GCSE Media Coursework

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BAZ LUHRMANN:

ROMEO AND JULIET

Venice Beach, California. Not the first thought that springs to mind when considering Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and anguish. Yet director Baz Luhrmann has transformed this well-loved play into a 20th century romance, along with skyscrapers, pool tables and drugs.

Why the Success?

This rendition, of a plot known from New York to Timbuktu, proves that film versions of any book or play can create a masterpiece.

Witty twists are encouraged by this innovative setting, engaging the mind of the viewer. ‘Put up your swords’, Benvolio orders, as the men bow to his sense and credibility and place their guns onto the ground. The modernisation appeals to us as a young audience and certainly entices our attention to the drama. Such a production of the film casts a completely different light on the play, as shown in the opening sequence:

The first shot: a television tuning itself in. A news report follows, the anchor producing the exact words of the prologue.  We know the movie is taking ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to new territory - a clear and concise method of announcing this to the viewers. It is the immediate switch to the setting of Verona Beach, based on Venice Beach, which sets the pace for the rest of the action. Music fixes the tone of the film from the off, a dramatic, thunderous arrangement.

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As students studying the play, we are, hopefully, aware of the importance of the prologue to the overall effect of the drama. This section is repeated for a second time, to increase emphasis and drive home the message to the viewer. The power of this opening sequence is outstanding with real energy and explosive forcefulness. As the title card approaches, we see the many key events the film has in store for us, flash before our eyes in a succession of short cuts. I think it is fair to say that the audience is well and truly gripped!

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