The lighting and camera angles of the Franco Zefferelli version are long shots and the scene opens with a misty morning miasma. The camera pans across Verona. When the scene starts, the day is luminous and bright with a clear sky, and the shots are slow but close up. When the action starts the shots are still close up but faster. In the Baz Luhrmann version the camera angles start with short, snappy, fast shots on newspaper articles and lines from the prologue and of the two families. When the scene flicks onto a character from the movie the screen freezes on them and then their name and relation to Romeo or Juliet comes up. The day is sunlit on the opening scene and the shots are close up for the whole scene. When the fighting starts the shots are quick again and when the police turn up, the scene is like the opening with lots of flash images.
The opening style of the Franco Zefferelli version is a typical Italian market square, which has a lot of laughter and chatting from the crowds. It has a happy atmosphere. The Capulet boys come on first and they “work” the Montagues until they act in response. When the Montagues react, swords are drawn and the crowds panic. When they fight Benvolio, who is a Montague, tries to keep the peace. When Tybalt, who is a Capulet, appears, the crowds go quiet as if they were in the presence of an important person. I think that Franco Zefferelli wanted the audience to know that Tybalt was the first of the main characters. Tybalt is very cocky and self-assured. There is no music, just crowd noise. A bell rings and everyone panicked and the crowd tries to go away. Both houses try to put their swords away as the Prince arrives. A worried atmosphere is in the air. There is silence as the Prince and his kinsmen arrive on their horses. The Prince shows that he has authority and horn music starts as he and his kinsmen depart.
The Baz Luhrmann version is very different. The scene starts with the Montague boys in the car going to the petrol station. When the Montagues arrive at the petrol station the Capulets are already there. The music for the Montague boys is a rap song whereas the music for the Capulets is western type music. The atmosphere is mixed, it is not happy or sad, and nevertheless you can tell something is going to happen. The Montague boys are the ones who “work” the Capulets in this version and that is how the fight starts. When the fight starts, the music is western type too, which could mean the Baz Luhrmann saw the Capulets as the winning side of the fight. The people in the petrol station are screaming and people are scared. The fight weapons the Capulets and Montagues use are guns nicknamed “swords”. The audience can tell that the Montagues are scared of the Capulets and Tybalt because when they quarrel, they look worried about what they are doing. When Tybalt appears, he sets the petrol station on fir and the scene flicks on him and Benvolio with their weapons in their hands in the air as “Captain” Prince tells them to drop their weapons to the ground. The scene then changes, the dramatic music stops, and there is silence until Captain Prince talks. The two families are in a courtroom, getting shouted at by the Prince. The atmosphere has now chaged from violent to calm.
The costumes for the Franco Zefferelli version are very Shakespearean. The Capulets wore red and yellow tights and costumes while the Montagues wear a yellow and green costume. In the Baz Luhrmann version the costumes worn by both houses are of “our time”. The Montague boys wear Hawaiian shirts and knee-length shorts. They also have bad hairstyles. The Capulet boys are much smarter. They wear black trousers, chains with crosses on them of Christ and shirts or waistcoats. They have steel healed shoes. Tybalt’s top has Christ on it.
The pace of the Franco Zefferelli version starts off very slow and makes the scene seem very calm and peaceful. When the fight starts, the pace quickens and is a lot faster than before. In the Baz Luhrmann version, the pace is extremely fast throughout the whole of the first scene and gives the impression that something is going to happen.
Franco Zefferelli has set his version in Shakespeare’s era so has overcome many of the problems of setting a Shakespeare play in the 20th Century. Because he has done this, he can use all the weapons and dialogue that is used in the script. I think the audience expects this film to be exactly like the play because of the way it is set in the beginning. Baz Luhrmann has set his version at the time it was made – 1997. He has made the version much more modern. To overcome the problems of setting the play in the 20th Century, and to show that it is modern, he changes the names of some of the things in the play like: Verona – Verona Beach, Sword – Sword 9mm gun and Prince – Captain Prince.
I think that the audience expects this version to be full of action and excitement because of the way the first scene is set.
Franco Zefferelli follows the script, almost to the word in his version. He has the Capulets starting the fight and in the staging of the fight he has them sword fighting each other. Baz Luhrmann has his version totally different. He has the Montagues starting the fight and in the fight he has them both using guns instead of swords on each other. This makes his version more realistic for me.
