When the scene opens, at first there is church music in the background, which fades into a bird song as a cue for Juliet’s line “it is the nightingale and not the lark”. The music returns, at first solemn which I think is intended to remind you of their wedding ceremony the day before. Then at the point where Romeo says, “let me be ta’en, let me be put to death” he kisses Juliet passionately and the music changes to intensify the atmosphere.
When Romeo is getting dressed Juliet helps him, and I think this shows how close their relationship is, it also creates a feeling of urgency. Juliet’s nightgown is white and is very feminine looking. She is wearing a fine bracelet on her wrist, which might be intended to remind the audience that she is from a wealthy family, but it also emphasizes her femininity. When Romeo is leaving it is obvious that the set is a real castle as ivy is growing on the weathered walls and the doors are solid oak, while in the distance you can see the Italian landscape. This is very realistic.
When Lady Capulet enters the room she is wearing a black dress indicating it is the morning after Tybalt’s death. The style of dress that she is wearing is also significant though. It has a high neckline, which makes her look severe. Even her arched eyebrows help to give her a harsh appearance. She is wearing a chain that looks very heavy again indicating wealth but in contrast to Juliet’s delicate jewellery, this makes her look quite aggressive and domineering. Her hair is tied tightly around her head, which adds to the effect. When she sees that Juliet is crying she assumes it is over Tybalt’s death but far from being sympathetic, Lady Capulet seems to be annoyed. Her expression, mannerisms and tone of voice match her words:
“Some grief shows much of love
But much of grief shows still some want of wit”. Lady Capulet does not comfort Juliet or seem like the motherly type, which I think, is an interpretation of Shakespeare’s character. Some people might say that Olivia Hussey over acts when she is told about her arranged marriage, but I do not agree. I think it just shows how upset she is about Romeo being banished to Mantua, how much in love she is and the shock because she had not been expecting this news at all. When Lady Capulet goes to her husband one thing I noticed was the similarity of costume, which is obviously a deliberate decision. He is dressed in black also wearing a chain that looks very heavy around his neck.
When Lady Capulet tells him that Juliet does not want to marry Paris he gets very angry. As he is marching up the stairs to Juliet’s room, it allows his anger time to build up as his voice raise and starts to echo. He finally bursts through Juliet’s bedroom door, and his rage looks very believable, when Capulet throws Juliet to the ground, the nurse is quick to react and protects her showing how close their relationship is and how much of a mother figure she has been to Juliet. She tells Capulet, “You are to blame my lord” whereas Juliet’s real mother tells her “I have done with thee”.
The BBC’s version isn’t as convincing as Zeffirelli’s. Romeo and Juliet are not convincing teenagers, they are too old. The scene starts off with Romeo and Juliet in bed. It looks romantic but not very passionate. The camera moves quietly in towards them, which make the relationship look secretive. It is not very convincing the way Romeo is talking and pausing in the middle of his speech to kiss Juliet in a quick, casual way. Juliet is wearing a nightgown, which is so thick, and heavy it seems as if there is no passion between them. Romeo then gets up and gets dressed but takes his time as if he is not in danger. When Juliet gets out of bed it doesn’t look like she is just up as her hair is sitting perfectly. When Romeo leaves by the balcony I think the building looks to modern and the stonework is too white which makes it obviously a stage set.
I do not think Romeo and Juliet look as upset as their words indicate they should be. Juliet says “think’st thou we shall ever meet again?” but she is smiling. Once Romeo leaves, Juliet is daydreaming which looks very romantic but I do not think this matches with the way they have just parted.
When Lady Capulet enters, I do not think Juliet looks as if she is “evermore weeping for your cousin’s death?” Even so, Lady Capulet looks very concerned for Juliet and bends down to comfort her. Her tone of voice and body language are not appropriate for what she is saying – “much of grief shows still some want of wit”. Lady Capulet is first portrayed as the motherly type, caring and kind, and then she wishes her daughter dead “I would the fool were married to her grave”. This makes the film seem quite confusing. Lady Capulet is wearing a gold lavishly designed dress, which suggests her wealth. Her hair is in a soft style and she is wearing glittering jewellery. All this makes her look feminine, motherly and approachable.
Once Capulet has entered Juliet’s room and has heard that she does not want to marry Paris he becomes very annoyed and increasingly angry “how will she none? Doth she not give us thanks?” This is well acted and quite effective though I do not like the way he speaks quickly and slaps his own hand as if to suggest that he wants to slap his daughter. Capulet is wearing similar style of costume to Lady Capulet’s and I think this seems to set them apart from Juliet as if to show that they do not have a close relationship with her.
During Capulet’s angry outburst, it does not come across that the nurse and Juliet are as close as they should be. The nurse just stands passively whereas in the paramount film she tries to protect her. Perhaps the director wants to emphasize Capulet’s power and show the nurse to be afraid of him but I do not think this works well.
Overall Zeffirelli’s film in my opinion is far superior. It is acted better and is more realistic. The speech is slower and with quite a lot of the original script cut it would be easy even for someone who is not familiar with the play to understand it. The costumes are of a better design compared to the BBC’s costumes. Zeffirelli’s film is an Academy award winner for best cinematography and best costume design. I think the BBC’s film is also quite good but less talented actors and the speech is spoken very quickly to get all the lines in, which is not as effective. The BBC film would be good to help students understand the play but the paramount film would appeal to a wider audience.