The major differences between the two movies of Romeo and Juliet.

The major differences between the two movies Romeo and Juliet who were made by Franco Zefferelli in 1968 and Baz Luhrmann in 1998, are that they were interpretative different ways because the historical and social context of the two films which may have influenced the two directors to portray their movies the way they did. . One interpretation was to make an authentic realistic movie trying keeps to the original era it was set in which was the medieval ages. The other interpretation was a very modern and tried to make a lot of money using its modern sound and visual special effects.

When Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet he did not included a lot of stage directions in his script. This meant that the director of the movie had to interpret the movies the way they had pictured or thought it should be. Both of these directors had different ideas on how to illustrate this story to people in film form as they have approached it in different techniques and at different times meaning their audience intended was different and their culture and social and historical context would be different.

In both the movies the directors try to portray their characters in different ways. They both had different ideas of how they should display the characters. The parties they must have gone to when they were younger influenced them to make the party scene how they did and dress the characters as they did. That is why Zefferilli wanted to have plain mask on just like the medieval ages and why Baz Luhrmann choose to do a costume party, which is very popular now a days. In Zefferelli’s movie he tried to show the characters personality by their words they spoke or their actions, which was similar to Baz Luhrmann, but Baz Luhrmann wanted to use the costumes at the Capulet party to show their relevance and personality in the play. In Luhrmann movie Luhrmann dressed tybalt as a devil to show his evil and wickedness. Also it shows that he is feared just like the devil is and he is powerful. Romeo was dressed as a knight to show that he was brave and noble. Juliet was dressed as an angle to represent beauty, innocence, purity, and gentleness. Also the fairy represents light and the theme of star-crossed lovers. Lady Capulet is dressed in her Cleopatra costume to represent that she is rich and spoiled and tries to be the queen of seduction like Cleopatra was. Capulet was dressed as a Caesar to represent his power and wealth. Zefferelli did not use costumes but he did use some clothing to represent the characters. He portrayed Juliet in a bright red dress compared to all the other girls who was very dark colours so that she stands out and he used to flaps on Tybalt’s hat to try and portray him as the prince of cats.

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Some of the characters personalities were also different, as Shakespeare’s text did not include a lot of information about all the characters. Lady Capulet was portrayed very differently in the two movies. Zefferelli choose the stage direction to make Capulet a very high and well respected woman as Shakespeare would but Baz Luhrmann choose to make lady Capulet a more stuck up and spoiled woman who is more of a joke. Also Luhrmann wanted to show a closer relationship between lady Capulet and Tybalt by making them kiss. Kissing is a sign of closeness in our time and so we would understand what it meant and this may have influenced luhrmann to add the kiss in to represent their closeness. Also Juliet is portrayed as a very young innocent girl in Zefferelli’s movie but luhrmann used a more mature girl to act as Juliet. Luhrmann also males Romeo a very emotional person as he carries his heart on his sleeve but if he is sad he will be deeply depressed but if he is mad he will go on a rampage and regret his actions.

Baz Lurmann opened his scene with bright fireworks trying to use the affect of light, which ties in with the theme of star-crossed lovers. Also this is one of the historical and social influences, which made Baz Luhrmann uses fireworks to show light as he could of used fire or something else but instead he choose something that now a days people like to do when there is a party or holiday. At this point when we see the fireworks Romeo has just taken the ecstasy pill. The ecstasy pill is a social influence that made the movie more modern and made Baz Luhrmann choose this drug to show that Romeo was leaving his fate to the stars. Romeo heard of this party from a talk show. This is a very modern approach and everyone watches television so the television influenced Baz Luhrmann to show this and add it to his movie. When then enter the party we see Tybalt and lady Capulet kissing showing the closeness between them. Baz luhrmann portrayed their closeness like this and this was one of his directorial decisions he had to make because Shakespeare did not give them any direction, he just gave them the text. We then are pulled to Mercutio’s dance in his transvestite costume to modern up beet music, which shows that the movie is moving faster. The director wanted to show that the play was moving faster by added this music which is another historical and. Romeo then becomes dizzy as we see it through point of view and Baz Luhrmann then takes line from the end of the play and moves it now. The line was ‘drugs are quick’ Romeo then wakes up in water as he washes his face. Water plays a very important role in this movie, as it is where he sees Juliet and it is where the balcony scene is in water when Romeo goes to see Juliet. Tybalt sees Romeo and goes to see Capulet. He tells Capulet and keeps saying that he wants to fight but Capulet just wants peace and said forget it. Then Capulet gives tybalt a big smack in the mouth for his disobedience. Tybalt getting smacked was something that Luhrmann added and was not in Shakespeare’s text and so he wanted to show that Capulet was a powerful figure by slapping tybalt. Romeo sees Juliet through the fish tank with very bright colored fished zooming around. We see Romeo looking at Juliet and Juliet looking at Romeo through their point of view. This prop the Luhrmann used is very important. He used the fish tank to shoe a barrier between them and the barrier is the family’s hate. Luhrmann could of used anything like what Zefferelli used, which was a person, but he didn’t, as he was inspired to use the fish tank because of his culture. Then we see them smiling and for the first time they are close together and there is no barrier when Romeo is superimposed on to Juliet’s side of the fish tank. This is a more modern way to put Romeo and Juliet together unlike Zeffirelli who chose to make Romeo and Juliet dance together. As this is happening Luhrmann thought that he should put a song right when this happens and so this makes a more romantic mood and slows down the movie. He also dresses the singer in a bright pink outfit symbolizing the love at first sight when Romeo and Juliet see each other. Juliet is taken by her mother and introduced to Paris. Paris and Juliet dance together but Romeo is watching and Romeo and Juliet have a laugh together but Paris thinks Juliet is laughing with him instead of at him. This comedy was added by Baz Luhrmann to try and slow the movie down a bit. Romeo then hides behind a wall and recites a sonnet to Juliet who picks up on the sonnet and joins in. this hiding behind a wall is a very traditional perspective of this sonnet. The wall is another prop Baz Luhrmann uses to show a barrier. Romeo and Juliet then kiss and go into an elevator but when the door opens the nurse is there. The nurse takes Juliet upstairs where lady Capulet and Paris are waiting and at this point Romeo has found out that she is a Capulet and dramatic music comes on. Juliet is higher then Romeo and is like the balcony scene.

