When Romeo meets his friends the next day, Mercutio is shown to be laughing at Romeo but in a way it is shown as simple male behaviour. There is a short scene between Romeo and the friar who is Romeo's key advisor in the play. Without the Friar's help, Romeo and Juliet would not have been married.
In the next scene, Romeo and his friends are shown to be in Verona streets. It's at this point that the Nurse (Juliet's main advisor) comes in to find Romeo. When she asks 'If you be he Sir, I desire some confidence with you', Romeo's friends (especially Mercutio) have a good laugh about this as they take it the wrong way. Romeo is shown to look quite tense at this point as he knows the Nurse has come from Juliet but he does not want his friends to know that. Mercutio and the Nurse between them the climax of humour in the play. Mercutio flirts openly with the Nurse in this scene and although the Nurse quite enjoys this she tries to remain her dignity. In the film, Mercutio is shown to be playing with her skirts and he makes a big joke about it. When Mercutio and friends leave however leaving Romeo and the Nurse to talk, Romeo shows his concern about what has happened and although the scene is comic, underlying the humour we are shown Romeo wanting to know the truth of what has happened.
Although the wedding is not in the play text, it is shown in this film and also in the modern adaptation. This is to remind the audience of the fact that they are actually married. It is not in the play because the changing of backdrop would be too much for what would eventually be such a short scene.
The next major scene in the play is the fight scene, initially between Tybalt and Mercutio and then between Romeo and Tybalt. The introduction to the fight in this film is showing Mercutio in a water trough acting flippant when he knows that Tybalt and his friends are around. This is shown when Mercutio is informed by Benvolio 'By my head here comes the Capulets' and Mercutio replies 'By my heel I care not'. Benvolio is shown as being similiar to Juliet earlier on in the play, constrained and aware about the situation. Tybalt starts off very serious about the situation and is more confrontational whereas Mercutio is complacent. By this attitude it seems that Mercutio is undermining Tybalt's authority in front of his friends. It is only when Tybalt talks about 'consorting' that Mercutio appears to get angry. Even so, him and Tybalt are still fooling around which makes Romeo's entrance more dramatic. When Romeo comes in to the scene and sees Tybalt, a look of concern runs across Mercutio's countenance as he feels protective over his friend. Although Mercutio is still laughing at Tybalt, he is more aware of what may happen. Romeo tries to talk calmly to Tybalt showing that he doesn't want a fight but Tybalt thinks that Romeo is fooling around with him and takes the gesture of a handshake as an insult. In the film Tybalt splashes Mercutio with water and turns to go. It's at this point that the forthcoming events could have been avoided by not reacting but it seems Mercutio's nature to react to the insult and he calls Tybalt back for a fight. They both take it quite seriously whilst fighting but then when he is cornered by Tybalt in the film, he puts him off by whistling and distracting Tybalt so that he can get out of the tight spot. Tybalt now doesn't seem to know if he should back down and be laughed at or to follow the fight through to the end. This is when they both fight very seriously and they both fight on the defensive. When Mercutio is injured under Romeo's arm, Tybalt is even shown by his actor to look suprised at what he has done. Mercutio plays his injury up a little and even adds more humour in by saying 'Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man'. By this he means a grave man as in a serious man or the truest meaning that they would find him in his grave. In the film, Mercutio climbs up some steps to a rocky arch which could also represent a stage. This could have been put in to show the drama of his death and to prove a point to the onlookers. Also it could show that Mercutio is above them all because he has suffered because of them. It's at this point that his friends realize how serious the situation really is. Some of the onlookers still believe that Mercutio is still fooling around but his true friends, Romeo and Benvolio understand what will happen. When Romeo realizes that it was because of him that his friend was killed, he gets angry and feels that it's his duty to go after Tybalt and slay him. He shows anger all throughout the fight with Tybalt but at one point when Romeo is injured it is shown that he has to kill Tybalt to defend himself. This plays upon the innocence of Romeo because it seems he had no choice but to kill Tybalt. Then as soon as he sees that Tybalt is dead he understands what he has done and what might happen to him as he shouts 'oh I am fortune's fool'. Even though Romeo should have been killed, because he was killing somebody for killing his friend, the Prince only banishes him rather than executing him outright. It's at this point that the film intercuts with a scene showing Juliet and the Nurse unlike in the play. This seems logical as it shows the reactions of the different character's. It also shows how Juliet adores Romeo and how he has potentially ruined their marriage through his actions.
