The problems faced by a modern director of
Shakespeare Media Assignment: Romeo and Juliet
In the film "Romeo and Juliet", Baz Luhrman said that he was trying to recreate the impact of the original Elizabethan production for a modern mass audience. I am trying to find out the challenges he faced and how he solved them and say how successful he was in making the script work for a modern audience.
The problems faced by a modern director of "Romeo and Juliet"
Shakespeare's original audience and theatre and the style and drama
Shakespeare's original audience was made up of the whole social range. At one end of the social scale were the working people. These were known as the groundlings because they were poor. They paid less and so they had to stand up throughout the whole performance. Richer people were seated on galleries and also on the balcony. The Queen at that time (Queen Elizabeth I) also went to the theatre. The style of drama at that time would seem boring to a modern audience such as: the clothing, setting, sound, props. In those days the audience wanted action, this was shown at the beginning, also in act 3 scene 1 (between Romeo and Paris), the audience wanted high drama, violence and also comedy. The comedy that Shakespeare included in his play was quite rude e.g. act 1 scene 1 "maidenheads" also Mercutio was being sexually rude "knockabout", also the servants in act 1 scene 5 doing verbal wordplay such as the word "puns" was included. In those days this comedy was funny but now it is not known about and does not seem funny to us. The audience wanted romance which Shakespeare included through Romeo and Juliet and the passion created between them. The audience wanted blood, murder, bodies and the people who were murdered were Tybalt by Romeo, Paris by Romeo, Romeo and Juliet. In those days all actors were men, there was no scenery or lighting and if people in these days watched it then they would have been bored.
Baz Luhrman on the other hand wanted to set Shakespeare's plays back on screen and this only would work if he changed the setting, props, clothing and also make the language understandable to a modern audience. First of all he did not include the fight between Romeo and Paris and made then as if they never met each other. He changed the setting when it should be the balcony scene which should be set on a balcony was changed to be set in a pool. Also Baz Luhrman changed act 3 scene 1 to be set at Sycamore Grove. The props were changed by the swords being guns and the movement was acted as if it was swords. The clothing was changed from have old fashioned long clothing to t-shirts and shirts and cowboy clothes and trousers. Shakespeare's plays were only acted out by men but now women are allowed to take part and so Baz Luhrman put women in is well, He did this because if a man was acting as Juliet then they would have to change the romance scenes because the modern society think it is horrible and funny and Baz Luhrman does not want this because then the audience will not be able to concentrate on the film. The play was set in Verona and so Baz Luhrman made the play set in Verona, there was a feud between two powerful families which Baz Luhrman adapted and made them quarrel because of businesses.
Language barrier and the beginning
For Baz Luhrman to introduce the language to the audience he needed to add something modern and change the language a bit so the audience get used to it. Instead of having someone standing in front of the theatre reading the prologue instead Baz Luhrman put in a TV which had the news on and the person shown on the TV was saying the prologue. The newsreader then fades out and there are empires, belonging to the Capulets and Montagues. This is meant to show the reason for the Montagues and Capulets rivalry is down to the business empires, belonging to the two families. Then big writing comes up and is described below and newspaper headlines such as "Montague Vs Capulet", "Ancient Grudge", "New Mutiny", "Civil Blood Makes Civil Hands Unclean" are put in front of the screen and then magazines are shown with their faces on the front page. The big writing I mentioned are important phrases picked out from the prologue such as "two star crossed lovers take their life." The beginning of the film had a fast and furious opening which made it more dramatic. The beginning is set at a petrol station which tells us it is modern. I think that because the language was introduced to us in this way anyone can watch it and gradually will be able to understand the language.
Modern attitudes to Shakespeare: Theatre & cinema audiences compared.
In the theatre people used to think it is a "rowdy" day out. Going to the theatre wasn't very comfortable in those days because a lot of people had to stand the whole way through the play, and wouldn't have been able to sit quietly and watch the play like we do in cinemas. People didn't take plays to seriously and would have talked through the play and even sometimes shouted at the actors. With a play like Romeo and Juliet there could have been audience participation ...
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Modern attitudes to Shakespeare: Theatre & cinema audiences compared.
