Then the scene changes to a black background with the words ‘In fair Verona’ in white capital letters. A man’s voice say the words - his voice is quite low and very serious when these word come up and there is also really loud music. The music sounds very religious then the scene changes to a city with a big close up of Jesus then the camera goes straight into a long shoot of the city and statue.
The man starts speaking again we still can’t see him. The film then shows us lots of different images - really fast the image are of the news, fire and the city. The music get faster and faster, the scene goes black and the words ‘In fair Verona’ come up -then there is a medium long shot of a helicopter. The scene goes black with lots of word on there going so fast I couldn’t read them then we see a newspaper with front line words which the mans voice reads out ‘New Mutiny’.
We then see the word ‘Police’ in bold lettering then the scene goes black ‘Star-crossed lovers take their lives’ the man’s voice also reads this out. The effect of this production is to show how the violence between the families has made it into the news and newspapers. It shows a significant and destabilising aspect of Verona’s life.
Costume and props
In the first film version, Franco Zeffirelli gave two different costumes to the two families - the Montagues wore green and dark red and the Capulets wore red and yellow consumes. I think that Zeffirelli did this in order to show to the viewers who was who without getting them mixed up. Also because he wanted to show that they were different from each other the props they used were different such as the swords which they fought with.
In the second version of Romeo and Juliet by Baz Lurhman the Monagues had certain styles that you would see today. The style was ‘surfer’style with flowered shirts and yellow shorts. Their hair was bleach blond or bright pink but with the Capulets they had a totally different style. They wore black and they looked really smart. Their hair was black and they had hair gel in it to make themselves look slick & they also smoke and wear cowboy-style boots. Their kind of costume is like in a spaghetti western. Tybalt is like the character in the film of Clint Eastwood’s ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ because of the cigar, boots and the way he crushes the cigar. The whole city was like a massive prop because we see two tall buildings with the words Montaque on the front of the building and the word Capulet on there other. In between the two buildings they put a massive statue of Jesus in the centre. I think Lurhmann wanted to show two very different types of people which links in with the fact that the Montegues and the Capulets hate each other. The first version is a bit like the second in the way that both directors have different costumes for the two families.
Action
In the first version in the first scene it goes straight in to action with a loud busy market place. There are lots of people all around the market. We see the Capulets first & then the Montaques. They both get into an argument and the Montagues walk away but one of the Capulets goes and trips up an old man Montaque. They both start fighting with swords and more and more people start joining in with the fight.
Then Benvolio tells the people to stop fighting: ‘Part, fools put up your swords you know not what you do ‘but as soon as he does Tablet walks around the corner and says how he hates Montague’s . In the first version I think that when they first get into the argument with each other they don’t seem like they really hate each other - they don’t raise their voices much and seem not at all aggressive. They seem more proud than hateful.
In the second version by Baz they fight like they’ve meet each other before. I think that this scene is more dramatic as they have guns and they use them on each other. Tybalt shoots one of the Montaque boys in the chest. In both of the films Benvolio doesn’t want to fight and wants peace. In the second version Tybault is more aggressive and he shows this by his voice and what he says ‘As I hate all Montagues and thee’. In the second version he also take a fag out of his mouth, drops it and crashes it with his foot. There is a big close-up, there is also an extreme close up of Tybault and Benvoleo’s eyes. This shows us how intense their feelings are when Tybault tells Benvoleo he hates him.
In the first film there is a brutal scene with everyone joining in but when the Prince comes everyone stops fighting whereas in the second film the Chief of Police has to tell them to stop fighting in a helicopter with marksmen with him in case they don’t stop.
Setting, backing and colour
In the second film production of Romeo and Juliet by Baz Lurhmann the setting of the film is in a big city called ‘Verona’. Because of the sky scrapers, tall buildings and long big roads it doesn’t give me a realistic view of what Verona would have been like but it gives me a place that I can relate to more and it makes me more interested. I think Baz wanted to make his film more modern in order for younger people to relate to it and imagine the place better .
