The film starts in a conventional way with the prologue, but immediately we, as viewers, realise this is not a stereotypical version of the play. A coloured female news presenter, on a small colour television screen, presents the prologue. This television is in the middle of our screens surrounded by a black background. We see the beginnings of different films with phrases like "20th Century fox" and "A Bazmark production" and then the prologue itself begins. This shows immediately it is a modern version because there were no televisions or females in jobs that could be done by men in Shakespearian times, never mind the fact that coloured people were not treated as equals like they are today.
The camera zooms in on the television as if the story is coming closer. The news presenter does not finish the prologue; she leaves the last two lines of the sonnet. I think this is because the film ends with the television screen, like a cycle of the story, or the epilogue in a book.
The character Friar Lawrence then repeats the sonnet, whilst it is shown visually. On the screen, we see rapid sequences of views like towers and cathedrals, but also clips from the film, almost like a trailer. We see Time magazine headlines reporting some of the words as they are said, or the words are presented on the screen in white, on a black background. I like this as it shows the audience what the prologue is and does through words, pictures and speech.
In the background we can hear choral music, with a religious theme and so works well with the many pictures of religious statues. The music gets faster as the shots get faster, building to a climax. In this part, the main characters are introduced. The camera stops on each face and their name appears to the side, with it comes a few words about who they are in the film. These have been modernised to fit in with the film, for example, 'Dave Paris. The Governor's son' whereas in Shakespeare's version he is 'Paris the Prince's kinsman'. Another example is the Prince of Verona, in this version be is 'Captain Prince Chief of Police'. The police are shown as a modern version of authority, similar to royalty in the times of Shakespeare.
The movie thunders into life with the Montague boys cruising into Verona Beach's Phoenix Gas Station, The continued use of Verona is good because the play is set in Verona, Italy, but the use of 'Beach' is an attempt at modernisation, that I think works. Verona Beach has a Californian flavour with its vibrant town and palra trees, because of this we can be sure the film was not set in Italy.
The Montague boys are wearing, casual brightly coloured beach wear, in their florescent, yellow car. This choice of bright, clashing colours shows they want to stand out. Even their accessories are not subtle, for instance pink hair and sunglasses.
The music, like their clothes, is very loud and not subtle. The heavy drum beat and rapping links the music to American pop culture. I think Baz Luhrmann chose this type of music, for the Montague boys to make them look cool and modern in teenagers' eyes. This makes them look like they have attitude, almost as if they do not care what other people think.
However their appearance makes them seem young and immature when compared with the sophistication of the Capulet boys.
The Capulet boys are introduced with a close-up of Tybalt's cowboy boots, the leader of the gang, we see the steel heel of the boots crush a match and then he walks sway. This shows, to the audience, they are typical bad guys and no one confronts them. The music has a western theme creating the effect of a show down.
The type of music used, is one way Baz Luhrmann created tension, he did this by changing from American pop to western music. This shows the difference in personalities and why they hate each other. Also, the cutting between the two families, using the camera, to show the difference of expressions, for example the Montagues look scared and helpless whereas the Capulets look angry but amused by the Montagues frightened expressions. The close-ups of Abra's mouth, with a brace saying 'SIN', and the Montagues sweating foreheads over their scared eyes, creates a real sense of tension. This reinforces the effect of a show down because neither family can afford to walk away. The tension is not just created by the differences between the two families but also by the similarities between their cultures. When a close-up of each gun is shown, we can see the emblems on the bottom are the same apart from the name.
Tybalt's arrival leaves the characters silent, and the only sound, which also adds to the tension, is a creaking sign, with the words 'Add more fuel to your fire'. As we hear Tybalt lighting his cigar we sense there is going to be an explosion. Both of these are shot as close-ups, to build the suspense, which adds to the tension. The dropping of the match to the ground is a symbol to show that the explosion will be at his command.
The western theme adds to his air of authority, in his character and fighting. He is almost dancing as he spins and rolls round the petrol station. His agile and flamboyant moves are well choreographed to make him look natural and calm, even in the middle of a fight. His over-exaggerated gestures make him look stylish and unique, for example, he kisses his gun before he aims and shoots. His nickname 'Prince of Cats' has been used to make him look feline, which fits his character and appearance because he is well groomed, agile and he uses a hiss when he talks. He is also wearing black clothes, which adds to the effect of his fighting and his feline appearance.
The fight starts with the Montague boys looking for trouble and pushing the Capulets too far. As Benvolio tries to stop the fight, Tybalt arrives and the boys leave the two fighting as the gas station goes up in flames. The music bring the scene to a climax by getting faster and faster to match the blaze getting bigger and bigger. The scene ends with the arrival of ‘Captain Prince Chief of the Police'.
Captain Prince arrives on the scene in his own private helicopter. This makes him look more important, more powerful and higher up in status than the other citizens, and shows everyone he is the ruler of Verona Beach. The news of the 'third city brawl' is reported in different ways. For instance, we see the Prince addressing the families from his helicopter and a television report, using a line from the prologue and the same news reporter.
The news is shown to affect the whole city by the Prince not just addressing Tybalt and Benvolio but everyone who can hear him. We can tell this because the citizens seemed to have joined the brawl. The Prince finally stops the conflict by calling in the two heads of the families and telling them the lives will be taken as punishment for 'disturbing the peace' of the streets again. This is good because it puts them in their place.
I conclude that the opening scene is very effective for a modern audience, because it is funny, fast and well choreographed. Baz Luhrmann changed the stereotypical setting to a modern beach side setting. He has introduced younger, but better characters. However he has not changed Shakespeare’s language. He ahs added humour, cars and guns, which appeal to a younger generation more than medieval gowns, swords and rural settings. The additions make the film more exciting even though most young people would not understand what the characters are saying and so may not watch the whole film. This opening scene will hold them in their seats for longer because the story is easy to track by the expressions on the characters faces.
