespeare probably intended. This is one of the few times, Zeffirelli interacts with the locations, and his locations is a town within walls, perceived to be a small town, the location is bare and not crowded.

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.

William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, tells the story of the tragic love between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. The play has been reinterpreted throughout time and Baz Luhrmann’s film version, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, uses a modern setting to tell the tale. Luhrmann’s cinematic understanding reinforces the key themes of love, fate and hate as he explores Shakespeare’s famous play.

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.

Romeo and Juliet act three scene one happens on a street in Verona during a scorching hot day. When Benvolio and Mercutio spot the Capulets, Mercutio is provocative and wants to start a quarrel with Tybalt because Tybalt insulted Romeo. Tybalt and Mercutio draw their swords and start the brawl. To try and stop the brawl, Romeo steps between them, but it’s too late, Tybalt impales Mercutio under Romeo's arm and Mercutio dies. To get vengeance over Mercutio's death, Romeo attacks Tybalt and kills him. The rendition of Romeo and Juliet I’m going to discuss first is The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, and second is the 1968 film by Franco Zeffirelli.

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.

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

Comparing the Openings of the Film Versions of Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann

The use of the fire at the petrol station brings in one of the four

On this online encyclopedia, there is a page dedicated to Romeo & Juliet filled with various resources and information; one such source being an essay on Zeffirelli 's and Luhrmann’s version of Romeo & Juliet by Bryan Aubrey. In this essay, Aubrey compares the two films

I am going to compare the two pieces of 'Romeo and Juliet, Act 3 Scene

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

Romeo and Juliet, the famous play written by Shakespeare, is one that even many centuries later is still constantly retold and talked about. It conveys the uplifting story of two lovers who unfortunately were not allowed to be together, due to the ongoing feud between their families. Despite all of the risks and even at the cost of their own lives, they still went against everything that they had ever known and got married. However, shortly afterwards, a fight broke out between the Montague and the Capulet when Tybalt comes to confront Romeo about being at the party. Even when refusing to fight, Mercutio draws his sword and battle rages out, ending up with the death of both Mercutio and Tybalt. Due to how well-known and celebrated the play is, many different versions were made out of it, including the 1968 version by Zeffirelli and the 1996 version by Luhrmann. They both have many differences in the way they present the fighting scene. Nevertheless, due to the symbolism, mood, props, and other characteristics of this version, the 1968 version of the fight between the Montagues and Capulets is the better portrayal of the scene.