The setting of the fight scene is a very public gas station; the buildings around the station are quite rundown, this shows that the setting is realistic because everything is not perfect. The colours of the two cars are shown in the colours of the city, showing that the ones that are of one household colour are biased to that household. Although some things like the taxi are of both colours showing it is both families, this show how much control that the two families have on the city; also the colours of the gas station are split between the two families, the yellow and blue. This scene captures the audiences’ attention because it is lively and active, even though it is slightly more intended for the male audience. When the feud starts at the station there are gun shots and shooting (they were not real bullets) but the public were unaware that this was going to happen and that is what made what reactions there were real. We were made to view it as though we were there because of the camera shots used, at lot were over the shoulder shots, and the way they moved from one to the other, which is also what captures the audience attention so well.
There are a lot of shots used in this scene to make it more realistic and more interesting. The most successful shots used in this scene have been greatly thought about; some shots if placed differently can show something that would not be seen in another position or if composed it differently it would create a different mood. When it cuts from the prologue to the very beginning of the fight scene when the Montague boys are in the car it uses a wipe shot, this type of shot is used to give a movie a certain style or mood. It made the transition from the prologue to the opening scene more interesting and made it clear that it was changing scenes.
Three shot analysis.
Because this shot is shown as a freeze frame, it allows the audience to get a better view of the characters and what their personalities might be like. They dress in brightly coloured clothes and Hawaiian shirts which show that they may be a bit crazy and eccentric. This idea is carried on through to the gas station when they arrive, they are loud and the way they are acting is a bit crazy. In this shot the words ‘the Montague boys’ appear on the screen, this gives the impression that they are not men and are therefore immature, also the music that is also played just before the freeze frame scream out the words ‘the boys, the boys’ adding to the idea that they are immature and young.
The second shot I have chosen is the shot of Tybalt Capulet shooting across the screen whilst jumping through the air, the movement he uses is graceful which shows how different he is to a Montague. Also the way that he dresses, all black except his waistcoat which is embroidered with the Virgin Mary which shows that even though he wears all black, the colour that is associated with death and evil, he is still religious.
This is the shot where Benvolio and Tybalt are both in the street and are dropping their guns onto the ground; here you are able to see the differences between the two characters, Tybalt is well groomed and well dressed whereas Benvolio wears less glamorous clothes and does not keep himself so well groomed. But what is more interesting is that even though there are so many differences between them they are quite similar. This is shown by them both dropping the guns at the same time. This shot was carefully timed to make sure that the guns were dropped at the same time. These are the similarities that make them alike, but it makes them seem more alike in other ways as well though even though it does not directly point it out.
This movie is a lot like a western in the way that the characters are played out and some of the events that happen. Westerns are known for having showdowns. That is what happens at the gas station, the fight was more of a showdown between the two families. In the movie when the fight was happening guns were shot off at each other and they are the weapons that are used in the fights of western movies. The way that they have taken the camera shots have made it seem like a western camera shot, e.g. when the showdown is about to begin each challenger usually puts their hand to their gun but does not pull it out until they are ready to draw.
They have used sound in this scene to add effect to events and it makes it more dramatic. The sounds that are more dominant are the more orchestral sounds as these can create many moods and atmospheres, although they do use music it appears on the longer shots. Most of the music in this scene is classical and fairly modern (last 10 years), a lot of the music in the prologue is quite loud and when the fight scene comes on the music’s mood changes to an angrier mood to fit in with the visuals shown. The sounds on the soundtrack are all about what feelings and emotions they represent in the movie and are played in the scene because they are able to reflect these emotions. In the film emotions and feelings can also be detected in a speaker’s voice and this helps the audience to fully understand how they are feeling or what emotion they are trying to express, added with the music this can tell the audience a lot about the mood of the movie or the mood of the scene.
Each family has a different appearance this help distinguish the two different family members of each gang. The Capulet’s have a more sophisticated and more grown-up look whereas the Montague’s have a more juvenile and extreme look that is quite immature. The Capulet’s mostly wear blacks or dark colours. The type of clothes they wear are tailored trousers and fitted shirts, Tybalt also wears an embroidered waistcoat. (It may be a bullet proof vest though) The Montague’s wear lose Hawaiian shirts and trousers that are held up by belts, they also wear a lot of chain with religious symbols on them. The two cars also show a lot about the differences between each family. The Montague’s have a yellow (bright colour) and it is like a convertible because it has no roof, the Capulet’s car is a dark blue car with a roof. Both families’ cars are very different helping the audience to tell the difference between each gang.
Luhrmann did well in this film because he made it modern but still managed to keep the shakespearian language (his main goal to achieve in this film) which I am sure proved tricky for him as it meant he had to use a lot of visuals to help the audience understand further and to be able to follow the story. In the opening he used a lot of visuals such as the guns and the objects used by the characters and the background images when the prologue was being read out. In all it has been a very successful film and the techniques Luhrmann used were very modern and comprehensible to the audience. All this made the film easy to understand making it an even more enjoyable viewing of this tale of fate, true love and an ancient grudge.