In the city there is a massive statue surrounded by buildings. The statue is of Jesus. ,I think Baz put the statue of Jesus in to give the film a religious feel.
I noticed in Baz’s film that the colours he used were bright and bold. When we first saw the Montague boys they were in a bright yellow jeep and the petrol station had bold colours like blue and red. I think he used this colour to make the backgrounds more eye-catching.
In the first version of Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zefferelli the setting is in a busy market place with lots of people. This shows how the violence is upsetting normal people like the woman with her baby screaming. In the background you can see a steeple. The setting of the place looks like an old-fashioned village and I think it gives a more realistic picture of what Verona might have looked like. In the background you can see a castle and the camera takes lots of shots into the alley- way. There are very long shots and the colours that the people ware are quite dull and not very bright apart from the Montaques or Capulets. They have their own dress code throughout the play. I think that the first film is very different from the second version because the setting in the first film is very old fashioned and was set in a busy market with lots of people around. In the second film the setting was in a petrol station with not many other people in the scene. It was also very clear to see who all the characters in the film were because when you see a main character the scene froze for a few seconds & their name came up on screen.
Music and sound
In the first version they only music they had was at the prologue. The music remained me of something you would hear in a Victorian film – quite slow and relaxing. There was a man’s voice at the start of the prologue. His voice sounds quite old like he was in his forties His voice was gentle, the music stops and so does the man, then the film goes into the first scene. The first thing we hear are the voices of lots of people. It’s a loud market scene then the scene goes on with loud voices of people and screams of a baby and mother. We can also hear the sound of bells being rung when the Prince comes in to the film and arrives with other people with a horn. I think this gives the Prince more presence and lets the people know he’s there and that he’s important. I also think that the film doesn’t need that much music because there is already so much more going on.
In the 2nd film the action grabs your attention straight away, the music also gets faster and quicker - every time the images on the scene get faster in the prologue we hear and see the voice of a news reporter telling us about the story. When the two groups start fighting the music turns into Weston music you would find in Weston films. I think that the first film worked. It had no music but the sound from the people was good because it gave me a real sense of a market place. The 2nd film was really different because it made more of an impact on the viewer.
Dialogue
In the old version of Romeo & Juliet by Franco Zefferelli the passage that he makes stand out is where the Montagues & Capulets get into an argument about the Capulets biting their thumb. In the argument one of the Monteques accuses one of the Capulets saying in a dramatic way ‘You lie’. At the beginning of the argument, they don’t sound that serious, they just seem to be joking and fooling around. In my opinion, this doesn’t show the hatred they have towards each other. When Benvolio comes into the scene, he tells everyone to stop fighting – ‘ Part, fools, put up your swords, you know not what you do’. He sounds like he wants to stop the fighting but he doesn’t succeed in this. When Tibault comes into the scene and says ‘What! drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word as I hate hell, all Monteques and thee.’ He appears to say this in more of a proud way than in hatred.
In the 2nd version of Romeo & Juliet by Baz Lurhmann this is much more effective and creates a much more powerful way of showing the hatred between the 2 families.
This time when the Capulets & Monteques argue they sound much more aggressive and act like they have met each other before. When one of the Capulets say: ‘You lie!’ he shouts across and pulls out a gun which creates a much more dramatic scene because it shows the hatred between them. When Tibault appears and says to Benvolio :’What! Drawn and talk of peace? Peace- I hate the word’ he gets across how much he hates them by saying ‘peace’ twice when he says:‘As I hate hell all Montague’s and thee’ he drops his fag and crushes it with his boot. This indicates that he wants to crush the Monteques.
Conclusion
The purpose of my essay on Franco Zefferelli and Baz Lurhmann was to show how the hatred between the Monteques & Capulets was so strong in the opening sequence of their film versions of Romeo & Juliet. In my essay I have compared how certain camera angles are used by the 2 directors.
I have talked about the use of prologue in both of the films and their settings, background & colour. I have also mentioned music & sound, action, costume and props and dialogue, comparing the similarities and differences between the 2 directors.
