There are many basic differences between Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli’s. Zeffirelli’s uses swords and daggers whereas in Luhrmann’s, the guns are imprinted with “Sword” on the side. This is a good effect that works really well in the film. Luhrmann uses such effects to represent the play in its traditional form through its modern outlook.
Looking at the differences between the opening scenes. (Luhrmann’s gas station
Both films used suitable techniques and props for the film. By that, I mean the Zeffirelli version couldn't have a newsreader and in Luhrmann's film the people had to wear normal clothes, for this time and age. In Zeffirelli's film, the actors and actresses wore wonderful, extravagant costumes. These were perfect for the Middle Ages, and looked very impressive. Just by looking at the clothes, the viewer would understand the importance of the two families. In Luhrmann's film everybody was wearing normal, everyday clothes, so there was no way that, you could tell the people were from important families. Also, in the two versions, the weapons used were different. Luhrmann's film used guns and Zeffirelli's film used swords. Another technique that Luhrmann used, was the old language. The whole film was very, very modern, but Luhrmann decided to keep Shakespeare's old English in his motion picture. I found this really good. I feel it would have spoilt the film if it had been rearranged to modern dialogue.
The opening scene in the Luhrmann version is set in a typical U.S gas station. It is a busy and open area, much like the market setting portrayed in the original script, which is also busy. This is very clever of Luhrmann because he is trying to modernise the original setting without losing the feeling of an open and busy area. A market square in modern America would be very strange. In the Zefferelli version, the director has tried to replicate the setting and atmosphere of the original, using a typical market square from the time that the play was written. This might seem to the audience as a more realistic version of the play as the film is trying to be more identical to the original play. At the start of the scene in the Luhrmann version we see the first of our families, the Montagues. They seem like typical American youngsters having fun in their car with the music turned up. They pull into a gas station and all seems well until the second family arrives, the Capulets. They seem more suave, they are smart looking Latinos, and they seem serious compared to the fun loving colourful Montagues. This is a good way of showing the differences between the two families. However in the Zefferelli version we see the Montagues and Capulets enter a traditional market square similar to one in the original play. We don’t see many differences between the two families as they enter the scene. They seem kind of the same type of family, the only thing keeping them different is the colours of their clothes. The Capulets wearing black and blue and the Montagues wearing yellow and red, the clothes have been made to portray what people wore in the time the play was written, men in tights, frills and Robin Hood like hats. In the Luhrmann version the dress is close to modern day attire, Hawaiian shirts and tuxedos.
In the first scene in the Luhrmann version there is not much reference to the original script, with little speech being used, but it is accurate to the original script. Such lines as when Abra, a Capulet asks the question "Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?" and a Montague replies, "I do bite my thumb, sir". This starts the gunfight between the two families. For those that are unsure, the biting of the thumb at one another is an ancient Italian insult. I think that some of the audience may not know what the biting of the thumb is and Luhrmann hasn’t shown us what it means which is a minor fault I think. We see that their relationship is obviously frail as only a small spark is used to ignite the fire which in comparison is a small exchange of petty quarrelling is used to start the fight. The use of movement in this scene is fast and furious as the action switches from person to person as they fire their guns. The camera zooms up to each of the main characters and then freezes as text is used to introduce each person. When the screen is un-freezed, the action goes back to being fast and furious again. This is very different compared to the calm, collective atmosphere of Zefferelli´s opening scene, where the two families embark on a sword fight after the quarrelling. The fight may not be as action packed as the previous version but is not any less amusing as we see the whole fight moving into the courtyard, where everyone in the picture has their swords drawn and are “clowning around”. This adds the fuel needed for the action in this scene as the build up to the fight is less tense than Luhrmann’s version. The two families in this version seem calm and composed and the rivalry doesn’t seem to be as serious or intense as we see in the Luhrmann version. One impressive point that Luhrmann has integrated into the modern version, without altering the script is this; In the original/Zefferelli script/picture, Benvolio says "Put up your swords", then the characters do so in the Zefferelli version. On the other hand in the Luhrmann version and the modern world where people use guns instead of swords, he has used the camera to focus on the guns where it says the brand name of the gun which is called a sword. This is a very good way of not altering the script but staying close to a modern day likeness of the play.
The calm music doesn’t help in the seriousness of the rivalry in the Zefferelli version. The thumping loud music in Luhrmann’s sets the heart thumping. It is a better way of giving the audience the seriousness of the rivalry, as this is the most important factor in the play because if the two families were not at war then Romeo and Juliet could live happily ever after. But Luhrmann does not go astray of the original script because has used the original script, this may seem a little strange to the audience at first but quickly catches on and is easily understood later on. Zefferelli has used more of the original script, but has altered it a little, but this seems unrecognised as it is used to help make the script more natural and to fit in more with the picture. There is unintentional humour, as the Zefferelli characters seem strange to us modern day people because the men are wearing tights and frocks, the Luhrmann characters seem “cool” because we are used to the attire. But Zefferelli is trying as close as he can to the original play. If Zefferelli had tried to set his film in his time then I expect we would have seen white men with afros, high heels and flares. If we were studying that type of version at school then I expect we would also see them as strange.
There is one more difference between the two versions. At the end of the scene where the Prince says that if the two families fight again there will be deaths. Zefferelli has portrayed the Prince riding in on a horse, and we know that princes were around in the time that the play was written, then he speaks to the families. However in Luhrmann’s version, he has used the modern day equivalent of a prince, a police general, this is good because there are no princes in modern day cities so Luhrmann has used the next best thing, a modern day equivalent of a prince. If Shakespeare was alive today I think he would have been impressed by Luhrman’s attempt to modernize his story, as he has done this very intelligently and very well.