In the play text upon hearing about Tybalt's death and how it happened, Juliet weeps uncontrollably and her family think this is because Tybalt is dead but really she is weeping because her Romeo has been banished. Juliet goes to the Friar for assistance as to what she should do. He concocts a plan that would make her look as though she was dead even though she wouldn't be. All she had to do was take a potion that he gave her. When Juliet is back in her chamber, she gives a long speech expressing her fears about what she was doing, 'I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins... what if this mixture do not work at all?... what if it be poison which the friar subtly have ministered to have me dead...' The film does include most of this speech which is good as it shows her fears and more of her emotions. Without it the audience would perhaps think that Juliet would follow anybodies advice whereas with it we are shown Juliet as an young, insecure individual. Showing these fears in the text could also be showing how Juliet is sensible about her actions (as shown in the balcony scene) which is the opposite to what Romeo would do.
In the death scene at the very end of the film, the film cuts out the fact that Romeo kills Paris outside the Vault of his beloved. In the play text, Romeo says 'tempt not a desperate man... put not another sin upon my head, by urging me to fury' this shows that although Romeo does not want to have to kill Paris, he is desperate enough to do anything, he doesn't really have anything to lose. I think the film cut this out because the directors wanted Romeo to look as innocent as possible to enforce the tragedy of his story.
Overall I think this adaptation of the play was very traditional and I think it worked well in explaining the story of the two houses.
In 1997, Baz Luhrman also produced a film based on the play, Romeo and Juliet. This film is exceptionally modern and was obviously adapted for a young audience.
The chorus that is in the text and in the Zeffirelli version is displayed as a news programme on television. I think Luhrman did this to show the new forms of communication that people use in every day modern life. In Shakespearian times, the only real form of communication was sending messages by horseback. The programme gives us an insight as to what the story is about. It also foreshadows that there may be a sorrowful end to the play. The film is shown to be set on Verona Beach rather than Verona City as stated in the text. This was again another way of modernizing the story and possibly to make the audience familiar with the scene. Also, the film gives us subtitles so that we know who is who in the play and what their role is. The Prince of the play has been changed into a police chief for this film. I think that this was appropriate for the film as police chiefs seem to have more authority nowadays than Princes do, especially when it comes to the law and discipline. Immediately when the film starts, there is an obvious emphasis on the use of guns. The guns in the film actually had little stickers on the side saying 'swords' which is quite humourous considering that guns are much more efficient at killing people than a one on one sword fight would be.
Yet again showing modern communication, Paris (Juliet's primary suitor) is shown as 'Bachelor of the Year' in a popular magazine in the film.
In this version, Mercutio's Queen Mab speech was cut down, I think this was probably a bad idea as it displays a great depth to his character. However, both films do seem to display a certain awareness of the intensity of Mercutio through how physical the actor is when reciting the speech.
When the Montague's go to the Capulet's party, they are shown wearing not masks as in the film but fancy dress. Juliet is dressed in a fairy's costume... this is probably to show her innocence and links in with her saintly fascade. However this costume idea would probably work as well as the mask wearing of earlier days as a disguise. When we are first introduced to the Nurse in the text, it is seen as she talks a lot about nothing and that this could irritate people. In the film, her initial speech is cut short as it was fairly unnecessary to display her character through dialogue. Also at the party, people are seen to be taking substances which look like drugs, this could link in with the idea of fate and making your own destiny by putting yourself in a situation where you have a lack of control over your own actions.
I think in this version of the film, the balcony scene was ruined quite somewhat by the added humour of Romeo's fall into the swimming pool. I know that this added comical value to the tragedy but I felt that it didn't fit in with the idea of stealth and true romance. The two character's are still quite defined in the film as Juliet being sensible and Romeo being quite erratic which could endanger them both.
