Luhrmann‘s version of Romeo and Juliet starts off with a news reporter saying the prologue that leads us into the setting. After the setting, we see three Montagues going to a petrol station. A Capulet arrives at the same petrol station and scares the Montagues. This scene is supposed to create humour for the audience. The Montagues invite trouble when one of them bites their thumb at the Capulet. The Capulets take revenge by starting a big fight. This fight causes a fire that burns down the petrol station.
Ultimately, a prince (police chief) arrives and stops the fight at a very crucial time because Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin; Capulet) and Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin; Montague) have guns pointed at each other.
This opening scene is supposed to get the audience panicky at first and then relieved because no one dies or gets hurt. It also meant to captivate the audience and want to make them carry on watching the film.
Both, the traditional version and the modern version have the same dialogues and all the characters talk in Shakespearian English. In both versions, the fight starts by the biting of the thumb and the prince stops the fight in the end, then again, most things are different and have been changed in Luhrmann’s version.
The props in Zeffirelli’s version are more like they were in Shakespearian times. E.g., the swords and knives whereas in Luhrmann’s version had modern weapons like guns and pistols. In the modern version, we can see that the characters have badges to show whether they are Montagues or Capulets, which is not there in the traditional version. The main mode of transport in the traditional version is horses whereas in the modern version the main mode of transport is cars. The clothes in the traditional version are usually tights, pointy shoes and fluffy shirts for the men and almost all the characters wear the same clothes. This makes it hard for the audience to judge their personality and status, however in the modern version, the Montagues wear Hawaiian shirts that have bright colours and have pink hair, which shows that they are very chilled out, and funny. The Capulets in the modern version wear dark coloured vests/waist coats with bullet-proof jackets and shoes that have metal heals. These kinds of clothes describe their personality as serious and/or strong.
The story is supposed to be set in the city of Verona. Zeffirelli’s Verona was more authentic like the one Shakespeare had described in the original story.
It was set in Italy and had small buildings whereas Luhrmann’s Verona was much more contemporary.
It was set in Miami, U.S.A and had really big buildings to symbolise the status of the Capulets and Montagues.
The accents of people in the traditional version were more English and slower however, in the modern version the people spoke more quickly and had American accents.
The camera shots in Zeffirelli’s version were mainly medium shots and medium close-ups were used so that more people could be pictured. This could also be because in the 1960’s they did not have enough technology to edit scenes properly and therefore it is much slower as well.
The younger audience might find this version a bit boring because of the camera shots since it seems as if they are not able to see every part of the film properly.
In Luhrmann’s version, there was a variety of camera shots used which makes the audience feel that they shouldn’t miss anything and see all of the action/drama. The camera hardly stopped on any one place for more than thirty seconds. These camera shots are used to explain the power of the characters as well e.g. High Angle and Low Angle Shots. There are a lot of close-ups used as well e.g., When Tybalt and Benvolio had held their guns out at each other, the camera focused on their eyes. Benvolio had fear in his eyes which shows us that he was afraid that he might get shot however when they focused on Tybalt ’s eyes we could see that he was pretty relaxed and didn’t really bother about how serious the situation was. This shows us that he was quite used to fights and confident about himself.
The sound effects in Zeffirelli’s version were real sounds and not created by special effects simply because there wasn’t enough technology. The actors would have to be loud and stress on important words in those times. Nowadays, the audience would find the Zeffirelli version quite boring in terms of SFX because they are too used to the modern sound effects.
The sound effects or SFX in Luhrmann‘s version were much more up-to-date and the actors could rely on special effects therefore the audience prefers this version more in this field. SFX make a film much more interesting to watch because the audience knows what is the important in the scene. E.g., when Abra (a Capulet) crushes a cigarette with his metal heal, we know that it’s an important symbol and it tells us a bit about the character.
The background music at the beginning of Zeffirelli’s film could help the audience relate to the Shakespearian times whereas the background music in the beginning of the Luhrmann version when the Montagues are in their car is more appealing and fast for the modern audience.
In both versions, we see anger and hatred between the Capulets and Montagues. E.g. the biting of the thumb, the brawls between both families and also the way that the Capulets and Montagues look at each other shows us that they dislike each other.
We also see humour in the modern version. E.g. at the petrol station, a woman constantly hits one of the Montagues on his head with her purse and also when Abra scares a Montague and causes him to jump, it is funny for the audience. The humour in the modern version makes it delightful for the audience to watch.
Overall, the main aim of Zeffirelli’s version of Romeo and Juliet was to express the story of Romeo and Juliet how Shakespeare had imagined it. It is much closer to the original story that Shakespeare wrote than the modern version because of the clothes, events and settings used in it. It was made for the audiences of the 1960’s therefore; it is not as appealing to the present-day audiences as it was then.
Nevertheless, the main aim of Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet was to make the film as up-to-date as possible and entertain the newer audience by the action and humour used. Things such as the places (Italy to USA), weapons (swords to guns), and modes of transport (horseback to cars and helicopters) were changed to make it more exciting and accessible to the younger generation.
In my opinion, the modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet had a more enthralling opening and is much more interesting and fun to watch than the older version.
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Essay written by- Aarushi Mehta
10.3
English Coursework
