These carefully selected pictures relate directly to the chorus, immediately showing that the two families the Montagues and the Capulets are rivals. These same images contradict what was read on the screen previously. The pictures and the first few lines of the chorus wonderfully and clearly convey a message of a chaotic city, which has been terrorised and divided by the two high status families of the Capulets and the Montagues. Towards the end of the chorus certain lines like ‘A pair of star crossed lovers,’ referring to Romeo and Juliet can be read across the screen in once again white letters against a black screen. The appearance of these words marks the entrance of Romeo and Juliet into this hostile world. It can be seen that they are very different from their parents and stand apart from the rest.
Franco Zeffirelli’s prologue is shown over the city of Fair Verona, with a vertical shot over the town. The chorus is being said through the depictions of Verona and the credits are shown at the same time. This adds depth to the chorus, giving it an impact to the spectators. It is exposed as a very old, foggy place. Monuments are shown such as castles and churches. Soon they reveal an overhead shot of the market. After the prologue is said, scene one is shown. However, Baz Luhrmann does not come to the first scene that quickly, instead he decides after the chorus ends, he should bombard the screen with more carefully selected clips from the movie. As these clips attack the screen at an extremely high speed they only allow the audience to get a glimpse of what is in stall for them, leaving them feeling unsettled and uneasy.
These high-speed images manage to sum and reflect the story told by the chorus. They explain the ‘ancient grudge’ between both families, let the audience into the atmosphere between both families, the kind of society they live in and how the two ‘star crossed lovers’ fall into the path of their families feuds against each other. This whole sequence is very dramatic and quick. This is very similar to the Zeffirelli’s version, since he decides to have quick shots of Fair Verona instead of what is install for the audience.
The final part of the opening, by Baz Luhrmann is a plague of more high-speed images once again carefully chosen from the film. This time however the images or clips are from the extreme emotional and violent parts of the movie. They are cleverly made to look like they are linked together as they are in a particular order. This makes it seem like a part of the movie but it is very restricted to the audience and only allows them to see the very dramatic parts. Finally the opening comes to a very abrupt end leaving the audience quite in shock while they begin to recover from it. Zeffirelli implies the same technique, by illustrating what is in stall for the audience. Not inputting clips from the movie, but instead using clips of the city do not do this. This is ingeniously done, by showing sluggish clips of the city in the chorus.
The music played by both directs have their differences. Baz Luhrmann makes the opening very effective, with wonderfully devised music. This important element not only sets a pace for the images to be flashed but also a key factor to make the audience hear the feelings, which are shown through the pictures. When Zeffirelli tells us the chorus, there is an opera in the background, very loud like Baz Luhrmanns. Additionally Franco starts the scene in a market and there is no music except the sound of a noisy market day, with people talking.
Alternatively, from the beginning of the opening of Luhrmann’s film the music is very loud and therefore gives an overpowering feeling. The music’s beat is very fast and during the first minute or so the texture is very thin and not too complicated. Then gradually as the speed of the images shown increases so does the pitch of the music. This raise in pitch gives the audience a feel of terror and violence. At this point in the music there are only voices making the composition sound like a gospel choir.
As the voices rise in pitch the music becomes elevated and so at the same time gives the audience a very gothic feel. These two very opposite sounds can give mixture of feeling and when shown with the swift images the gothic sound is more prominent. By the end of the opening in Luhrmann’s film the audience is dropped back into their seats and allowed to take in what has just hit them.
As soon as the opening ends, a few second later the Montagues and Capulets are introduced. Immediately a clear contrast between both ‘gangs’ is clearly shown; from the way they dress, to what they do, the colours associated with them and even the music. Zeffirelli demonstrates this differently to Luhrmann. This difference is crucial for the directors and audience. Since they are able to differentiate between the two rivals and films. In Baz Luhrmann’s motion picture, the Montagues are very summery and bright wearing floral Hawaiian shirts and compared to the Capulets, come across as the good guys. The Capulets are very different and completely the opposite. They wear dark dull dark leather or denim clothes with studded boots.
Zeffirelli uses the same aspect of Luhrmann, as both directors use the element to differentiating the Montagues and Capulets. In Zeffirelli’s version both are wearing tights, but they are in different colours. Luhrmann adds more music to the first scene he differentiates both rivals with different music. The music associated with them is cleverly adapted into a very different genre of a Western movie. Zeffirelli fails to do this; instead he incorporates sounds of a market day in the daily life in Verona.
