The viewer is straight away purposely put in the midst of the strife-torn city infected with crime and decay, using a cold open. The film uses graphic images of violence to communicate the setting to the audience.
In the film, the first six lines of the prologue are repeated as a voice-over to accompany more news footage covering the latest outbreak of violence caused by the feud. Media coverage of the civil unrest stresses how the feud affects the entire city. As the voice reads, "Two houses both alike in dignity," the camera pulls back to reveal the photographs of both families on the front page of the city's newspaper. The next two lines of the prologue are displayed as newspaper headlines and juxtaposed with clips of riot police attempting to restore order on the streets. The media's presentation of the feud illustrates the impact of the "ancient grudge" on the city while importing the play's introductory content in a format familiar to a modern audience.
Both the prologue and the opening scene of the film use setting to establish the opposing parties. We see how the two opposed families dominate Verona Beach from the way skyscrapers bearing the names Montague and Capulet overshadow the city's horizon. Luhrmann follows this image with photographs of the two families on the front of the newspaper separated by a photograph of the statue of Jesus. The repeated focus on the Jesus statue and other religious icons comments on how religion, like the law, is no longer an effective means of maintaining peace and harmony in modern society.
The main character’s names appear on screen in a powerful white block lettering. This is superimposed onto the corresponding character’s face, also using a somber blue lighting on Juliet’s father from the Capulet family, and a contrasting golden tone on Mercutio (and later Romeo). A further sequence shows more of the events to follow, which is effective at keeping the audience interested and keen to follow the plot.
A ‘wipe’ effect is used to go to the first scene, which shows the Montague boys on the way to the petrol station. Many close-up and medium shots are used here from different angles to show us each of the men in more detail.
Once at Phoenix Gas station, a low-angled shot gives the audience the point of view of one of the Montague boys still in the car as Benvolio speaks to them. This makes the audience feel more involved in the action of characters, which keeps their attention for longer.
This is followed by a reverse high-angled shot as one of the Montague boys get out of the car. This is not Benvolio’s point of view, but still holds a subtle clue as to the position on Benvolio relative to the action on screen. From this shot it is noticeable that Luhrmann has thought about the mise-en-scene, using primary colours (yellow car, red and yellow shirts) and religious imagery on the shirts and jewelry to reinforce the Montague’s state of mind and their chosen lifestyles.
One clever use of Shakespeare’s words is the interpretation swords mentioned in the play. Luhrmann has used guns instead of swords in this adaptation, and names the gun brand either ‘Sword’ or ‘Dagger’. This cleverly makes this modern adaption tie in with Shakespeare’s script, keeping the story true to the original.
A series of close-up shots are then used to introduce Tybalt to the scene. When he steps from the car, the camera sweeps to a close-up of his boots, with cats embossed onto the heels. This is because Tybalt is ‘Prince of Cats’ (Tibert, a variation of cat, is French for cat). The Capulet car is blue, which ties in with the theme of primary colours used throughout.
There is then an extreme close-up of Tybalt’s hand and face as he daintily lights up a cigarette, almost mimicking the characteristics of a cat. There is also a blue background to this shot, further showing the use of primary colours. The corresponding reverse shot of Benvolio is done with warmer colours to contrast with those of Tybalt. Tybalt then looks directly into the camera, showing confidence and power.
The corresponding reverse ECU of Benvolio is a little different. Benvolio’s instinct is to avoid a fight, and so he is not looking directly into the camera, showing his doubt and fear of Tybalt.
Tybalt’s boot heels are then shown as ‘the cat’ grind out his match. These detailed shots of Tybalt’s clothing emphasise his vanity and self confidence.
The soundtrack of the movie also plays a crucial role in giving the movie a sense of anticipation and drama and helps us to understand a characters attitude and characteristics. This can refer to Tybalt. When he steps out his car at the start of the fight scene we hear non-diagetic western style music playing in the background and he stamps his cigar out onto the floor. This foreshadows the events to come, and gives the audience an insight into Tybalt’s intentions in this scene.
The first eight minutes of Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet are truly packed with cuts and edits. For instance, the gas station scene has 185 cuts in just 5 minutes 30 seconds. This helps establish the fast-paced nature of the story from the very beginning, and personally I have not seen an opening sequence from this genre of film that has portrayed the entire story so well, while still keeping some events under wraps and leaving the audience wanting to know more. The film is so modern and pushes the boundaries of Shakespeare’s works, yet it is still delivered in such a way that would captivate both Shakespeare lovers and first-timers alike. Luhrmann has definitely created an impact in this opening scene, and it is a great start to a fantastic piece of film.