In the theatre people used to think it is a "rowdy" day out. Going to the theatre wasn't very comfortable in those days because a lot of people had to stand the whole way through the play, and wouldn't have been able to sit quietly and watch the play like we do in cinemas. People didn't take plays to seriously and would have talked through the play and even sometimes shouted at the actors. With a play like Romeo and Juliet there could have been audience participation too. People might have hissed at Tybalt, or cheered or laughed when Romeo kisses Juliet because even Juliet was played by men too. The actors would have talked through the play about something else. In cinemas the audience would sit quietly and watched the film, not be so noisy, no audience participation and also it would have scenery and lighting. When Romeo and Juliet was first performed they didn't have any backdrops or fancy sets. Instead Shakespeare had to tell people where each scene was set by mentioning it in the dialogue. The plays were always performed in the afternoon, so characters also had to explain if a scene was supposed to be happening at night. It wasn't so bad because the theatre was painted with colourful patterns, actors wore elaborate costumes, carried swords for the fight scenes. There were different doors for people to come in and go out of, and even a balcony along the back of the stage for the balcony scene.
In cinemas you don't have to stand up and also there are no places where u pay more to get a good place (although in some cinemas the more you pay the more nearer you are to the screen) or vice- versa.
How Baz Luhrman solved problems
First of all Baz Luhrman needed a modern setting to make the plot and the characters work. He chose Verona Beach city as his setting of the play and this really worked because the real play was set in Verona. Sycamore Grove is the beach where they set act 3 scene 1 when Benvolio is killed and this scene changes the whole play into a different direction. The feuding families are shown by their businesses side by side, newspaper headlines and also empires. They are also shown by culture because Romeos family is white and Tybalts family are Latin (Latino.) The drug culture was set in a modern day because now drugs are not available in shops and you have to get them from a drug dealer. In the Elizabethan times you could just buy drugs from a shop. The design of the costumes was made so it was set in a modern world and the clothes which Baz Luhrman used do not really show that they are rich. The clothes suggest to us that they are ordinary people, but Baz Luhrman has used modern clothes because the whole idea of the play was to bring Romeo and Juliet back into the modern world and if he had used old clothes then Romeo and Juliet would not have been a success for Baz Luhrman because he never achieved his aim. Cars are put in the film because in the olden days there were no cars and so Baz Luhrman put cars in the film to tell the audience that this is not an old film and that's why there are cars at the beginning when the play actually starts after the prologue. The guns worked really well because nowadays you don't see swords on T.V and if Baz Luhrman had used swords then he would not have achieved his aim. Also in the play Shakespeare uses words like sword and so on the gun the label says either sword or dagger to show that Baz Luhrman has not changed a whole chunk of the play because there are a number of scenes where weapon are used. The guns are modern but also Baz Luhrman has made the actors use the gun as a sword with different moves and also we believe that Tybalt had gone to a school where they leant how to use a sword. The posters were made so the viewers get to know the reason why the two families fight with each other and the posters look to me as if they are business posters. In the olden days they would not have used posters because posters came out later. The religious images and the church are included in the play because the church had a big influence in the 16th century. Everybody had to go on Sundays or they paid a fine. No-one could get married anywhere else except the church and so Baz Luhrman set the marriage in a church. The friar is an important character in the play because he is the one who get Romeo and Juliet married, he gives a drink to Juliet for her to be dead for 20 hours and come back alive again, but this is when everything goes wrong because the friar send a letter to Romeo (modern) and then he does not get it and so Romeo gets the message that Juliet is dead and so he goes to the church and poisons himself and then at that moment Juliet wakes up and Romeo dies and Juliet kills herself. In the real play Juliet uses a dagger and stabs herself but in the film she shoots herself. The images of religion included in the film are Jesus on stained glass windows and the cross in the church. Also Jesus is shown in the empires at the beginning where the Capulets Empire and the Montagues Empire are shown being separated from each other by Jesus. Baz Luhrman has put a Jesus image on Tybalt's t-shirt and also on the guns there are images of Jesus.