Baz Luhrmann illustrates The Capulet’s ‘Prince of Cats’; Tybalt is shown as a show-off but with skill that is quite daunting. With a Porta Rican accent he is very much a villain but a very different one as he says his Shakespearean lines with ease making them sound smooth and suave. It is clear that the Montagues cannot afford to taunt him. All the characters pronounce their lines in Shakespearean language but with modern day expression and feeling in their voices. This way even if the audience do not understand what the line means they can get an idea of what the person is saying by listening to the way they say it. Zeffirelli only concentrates on the Shakespearean language and does not use any sort of accents for the characters, both the Montagues and Capulets expose their lines in the same ways with no action.
After the prologue, chorus, music and opening scenes the play starts with a fight. Both directors have their own customs of screening this. Firstly Zeffirelli starts the fight in a strident market place. He captures the Capulets quarrelling with the Montagues very well. Zeffirelli does not delay the fight with any point of view shot. Instead he gets right to it, by making the Montagues bite their thumb at the Capulets. Then the brawl continues into a fight. The director Zeffirelli starts the clash with a low angle shot at the Montague’s legs.
Then a tracking shot is done, so the camera can follow the movement of action. The viewers then get an artistic detachment, by giving them an overhead shot of the brawl. Zeffirelli builds up tension in the audience, between each camera shot. Soon he decides to take shots of the whole battle. He has images of the city and he presents what is happening in each part. The director stops the fight suddenly and only music can be heard in the background.
Baz Luhrmann approaches the fight in a different perspective. He has a very effective approach of applying his methods to today’s audience. The scene of violence is shown between the ‘gangs’ and as it is set in the present a few things has been changed. The swords they used to use is portrayed as guns, they carry their own badges on their ‘swords’ and they drive cars as their ‘carriages.’ The fight is conveyed as a western showdown, because the director uses a lot of focus shots of each characters face. He also has the technique of doing a composition of image, meaning the frame can enclose for the viewers. As their cars pull into a petrol station, instead of a market, a low angle shot is taken. The quarrelling of the two rival gangs are taken similar to Zeffirelli’s version, but instead Baz Luhrmann, makes the Capulets see the biting of the thumb in their car mirror.
Focus shots are also given of their guns as they brawl. Luhrmann makes the tension build up within the language. The camera had to be quick in this scene, because the director had to follow the bullet and has to also show the impact of the bullet of where it strikes. The battle between the families establishes the notion of the family feud. Tybalt is portrayed as a show off in the scene, with his fancy spinning of his gun. Luhrmann also adds comedy to the fight with the ladies in the car battering a Montague. When the lighter falls on the petrol a tracking shot is given. Also it is done in slow motion to build up anxiety in the viewers. A distance of camera from the subject shot is shown when Tybalt tries to shoot a Montague with his sniper target.
The sounds in the background are given as car horns. Soon the police are called in and this time the Prince is the top rank in the police. The brawl is shown on the news and to the audience, it will become clear that all this violence is part of a normal day or life for someone living between the two families. Zeffirelli fails to add the more tension in his film. However both directors use similar methods of introducing Romeo. They both use the technique of a panning camera shot. They show him approaching from the sunrise. A slow classical yet calming music is used in both movies to show the kind of person he is. This indicates that he is a very romantic and delicate person. He is immediately a contrast to the others in within his society, actually having some civilized feelings.
Romeo’s sensitive side is exposed to the audience as he is shown writing down his thoughts, alone and someone who is in deep thought. He appears to be single minded but determined. When the cameras are taking shots of him, at first the clips they show of Romeo are in shadow shot in front of the sunset. This shows him more as a hidden and quite mysterious adolescent person. His movements that are captured on film are very effortless, with a lot of ease and when his face is being shown it is in slow motion, giving the audience a lot of time to take him in. With his rather feminine facial features, the shadowy camera angles, slow music and romantic backdrop the whole scene is very dreamy, showing that Romeo is in a world of his own.
After viewing both interpretations of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, I believe that Baz Luhrmann’s first scene and opening are superior to Franco Zeffirelli’s. This is because it is more appealing to the younger generation. On the other hand if a person wished to view the exact interpretation of the play, then I would recommend Zeffirelli’s one. The way that Baz Luhrmann captures Shakespeare’s language, is done very well, cause each character has his own accent. He also has made the play very modern and it is even set in an urban area. Luhrmann has changed every aspect to the book to modern day accurately, from the guns to the cars.
However Zeffirelli only intended to interpretate the play exactly how Shakespeare wrote it. Both directors have been successful in achieving what they wanted. Luhrmann wanted the film to be very modern and if William Shakespeare were alive to this day, this is how he might have produced his own play in movie form. Baz Luhrmann was able to understand the messages conveyed by young Shakespeare, bought it into the present and successfully related it to many issues plaguing our society we live in today. Zeffirelli wished to carry out the play, word to word, as Shakespeare wrote it. In conclusion both directors has made their opening and first scene very well. They have made an impression right at the beginning of the film; this has made an impact on the audience making them watch the whole movie.