Romeo and Juliet / West Side Story - A Comparison / Contrast

A Comparison of Scenes From West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet Cinematography The scene before the meeting scene in West Side Story Maria spins around in her dress the camera then carries on spinning which creates a colourful blurred effect on the screen. The effect makes her look like she is almost spinning into the next scene. When Tony and Maria meet, all the other characters that were dancing, slow down and fade behind Tony and Maria. The room becomes dark and there is a spotlight on Maria and Tony.

     Now how about some similarities. My first similarity is in both versions how the people carried around weapons. In the old one the people of Verona carried swords. In the modern version of the play the people of Verona carried handguns. Two different weapons, but they were used in the same fashion in both versions of the play. Another likeness is Paris didn’t bite the dust in any of the versions. He is only in a few scenes. He’s not even in the last scene where he was supposed to meet his maker. While on the subject of death, Lady Montague does not die in either version. She is seen exiting the final scene in both versions. She doesn’t even have a big role in the story. My next similarity is the

Comparing Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story In this piece of coursework I will be analysing the technical aspects of the opening scenes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. I will be talking about the body language, costumes, colour schemes, the sounds, music and camera angles used in each of the films. Both these films are about two lovers who fall in love despite being in rival gangs or families, which eventually leads to both lovers from both the films to being killed or committing suicide.

Romeo and Juliet is a story based on conflict. The conflict in the story is Capulet against Montague. From ancient times, the two families have held grudges against each other. As the book states. “Two households, alike in dignity...from ancient grudge break to new mutiny. Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean (1.Prologue.1-4).” The grudge between the two families has led to fighting and even death.

Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story share many similar themes. Romeo and Juliet both chronicle a story of overcoming prejudice and hatred, forbidden love, and defying stereotypes that nobody thought could be broken. The two stories are similar in a multitude of ways, even though their settings are centuries apart- Romeo and Juliet set in the 1500’s, and West Side Story set in the 1950’s. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both teach a lesson of how prejudice can teach you how to hate, and how one of your rivals may be the one who helps you remember how to love.

One of the major differences is that Maria doesn't die, she is left alone. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet kills herself after she finds that Romeo has perished. Another major difference is that in Romeo and Juliet Romeo kills Paris who is supposed to marry Juliet then himself when he thinks that Juliet is dead. In West Side Story, Tony is killed by Chino (the equivalent of Paris) . Romeo and Juliet has a stronger sense of love and irony.

Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are both iconic, enjoyable stories that most people have heard of. Romeo and Juliet was written much earlier than West Side Story was, however it was still based on older Italian stories. These stories can teach us a lot about our daily lives and how we live them. In order to do this though, we have to make other comparisons throughout the story first. So, let’s dive in and analyze the differences between the stories, their origins, and their authors.

Lastly, the plot of the two stories are greatly different. This again is also in order for the target audiences to better understand. The plot of the West Side Story is much more complex than that of the Gnomeo and Juliet, In the plot of the West Side Story we see death, Violence and loveloss. These are all components that make a a novel appealing to a more mature audience. These are ideas that are advanced beyond what most children can comprehend but this is also the same thing that makes the novel so effective to carrying a message to a older audience.

     What would Romeo and Juliet be like if Juliet hadn't died? What if Paris killed Romeo, instead of vice versa? What if instead of occurring several centuries ago, it took place on the streets of New York City during the 1950s, with a bunch of fresh-faced youths posing as street toughs and dancing and singing their hearts out? Well, just take a look at West Side Story, and you will have your answers. It is impossible for anyone familiar with both texts to not note the obvious major similarities between the two plays. From the opening scenes in both, up through the rumble in West Side Story/death of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, the plays mirror each other (Poelstra).

Romeo and Juliet is a very well known book that is loved by many. There numerous movies done on Romeo and Juliet like Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 version and Gnomeo and Juliet. There are many apparent differences like using guns instead of swords and using gnomes instead of people. Although there are many similarities, the differences between Luhrmann’s movie and Gnomeo and Juliet compared to the play Romeo and Juliet are evident. The similarities between the movie and the play only go down to the plot and language.

The first tragic similarity in Romeo and Juliet and To Kill A Mockingbird is they both have conflicts. For example, the conflict of the Capulets and the Montagues is stated at the very beginning of the play. These two families are of equal

Three Hundred Fifty Years of Blind Love: A Contraposition of Shakespeare and Robbins’ Romeo and Juliet Andy Warhol once said, "They say that time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself." Two hundred fifty years passed between the original Romeo and Juliet and the premiere of West Side Story on Broadway in 1957. However, time did not change the message of the story, simply the creators’ unique visions evolved. Shakespeare’s delivery of the timeless tale of desperate love in his classic Romeo and Juliet proves to only intensify through retelling and modern interpretation. Audiences cherish Romeo and Juliet as one of the most beloved plays of all time from the Elizabethan Age to the present.

West Side Story is the iconic American musical that is a 1957 Broadway production choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Arthur Laurents is the author of the original book with the setting taking place in the upper west side New York city in a blue-collar neighborhood during the mid-1950s. (The Broadway) Because West Side Story is a movie musical, it will be a lot of narrative conveyed through the song. The movie West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet have many similarities and differences consider their plot, their character and their setting. The major plot of the musical is about a rivalry between two different ethnic group gangs, the Sharks and Jets. The Sharks are Puerto Rican and the Jets are white. Leonard Bernstein composed the dynamic and influential music. In the mix of the conflict between the two gangs, a former member of the Jets, Tony, falls in love with the leader of the Sharks sister, Maria. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet clearly influenced this movie, and there are parallel characteristics. For instance, Romeo and Tony, Juliet and Maria, Mercutio and Riff, Tybalt and Bernardo all have similar characteristics. As for the specific film, I decided to watch the 1961 version.

Although the discrepancies between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are too frequent to categorize in such limited space, it is impossible for anyone familiar with both texts to not notice the obvious similarities between the two works ("Theme").  From the opening scenes in both, up through the rumble in West Side Story/death of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, the plays mirror each other (Poelstra).  It isn't until the last part of West Side Story, where Tony (our modern-day Romeo) dies and Maria (Tony's Juliet) doesn't (unlike the two star-crossed lovers of Shakespeare's work, both of whom perish), that the major difference between the two works becomes apparent.

In the modern version, the only different character was a kidnaper. What was also different was that it don’t have all the important characters, like Benvolio, Tybalt, and Mercutio and much more. But they did have similarities. The character they both had was, of course, Romeo and Juliet and Lord Capulet and Lord Montague.