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, …show more content…
Judith Buchanan says that the story of Romeo and Juliet seems “narratable, containable, amenable to tidy, newsworthy summing up” . An important word to consider in that argument is the word “newsworthy”, as that is exactly Luhrmann’s intention; to reduce arguably the most well-known Shakespeare play to bite size pieces of teenage drama and an explosion of blatant symbolism. The extreme close ups to signs on police cars, newspaper headlines and shaky camera angles just after that short scene not only enhances Buchanan’s opinion, the urgency of this tale, but also sets the scene for the blatant product placement that is going to occur afterwards. Skyscrapers are also made the main focus of the prologue, which clearly displays the affluent lives of these infamous families with a notorious drive for conflict between them. When analysing the first ten minutes of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, it is easy to see where the comparisons for the MTV style music videos come from. Shots of the Montague boys are shown as the film bursts into life with bright, gaudy colours and close up shots of tattoos and fluorescent pink hair that screams teenage rebellion; something that Luhrmann’s intended audience are most likely to desire at this stage. Emma French supports this by claiming that Shakespeare films rely on “appealing to the ‘teenager as rebel’ stereotype”. The camera angles are used in these aforementioned scenes to develop the backstory between the main
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.
When Juliet hears that the wedding has been moved up to the next day, she drinks the
Lots of music, fast cuts, fantastic cinematography and superb sets and costumes make it the lively tale it was meant to be. These features also make the film somewhat cartoon-like with a lot of heightened realism. Don't expect to see British people prancing around in tights when you rent this one. Luhrmann creates a world where gun-toting youths sport Hawaiian shirts and beachfront brawls are an everyday event.
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic love story about two young lovers who are forced to be estranged as a result of their feuding families. The play is about their struggle to contravene fate and create a future together. As such, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would try and emulate Shakespeare’s masterpiece. This had been done before in many films. Prominent among them were, Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 “Romeo and Juliet” and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.” Both films stay true to the themes of Shakespeare’s original play. However, the modernised Luhrmann film not only maintains the essence of Shakespeare’s writings, Luhrmann makes it relevant to a teenage audience. This is
The film Romeo + Juliet was released in 1996 by director Baz Luhrmann. The director does an exceptional job updating Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” to a more modernized version. This essay will analyze how specific decisions made by Luhrmann created effects such as suspense, drama, mystery, tension and the endless principle of star-crossed love throughout the film.
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.
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
Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet has been reimagined many times across different mediums. One interpretation that stands out among the rest is Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film of the same name. The most shocking and powerful difference between Luhrmann’s work and other films or stage productions of this piece, is the movie’s setting. Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet is set in the modern city of Verona Beach, New York, ruled by two powerful business families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Themes, language, and ideas remain the same, while places, props, and wardrobes are updated to the twentieth century. This compelling change helps emphasize the violent, fast-paced, and chaotic society of the play, which comes to precipitate the tragic demise of the two main characters.
Analysis of the First Scene of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare is a famous play writer from the 1500’s. Most of
Baz Luhrmann, a well known film director, adapted this love story to film in 1996, which is called Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, is a tragedy about two young lovers who cannot be together because their families are enemies. Baz Luhrmann directed 'William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet' recounts the Romeo and Juliet story utilizing Shakespearean Language set as a modern day environment. Not all viewers would recognize the language of Shakespeare so the mise en scene and additionally the performers' developments are essential to ensure that the audience recognizes what is happening inside of the dialog. In this essay, I will talk about whether Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Baz Luhrmann's film updates Shakespeare
There were quite of few differences between William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet play and Baz Luhrmann’s movie based on the play. For example, the ending scene in the movie left out a lot. Paris never showed up at the cemetery to place flowers at Juliet’s tomb. Thus, Paris and Romeo never got in a quarrel that had ended in Paris’s death. Baz Luhrmann probably left out this small part in the movie because Paris wasn’t a major character in the movie. Also at that part in the scene there was already a lot going on, so leaving out that fight between Romeo and Paris wouldn’t have taken a huge toll in that certain scene. In the play that small detail told the readers that Paris’s love was true for Juliet. However by leaving out that part out in the movie it didn’t tell the audience if Paris was actually into the marriage for true love. Also Juliet was awake before Romeo died as well. However he didn’t notice that she was awake quick enough before he had drank the poison. By having Juliet wake before Romeo passed away made that
A classic literature film adaptation made for a teen audience can only succeed with proper casting that embodies the stereotype of the modern day teenager. The success of the adaptation also relies heavily on the on-screen representation of teenagers’ daily activities and values, namely drugs and sex. Clueless, based on the classic novel Emma, and 10 Things I Hate About You, based on Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew, both include a full cast of teenage character stereotypes and a script filled with adolescent debauchery and fornication amidst their classic “high brow” story lines. While the 2013 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet gives the audience none of the elements they desire in a teen film. The audience leaves the movie theater feeling more like they just experienced a high school English class rather than the next big teen film of 2016.
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.
Modern audiences have been reintroduced to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet largely through modern film reinterpretations of the play. Many of these films, most notably Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet and John Madden’s 1998 Shakespeare in Love, have focused on the tragic destiny of these "two star-crossed lovers". Seemingly, it is the destiny of Romeo and Juliet to commit suicide because they are not allowed to love each other. It’s the kind of dramatic story that makes teenage hearts swoon: pure love, passionate love, forbidden love. And while the passionate romance of young Capulet and young Montague is essential to the play, it is by
Romeo and Juliet, a classic play by William Shakespeare, is known to many as a tragedy. But what makes this play tragic? Audiences favor this story because of the emotions evoked from a tale of love that sees two young souls torn apart. However, Romeo and Juliet when under my own definition of tragedy, does not resemble a tragic play. While the death of Mercutio and the deaths of Romeo and Juliet seem tragic, the story does not show one failing when trying to reach their full potential, instead the audience sees a forbidden love and death as a result, which does not demonstrate tragedy. Instead, Romeo and Juliet face flaws from within their families and society, forcing them to stay apart due to conflict. While both Romeo and Juliet try to reach the goal of being together and fail, the flaws of others cause the conflict, not the flaws of themselves. My definition surrounds the idea that the flaws of oneself leads to his or her demise, meaning that the play misses a key characteristic of the definition of tragedy. Both characters seem to die a “tragic death,” however, their death can only be considered sad or upsetting, especially to the audience. This play instead consists of somber scenes that show aspects of a tragedy, but not enough to place this play in a tragic category in the classic definition or in my own definition because the flaws of the main characters do not cause the fall of the characters as they try to reach their full potential. If a character who fell as a