The lighting in the area was portrayed in a pinky colour to symbolize love and also to blend into the kind of clothing they were wearing. There were torches on the wall to show the time they were in.
The setting was in a gloomy rich castle. This was the kind of housing for the rich and powerful in the Shakespearean times. ‘When the song was sang to initiate the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet, the scenery of the castle was shown in different perspectives’. The castle had a glamourous side added to it when the camera angle was projected outside while inside the building.
The text and dressing followed a strictly english culture. The ladies in this scene were all wearing long clothing. The text is used but some of it are taken out to make it a bit shorter.
The background music in this scene is very classic and portrayed love. The song, sang by the person who initiates the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet tells the audience all about the play. While he sang the song, he was surrounded by many people.
This was set to entertain the audience at that time because that was the a big motion picture and maybe the one of the first motion pictures about the movie so everyone wanted to see it.
On the otherhand, Buz Luhrmann’s movie was set the entertain the aspect of a more modern audience. Something had to be done about the style of the movie or the audience would not be bordered to see it on the big screen. It was modified to make it look like our normal days and even the background music had an element on the kind of audience he was aiming it at.
The costumes in this scene showed a more modern style of clothing. It was more colourful compared to Zeffirelli’s. There seemed to be a confusion with the sexes (Mercutio wore a female costume).
The lighting was very bright and very clear. It showed a more natural environment where anything can happen. The camera tended to focus a certain amount of light on the characters face to make the audience pay more attention to the character.The camera angles in the scene vary.The camera focuses at a diffferent character with another characters eye level(When Juliet asked her maid to ask who Romeo was, it was angled through Juliet’s eye level).
The setting was portrayed in a modern mansion with assets such as lifts and so on. It was very big. This showed how rich, wealthy and powerful the Capulet was.
While the musician sang their music with a more modern equipment,the people generally watched or danced on the dance floor.
In my point of view, I think Zeffirelli’s version of the movie is mainly made for proffesors, students who are particular about the right lines to be used and old people who have read the book and want to see the movie to confirm that the lines are right.Buz Luhrmann’s version on the other hand is mainly aimed at a modern audience who know a lot about entertainment in movies.
