Make a study of the different productions of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Lurhmann and assess the success of each one.

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Make a study of the different productions of 'Romeo and Juliet' by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Lurhmann and assess the success of each one.

The aim of this essay is to assess the differences between the two film productions in terms of the intentions of their directors in portraying Shakespeare's classic, 'Romeo and Juliet'. Even after watching two minutes of each film it is immediately evident that the story is set in completely different times. Zeffirelli's version is set in the time the story was written, in the late sixteenth century and makes every attempt to capture the reality of those times, whereas Lurhmann's thriller is set in a modern, late 20th century Verona Beach, intending to show how 'Romeo and Juliet' would have been acted out if Shakespeare had lived in the present day.

Zeffirelli aimed to create a picture that showed exactly how 'Romeo and Juliet' would have happened if the story had occurred in real life. He used many methods to do this: First of all, the motion picture was actually filmed in Verona, as it was set in Shakespeare's play. The actors are young, as they were meant to be in the play and they wear authentic sixteenth century costumes throughout the film. The symbolisms used in the films were the original verbal symbols in the text i.e. the stars ('The star cross'd lovers', which symbolises the paranormal level of Romeo and Juliet's love and their fates) and the power of romance. However, Zeffirelli does bring in his own motif for the power of the lovers' love. He uses a recurring tune that is first heard at the Capulet party when Romeo and Juliet first meet. From then on, every time there is a scene of intense romance between them that tune is played. In Lurhmann's version the stars' motif is replaced by the sun, and the motif for the power of the love is replaced by water. For example, Romeo and Juliet first catch sight of each other through a fish tank and they make love in a swimming pool.
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It is amazing how the directors managed to create films that fall into entirely different genres using the same play. Zeffirelli's film is a romance that is focussed on the original Shakespeare play, whereas Lurhmann's is a mixture between an action thriller, a spaghetti western and a romance. The directors intend their films to be in these genres as they are aimed at entirely different audiences. Zeffirelli aimed to attract a classical audience, mainly Shakespeare enthusiasts, who would applaud the film due to the thought and effort put in by the director in order to make the film ...

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