In the 1968 Zeffirelli version the Capulets and Montagues are more evenly matched. Tybalt is still the main person in the whole of the first scene but he only comes in towards the end. Just like the modern version he is the one who starts the fight. The two gangs do not have ‘themes’ like the modern adaptation but they do look like they are wearing uniforms. The scene around them is almost like it would be in the time the play was originally set.
In the modern account of Romeo and Juliet the camera techniques are very short and sharp. When the Capulets get out of the car, there is a shot of Tybalt shoe crushing a cigarette. This could represent Tybalt crushing Montagues with ease. The camera techniques used are all very modern and usually close ups of important things/people. When Tybalt says, “put up your swords” the camera zooms in to Benvolio’s gun, which is called a sword 20mm. In the old version the camera isn’t as sharp and only really closes in when someone new comes on. Even when the fighting starts there are no big close ups. There is a part when Benvolio gets stabbed in the eye, and the camera focuses on that for a moment before taking a birds-eye view of the brawl.
The atmosphere in the newer adaptation is light and fun when you first encounter the Montagues but as soon as the Capulets come in you feel that something significant is going to happen. The Capulets have more of a dramatic effect on the scene, whereas you just accept the Montagues. To feel the full effect of this version being in the modern day, it is set in a modern place, the gas station. As this is the opening scene you are fully aware that it is set in the modern day and not in the original Shakespearian time.
Whereas in the 1968 version the atmosphere is serious and dull. When we first see the Montagues there is confusion on who they are. We are not completely sure if they are Montagues or Capulets. When we do work out who is who there isn’t really a great power with either of the gangs. There is an atmosphere of a community though, brought across by the market place. It doesn’t look that colourful or any type of emotion, it just looks like a general market so there is no powerful effect of anything significant happening. I think that the settings to this film are more like the settings of the period of when the play was written for.
Both films use music in an intense and effective way but Luhrmann uses this especially. He uses theme music for each of the gangs; the Montagues have a fun, light rap music that a group of boys would listen to, they come across more as teenagers then men. The theme music for the Capulets is mostly a Spanish, cowboy type feel to it. This makes them look more like hard, gangster men. The opening music is happy and fun, this gives the impression that the film will be modern, light and happy. In the older one the music is very medieval and slow, the audience feels that the mood of the film will be very serious and just like the original play was written. This impression is right of the older film but not of the newer version.
I personally like the Luhrmann 1997 version better. I prefer it because it is more modern and in my personal opinion has better directing. I think that it is easier to watch than the old version because it relates more to the world today. Also the old version just seems more slow and dull, maybe that’s because it was made in 1968 or it may have been because it was similar to the text. If a version like the 1968 one came out now, I may like it better but at the end of the Luhrmann and Zeffirelli debate I prefer the Luhrmann adaptation.