Baz Luhrman uses familiar modern genres/styles to orientate the audience by using: car chases, this was because a car chase always happens if someone is really mad and in the film Romeo is gone angry because of Benvolio's death. In the play in the olden days this would have a sword fight where Romeo chases Tybalt and finally kills him. He has done this because he wanted to make the film more dramatic, modern and also interesting because if it was a sword chase when Romeo wants to kill Tybalt then it will be boring. Teen romance is used in the play because now in the modern days teenagers do have a girlfriend or boyfriend and in the olden days this would have been against the laws of the church because no one is allowed to kiss or sleep together before marriage. In the film they do kiss before marriage but the sleep after marriage. In the olden days they wouldn't have been allowed to meet each other as much as Romeo and Juliet did in Baz Luhrman's version. The music is quite modern including modern instruments. It is fast music when the both families meet but when Romeo and Juliet meet or in the church it is quiet and slow music. Baz Luhrman has used music to get the mood right and also to make it more dramatic. He breaks the language barrier by opening sequences at the beginning from the prologue. This introduces the viewer to the language and tells them what it is about. Baz Luhrman did this so that the film doesn't go straight on to it but it introduces the language, story, characters. Headlines repetition is also used to get the viewer to know the story and what has happened in the past. Baz Luhrman has done this very well because the newspaper headlines are fast and so this gives the impression to the viewer that there is a fight everyday or frequently between the two families. There is a lot of action compared with dialogue, Baz Luhrman uses action to move the story forward which makes the film more dramatic, interesting to watch and also making the viewers wanting to know what happens next. Baz Luhrman also cuts lines to leave important lines in because Romeo kills Paris in the play but in the film that bit of the play is cut off because Baz Luhrman finds that bit of the play unimportant. To emphasize the meaning of the words at the beginning Baz Luhrman does close ups on the words so that the meaning is more effective. For example if Baz Luhrman does "two star-crossed lovers take their life" and just leaves it for a few seconds and goes on to the next one, viewers would not read it or they wouldn't understand the meaning, so to prevent this happening Baz Luhrman makes it so the line is on screen and then shoots at you to emphasize the meaning of the word.
When Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time they see each other through a fish tank. Baz Luhrman did this so it makes it look more romantic, calm music in background, and also this is where they fall in love with each other. We see the fishes but it is made so that we focus on the characters and not the fish. Also the colour of the water in the fish tank (light blue) makes it more calm, silent, peaceful, romantic, and also sets it to a romantic mood. Hear are screenshots of how it looked like:
There is poetic language used in the song in the background and afterwards Romeo suddenly starts using poetic language which tells us he has fallen in love with Juliet.
The American setting and accents helps the film seem like a new style of language rather then old because the soaps on TV that people watch are mostly American and so some people are used to American language and when they watch this they do not have to change accents. Also this add to the style of the play because Baz Luhrman's aim was to make the play modern and by doing this he has converted old english into an American setting and accent. The setting is American because of the cars, the petrol station at the beginning, guns and also the houses.
A commentary on parts of act 3 scene 1 to show how Baz Luhrman uses film techniques to create drama.
Act 3 scene 1 is a dramatic turning point when everything begins to go wrong. Baz Luhrman spent most of his time on this scene to get everything perfect. This is where both of the families' sons and cousins meet and this leads to the death of Mercutio and then Tybalt. I am focusing the scene from the beginning when they are on the beach till when Mercutio is dead just before we see Juliet sitting in her room.
The opening shot is where there are the waves and Mercutio is standing in them and Benvolio sitting in the lifeguard's chair. This is what Baz Luhrman did to make this bit of the scene: It was set in Sycamore Grove which is a beach, He uses camera in different techniques and here are some of them, Mercutio in the background shooting is made to be a long shot. This tells us whereabouts they are in the caption, and then Benvolio is shouting
"I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire:
The day is hot, the Capulets abroad
And, if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl:"
Then Baz Luhrman goes to a close when only the face is showing and the last line is said of the speech:
"For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring."
Baz Luhrman does edit the scene, this is when a the setting change like a few steps away and they do not turn the camera but the other fades and the place where they have to do next appears. Baz Luhrman does this but it does not fade and we cannot even see the fading. Baz Luhrman has used a variety of FX (sound effects) throughout the play. In this part of the scene Baz Luhrman has used Gunshots when Mercutio is shooting in to the waves, car noise when the Capulets arrive and also the background music changes time to time.