In the Franco Zefferelli version the opening shot of the party scene immediately gives you medieval feeling as we are entering an old castle which he uses to make the film more realist and towards his culture at the time. Also as we enter we see bright torches which ties into the theme of star crossed loves and also gives a more medieval touch as there were no light bulbs to try make it as authentic as he could. He could have used fireworks like luhrmann but he was going for a medieval view at in 1968 old fashion or classic films as we say today was very popular. The historical and social context may have persuaded him to have the party in a castle with torches. When the characters enter with their masks Romeo is looking for a girl and the camera angle is through his point of view. We then see through his point of view a girl twirling off the screen like a curtain for Juliet to enter. As soon as we see Juliet the music changes so that the mood is now more romantic and the pace of the movie slows down. This shows that Juliet is very important. Also Juliet is very white and we have camera shoots through Romeo’s point of view Juliet being portrayed against a dark background, which shows she stands out and is important. Also her bright red dress stands out from the other dark dresses. When she is dancing she has very swift movements to show that she stands out from the other girls. As she is dancing she quickly looks over to Romeo and we immediately know that Romeo likes Juliet as he rushes off and tries to get close to her. At this point the camera work also adjusts as Romeo and Juliet see each other and the shots get lengthier and is more focused on Romeo and Juliet. We then see Romeo trying to get close to Juliet but there is someone in the way. This is a significant camera shot as it is the first time they are in the same shot although they are very far apart and someone in the way, which represents a barrier. This is a very simple barrier compared to Zefferelli and the movies during 1968 were very simple in plain with props and special affects, which probably inspired Zefferelli to use a person instead of a prop. This was a very cleaver stage direction by Zefferelli. Tybalt finally releases that Romeo is in the Capulet’s house and goes to seek Capulet he finds Capulet and tells him that Romeo is here. Capulet responds by saying that he wants peace and just go enjoy you and have fun and forget about Romeo. The conversation get cut off and we see the medieval dance Zefferelli added to his stage. Dancing was quite a popular culture during Zefferelli’s life and so he wanted Romeo and Juliet to be close for the first time during the movie. Romeo and Juliet then start to dance and you can see in their eyes that they are in love. As Juliet and Romeo are spinning there are a lot of giddy shots which show Juliet is having a good time and that she is taken in by love. After the dance is finished we jump back to Tybalt and starts to complain to Capulet about Romeo. Capulet then thrusts Tybalt to the wall and tells him off until lady Capulet comes in. lady Capulet being very smart and honored comes to tybalt and asks him to dance to keep him out of trouble and smiles so that everyone around them does not notice that something went wrong or that there was a fight. There is also quick editing to show the movie is moving faster. Then Zefferelli added a very famous love song, which was not in the script. At his point Romeo and Juliet are looking for each other through the crowd trying to find each other. Juliet then tries to get a better looks at where Romeo is when Rosalyn looks at her and so Juliet looks back and they both give each other dirty looks. This shows that Juliet is much different to Rosalyn. Romeo finds Juliet and hides behind a wall and recites a sonnet. This I a very traditional way to portray the sonnet and was used by Zefferelli to make it more realistic and to was inspired by his own culture and similar movies that he made. While Romeo and Juliet are reciting the sonnet Juliet is laid on a dark background to make her stand out. Also Zefferelli is using shots to show both faces. They kiss but then the nurse pulls her away and Romeo asks who Juliet is. The nurse replies that she is a Capulet and Romeo is heart broken. As Romeo is leaving Juliet also finds out that Romeo is a Montague and she is terribly upset and the music changes to show that she is sad. We then get a close up of Tybalt and we see that he is angry by his facial expression as he looks at the camera. Zefferelli adds this shot to give us some extra information about the story and this tells us that tybalt knows about Romeo and Juliet.

By: Rishi Patel