Romeo and Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet - Media Assignment

By Antony Sehmar

The classic world-renowned Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet has been adapted for the big screen and television on several occasions. Each director who has attempted to bring this film to life has added his own interpretation of the plot and choice of characters to represent the star crossed lovers. The two film versions to be compared are directed by Baz Lurhmann and the other by Franco Zefferelli. Baz Lurhmann’s edition of Romeo and Juliet is undeniably the modern version of the two and was directed in 1997 with an unmistakable present day setting. Shakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue. This idea of bringing Shakespeare into the twentieth century was a clear directorial success as it allowed young people to associate with Shakespeare, probably for the first time. In contrast Franco Zeffirelli’s adaptation of the play was directed in 1968 and is seen as ‘traditional’. It is set in the 16th century during the time that Shakespeare wrote the original play. Zeffirelli has appeared to minimise his director’s poetic licence and the film is seen as a direct portrayal of the play, in order to show a sense of how Shakespeare would have imagined it to be. Both versions still share many similarities - which are to be expected, but there are also some striking differences.

The many similarities between the two films are first seen during the establishing shots. At the start of Zefferelli’s edition it is set in a busy market place and a lively atmosphere is created which draws the audience into the film. A pleasant mood is set amongst the audience as the opening scene consists of a lot of noise and movement. In comparison, Lurhmann’s establishing shot is also concentrated on setting a happy aura for the audience as the characters in the film are noticed laughing and joking with each other. It is set in a petrol station which involves just the main character unlike Zefferelli’s where there are people in the background. Despite the lively opening to the films things soon turn ugly as the two feuding families first encounter each other on screen. The connection between the two establishing shots is that they are set in public surroundings, Baz Lurhmann’s is set in a petrol station and Zefferelli’s is set in a market place. Although the two shots are different they are evidently similar as they both share the same happy mood. The meaning of the initial happy establishing shots is to emphasise the hate the two families have for each other when they come across one another and begin an epic battle for family honour.

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Another feature of the two different films is the clothes worn by the feuding families. During both films each family, either the Capulet’s or the Montague’s wore their different styles as they were set in different times but they are alike as they share similar attributes. The Montagues in both films wear brightly coloured clothes which stand-out and draw the eyes’ of the audience. Whereas the Capulets from both films wore dull colours, such as greys and blacks. The colours worn by each family arguably match the impressions they portray to the audience. It may sound bizarre but with ...

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