- Franco Zefirelli’s Production of
- William Shakespeare’s
- Romeo & Juliet
Zefirelli is pushing the point that this is his version of the play. While this is seen, the prologue is said. It is said slowly, and the voice is soft, as if it is going to be a peaceful fairytale story. The views you see are of a medieval Verona at dawn. The sun is rising and the empty marketplace is seen being set up for the market later in the day.
Luhrmanns introduction is very different. The first thing that is seen is a TV on static. The shot zooms in very slowly, and the TV turns on. An anchorwoman is seen reading the days news, but instead she is reading the original prologue. By doing this, Luhrmann has already shown the viewer that the film is set in modern times. As soon as the newsreader finishes the prologue, a gothic requiem is heard loudly, and there is a fast zoom shot of a statue of Christ. This is followed by a sequence of fast shots and views of Verona, similar to the idea of Zefirellis panning shots of Verona. The religious statue appears frequently, as well as police, violence and helicopters, accentuating the modern theme of the film. Luhrmann emphasises the religious aspect constantly in this introduction. Captions of the prologue flash onto the screen as the prologue is said for the second time in a deeper, stronger, more powerful voice. The choir requiem music is still playing. This introduction is very dramatic with its use of cutaway, pan and exterior shot sequences. Baz Luhrmann has shown straight away that this is a modern adaptation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and this film heavily involves religion, only within the introduction.
Compared to the Zefirelli film, it is almost the opposite. Luhrmanns prologue leaves and impact that it is going to be a dramatic movie. Zefirellis is very traditional and calm, set out like a fairytale. It also goes straight into the first scene, while Luhrmanns introduces and names the characters.
As soon as the Zefirelli prologue has finished, it goes straight to scene one, which is later in the day, at the market. The Capulets are shown walking and talking. They are wearing red and yellow colour coded costumes with codpieces. The Montagues are wearing darker colours, dark blue and black. Baz Luhrmanns characters are the opposite. The first group you see in ‘Romeo + Juliet’ are the Montagues, who are wearing bright Hawaiian shirts in a yellow car. When the Capulets enter the scene, they are the ones wearing dark clothes in a blue car. The Capulets seem to be better dressed, making them seem superior and wealthier than the Montagues. In Franco Zefirellis film, the Capulets (in bright colours) are talking and they are the ones who bite their thumbs at the Montagues, which provokes the fight. In
Luhrmanns film, it’s the Montagues in the bright clothing that bite their thumb at the Capulets, but it is still the Capulets who provoke the fight. Tybalt seems to be the ‘bad guy’ in each of the films, but especially Luhrmanns. In Luhrmanns film he wears dark clothes, carries two guns, wears religious waistcoats (picture of Jesus on it) and his boots have steel heels. He is the one who wont let any Montague annoy him, or deal with him, without revenge. When Tybalt steps out of the car in the petrol station, the music changes from the Montagues rock to a Western theme. This music relates the scene to a Western face-off.
In Zefirellis film, the scene seems very raced before the fighting begins. There is a hurried argument, with a lot of the script cut out, before Tybalt trips up a Montague and chaos breaks out. It turns into a massive swashbuckling swordfight, which was popular in films around the time it was made. The fight involves many more members of the two families than Luhrmanns, who uses five from each family. In the modern version, Luhrmann couldn’t use swords because it would ruin the effect, so instead he used guns named ‘Swords’, which was a clever improvisation.
Each of the scripts in the films was altered. Franco Zefirelli was known to have cut a lot of the original script out of his film production. Baz Luhrmann, however, only took out and altered the script so it fit into the time period. He also swapped the lines of the Montagues and Capulets leading to the gun battle at the petrol station. The way the lines are said are also very different to the way Zefirelli has his actors say them. At the petrol station, the Montagues and Capulets are shouting at each other. Zefirellis more traditional movie shows them talking and the Capulets mocking the Montagues by tripping them up. Luhrmanns gives you time to look at the characters and easily gives you a picture of what they are like, such as Tybalt who seems to be the ‘bad guy’, and Benvolio seems to be Tybalts worst enemy and wont be threatened by him.
Franco Zefirellis film was made in a time where swashbuckling action was popular. This was also the time when teenagers were starting to ‘rebel’. They had more freedom to go to the cinema and generally have a more disposable income. By using young actors and actresses, Franco Zefirelli attracted a wider young audience to see his film. Baz Luhrmanns film was made with younger actors too, but it was also made in the ‘MTV generation’, where crime, guns and fast action is widely enjoyed by younger viewers.
Each film is different in their own ways, but they both closely follow the romantic and tragic tale of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The films were aimed at the same young age group, but are completely unalike. The generation gap between them shows how much life and interests have changed within thirty years. The films are in two different worlds. Zefirellis is romantic and medieval, Baz Luhrmanns dramatic and modern, but in each both directors have adapted the story to fit the demand of the viewers at the time they were made.
