Romeo and Juliet both first see each other in the ball scene in the Luhrmann version Romeo and his fellow Montague’s are able to make it into the Capulet residence because the ball is like ‘a fancy dress party.’ For Romeo he wears a knight’s costume, the reason Luhrmann has done this is to tell the audience that Romeo is ‘a knight in shining armour’ this gives connotations of a brave soldier which also coincides with Juliet’s costume as she is wearing an angel which gives connotations of the route of all goodness. Where Romeo sees his true love the camera movement is quick and has more variety than staying linear, it follows Romeo’s and Juliet’s eyes, this is an effective way of showing how someone is in love.
As he exits the bathroom he happens to walk by a fish tank, he sees Juliet on the other side of the fish tank. This tank is used effectively as we see Romeo and Juliet look at each other, there is a lot of focus on the eyes of both characters, this makes us feel closer to the characters. The fish tank is the only separation between them making contact.
The balcony scene Act 2 scene 2 is where both lovers are alone, first we see Romeo climbing up over a wall and then slowly passing through the poolside to avoid the cameras. However he stumbles through some chairs and the motion detecting lights switch on he tries to hide himself from the guards by putting a blanket over him this makes the romantic scene more upbeat and clumsiness which adds humour. However the set does not fit in with the words Romeo says, ‘I have night’s cloak to hide me from their eyes’, this quotation does not work because there is a lot of light from the motion lights and he is saying that he has a ‘night’s cloak’ these both contradict each other. Luhrmann uses sounds of insects and owls hooting in this scene, the reason he did this is to portray the time of day which is the night, consequently adds suspense to the audience, and therefore captures the audience’s attention as Romeo is inside the Capulet garden. Then he climbs up a balcony which leads to Juliet’s room but instead Romeo is talking to the nurse which destroys the cliché. Juliet comes down from the lift to the same level as Romeo, by the swimming pool. She still can’t see him, and even walks right past him while busy talking to the stars. However it is Juliet who appears and says ‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’, when Romeo confronts Juliet they both fall into the pool. The pool and the fish tank are very similar as it symbolizes the couple’s isolation from their surroundings, as the couple go underwater there is no music and the camera focuses on the characters eyes. By incorporating the swimming pool into the scene Luhrmann has managed to add more freedom of movement to the characters and adds the tension of the security guard coming out to check, Romeo calls her ‘Bright Angel’ and in Luhrmann’s version these words are important because Juliet is dressed like an angel from the ball scene. Juliet in this whole scene is being serious as she says ‘Deny thy Father and refuse thy name’ and ‘if they do see thee, they will murder thee’ the first quotation shows us that she is willing to give up her father name for Romeo which is a lot this shows us how much she loves him. The second quotation tells us that she know what will happen to Romeo if he is caught being in the garden with her. However Romeo speaks of love and doesn’t care about anything else except Juliet, for example ‘It is my lady, O it is my love’ and ‘With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls.’ These both quotations show us that he is saying how much he loves her but doesn’t realise that he might get killed if anyone saw him.
In the Zeffirelli version when Romeo sees Juliet the scene is different in Luhrmann’s version because as Romeo is in the ball room he sees a lady looking at him. He doesn’t know why she looks at him but he knows that she is the one he wants to be with for the rest of his life. The camera is linear and stays at that level all the time. We see Juliet in the way Romeo does. Zeffirelli uses most of the text in the original script, this is a good method to use because it shows us that Romeo is getting the message across, e.g. ‘Beauty so rich for use, for earth too dear’, these words help us see that Romeo has actually fallen in love with Juliet, but Juliet has not seen Romeo because he is trying to hide himself from her. Romeo wears a mask on his head the same as all the other men wear, but Juliet is wearing a red dress, this may be used to make her stand out also that the colour red is related to love.
Juliet appears at a balcony at the back of her house and thinks of Romeo. There are soundings of church bells ringing at the point where Juliet is fantasizing about something. The church bells could suggest to an extent a matrimonial effect. Romeo is leaving the Capulet party, but he cannot leave his feelings for his newfound love and has no choice but to go back to the house and confront Juliet. Romeo enters the garden and is surrounded by purposely-displayed foliage. This suggests the risk that Romeo is taking due to the trees acting as camouflage for Romeo to hide from anyone in the garden. As a result, there is tension in the atmosphere which makes the audience concentrate on the play. We see Juliet walk to the edge of her balcony she stays on the higher level this is done to show the distinct separation between the two characters. She speaks of Romeo and calls for him knowing that there will be no response, ‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ Romeo hears this and responds to her call by saying, ‘I take thee at thy word’. Juliet is startled as she didn’t know that Romeo would be there. The slow background music in the Zeffirelli creates a romantic atmosphere to the film. She also is scared for Romeo’s safety because if anyone saw him then he would be in trouble. She also wonders how he got here and he says, ‘with love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls.’ Here he is saying that love enabled me to climb these walls, this may show that there is a bond between them that even death cannot keep us apart. Romeo is climbing up to the balcony and speaks to her there, the camera focuses more onto Juliet and when one of the characters speaks the camera focuses on them (Romeo of Juliet). Zeffirelli does this to suggest the fact that although their love is a strong bond, physically they are separated due to their family’s hatred for one another.