When the Capulets enter there are some western images which include images of Jesus on guns, tattoos of Jesus and poster where u can buy drinks at the beach. The sound is also western cowboy type and also the sound effect created by the person who scares the kid, Baz Luhrman has done this because he wants to make us feel that there will be some fight between them, He has used the idea from different films such as western cowboy ones and so the music changes when they have there guns ready to shoot. There is no lighting which basically means that when there is darkness over a person then this tells us that they are the bad people or the evil characters in the play. But he has made the music have dogs barking so this is a replacement for the lighting.
There is laughing in the background when Mercutio says "Could you not take some occasion without giving." When Benvolio says his speech "we talk here in the public haunt of men...or else depart; here all the eyes gaze on us the music begins to go louder, Baz Luhrman does this to tell us that there is going to be a fight which is going to start after a short period of time. The music stays like this until Romeo enters. The music then is quiet and also slow. When Tybalt says "No better term then this,--thou art a villain" there is a long pause after that and the music carries on, I thing Baz Luhrman has done this so it brings the viewers to the edge of their seats because of the mood of fighting earlier.
This then leads on to Romeo's refusal of the challenge. The only things we need to focus on in this bit of the scene are the camera and the music.
There is a no. of changes to the music and these are the ones I picked up from the bit of the scene. The music begins to go high when Tybalt says "That thou hast done me; therefore turn and draw" This kind of music only lasts for a short period of time because when Romeo speaks then it became slow again. Baz Luhrman has done this because Romeo does not want to fight and if Baz Luhrman had kept the music high then it will make the viewers think that he is now going to fight when he is saying he does not want to fight in his speech. There is some thundering of cloud in the background when Mercutio says "O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!" Baz Luhrman has done this so viewers now focus properly and also some people like fighting scenes and so the thunder adds a dramatic effect to the beginning of the fight.
When Tybalts says "what wouldst thou with me?" the music is fast and beats of drums are included in the music. This goes on for a while and it only goes louder then Tybalt charges towards Mercutio and this leads on to the next bit of the scene which is Mercutio's death.
The setting is near a dump area because there is loads of rubbish. There is lighting used in this scene: first there is sudden darkness after the word "houses" said by Mercutio with that there is thunder noises which adds dramatic effect and near the end of the scene when Tybalt runs off there is complete darkness. Sound effects are used in this part of the scene: First when Tybalt is screaming towards Mercutio with the piece of glass, also when the glass enters the body the sound effect created there is like a sword going into the body. There are repeated words such as when Mercutio says "houses" he does not shout it so many times, but it is recorded and replayed and again replayed and the volume is lowered until we can't hear it. We can hear thunder noises and also when objects get thrown around with the wind. Baz Luhrman has done this so we get an impression that something bad has happened and also this brings religion in and so God is creating a storm.
The music is slow and also church music is also included in the music. Not much camera effects are used in this bit of the scene.
Baz Luhrman has done the last bit of the scene when Romeo runs off towards Tybalt as a picture because he wants to show his death and also revenge in one shot. There is some lighting included because when Mercutio is stabbed sudden darkness appears on the whole setting but it is more darker where the Capulets are.
My own response
I think Baz Luhrman was very successful in bringing back Romeo and Juliet in to the modern world and audience. He has achieved his aim which was to bring Shakespeare's plays back and present it to a modern audience. I think all the film was done well but I think the bit of the play where Romeo kills Tybalt in a car chase can be improved because it is dark and also fast and we can't really pick up what is going on. He has used setting, sound and camera very well to emphasize the film and also to create a dramatic effect. He has taken some parts out such as the death of Paris because this will make it more confusing for the audience and also the film was only to last for 115 minutes so if he added that scene then he wouldn't have been able to do the other scenes and if he did they wouldn't be much detailed and long. Overall I think Baz Luhrman has produced a very good and modern version of Romeo and Juliet.
Evaluation
In this essay I had to write about the media used in the film Romeo and Juliet especially act 3 scene 1 and I think I have achieved that. From this essay I learnt how to write about media and also the camera use. I found the sound effects (FX) hard to write about but I tried my best. I found writing about the modern and olden audience comparing part easy. I used the plan to write my essay because this helped me write a detailed essay and also it helped me decide what things to write about. I think I have written a detailed essay.