As I mentioned before, the wedding is shown in both films and in this particular version, when the newly wedded couple are together the morning after their wedding night, Romeo is shown to be having nightmares which could possibly be explaining his fears of what might happen and even foreshadowing what will happen later on in the film.
When the Nurse and Mercutio come together in this version of the play, there meeting is underdone slightly and there isn't the emphasis on flirting as there was in the play text or in the previous film. This quite undermines the humour aspect as they are essentially the two most comical character's in the play.
In the fight scene, nothing untoward seems to happen other than a small scene with Juliet is intercutted into it. This is to show that they are fighting because of her and she will be lost to Romeo as a consequence of it. The fight is very physical and the actors act a lot with their bodies, not just their facial expressions. When the fight is over, and both Mercutio and then Tybalt have been killed, the fight is shown to be all over the newspapers which again suggests a wide use of modern communication running throughout the film.
In this film, Juliet's two main speeches are cut out. In Luhrman's film, rather than telling the Friar she cannot marry Paris, she holds a gun to her head to emphasise her point. In the text, this speech shows a very good use of language and ways of telling the audience what Juliet really feels... 'Oh bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower... or bid me go into a new made grave...' the last part of that is quite ironic as Juliet does have to eventually go into her family vault. Also, all throughout her speech, Juliet is referring to death which seems to resonate through the entire play. At the end of this speech she says 'To live an unstained wife to my sweet love' which shows how Juliet will do anything to avoid having to be unfaithful to her Romeo despite the fact that he killed her cousin. I think that by missing out this speech and the one later in the text about Juliet's fears of taking the Friar's potion, the audience miss a great deal about Juliet's character and the way she thinks and the worries that she has about her actions.
In the death scene at the end of this film, Romeo has heard about Juliet's 'death' and goes to her vault. When he is seen back in Verona Beach, the police and officials chase after him in cars and a helicopter is on the search too. Yet again, Paris' death has been cut out, probably in favour of keeping Romeo's tragedy unstained and Romeo enters the vault free of extra sin. When he goes into the vault, he sees Juliet and spends time talking to her. It's at this point when the viewpoint of the camera focuses in on Juliet's fingers as they move gently and the audience must all be silently pleading for her to wake up before Romeo takes the potion to kill himself. This creates a broad atmosphere of suspense and tension at the death scene especially when Juliet's eyes actually open and she smiles softly at seeing her true love. Because she is obviously still drowsy from the effects of the potion, she does not speak just smiles softly and she doesn't seem to notice what Romeo is actually doing. He drinks his poison and then looks down on Juliet's face with her eyes open. He realizes that she is not dead after all but that he will be. This extra is obviously added in to create more drama and to make the situation even more tragic than it originally was. 'So close but yet so far' is the phrase that really sprung into my mind when I saw the death scene in this film. Also there is no Friar in the death scene which there is in the play text. In the text the Friar comes in to get Juliet away when he realizes that Romeo never got the message to go to the vault. When he sees Romeo dead in vault with Juliet, he understands what has happened and tries to get Juliet out although she would not follow him. The Friar is important in the text as he is the only person, who truly knows what happens all throughout the play and he is needed in the text to explain the situation to the two families and the Prince and also the audience. The Friar's main objective throughout the play, other than being advisor to Romeo and Juliet, is to explain to the audience in his long speeches what is happening and what may happen in the future of the play. The film versions don't necessarily need the Friar as much as they can explain the play in other ways and do not need his long winded speeches.
Out of the two films I personally preferred the Zeffirelli film as it is more traditional and is in-keeping with the play text and the theme. I think the film is more faithful to Shakespeare's intentions and that it portrayed the tragedy and romance of Romeo and Juliet better than the modern version did. However, I do think the Luhrman film was adapted very well to a modern society, I believe it would have been improved by using more modern speech as well to help the audience understand what was going on better. I think the Luhrman film should merely have been 'based' on the story of Romeo and Juliet, not using all the language. Both plays worked in their own different ways and both have been adapted well for a cinema audience.
