Franco Zeffirelli’s version creates a very romantic, calm and peaceful mood with the use of soft music and morning shots of lovely Verona. Which is contrasting compared to Baz Luhrmans version where he creates a very serious and dramatic mood as the movie starts off with a news report which makes the audience feel like something serious has happened or is about to happen (makes them feel tense/excited). As soon as the news reporter ends speaking we see a shot of ‘new day’ Verona, in that shot the two tallest buildings in the city standing next to each other have the signs Montague and Capulet respectively. Between the two buildings there is a statue of Christ which is much smaller than both the buildings of the Montague’s and the Capulet’s. This Director implies to us the fact that this fight/feud is bigger than religion because the statue of Christ is significantly smaller than the one’s of the both families. On other point is that these 2 buildings are the biggest in the city which supports the fact that both the families are the biggest and most powerful in town.
In section 1 of Zeffirelli’s version we don’t really see any characters but there is a voiceover in the Background which is the prologue being read out. In section 1 of Baz Luhrmans version there is only one character whom is the news reader/presenter who reads out the prologue as a news report. Section 1 of Zeffirelli’s version starts off with soft piano/harp string music, very romantic type of music which contrasts with the serious news report of Baz Luhrmans version. Franco Zeffirelli’s version connects to the actual mood of the play more in the opening sequence because the music matches the type of movie it is.
Section 2
In Franco Zeffirelli’s version section 2 starts with a long shot of the citizens entering through a gate to the market place and then the camera pans left showing market traders and as it finishes panning left and comes to a stop the time advances and we see the market place full with crowds. The music and the voice over also consequently ends with the panning. There is then a long/medium shot of the market place from above and there is also background market noise this is a contrast in music as it suddenly went from quiet, peaceful romantic to loud, busy and chaotic. There is then a close up/medium shot of two men walking through the market wearing yellow and red colour leotards, the men are really loud and they are laughing which indicates that they are Capulet’s, one other thing to note is that the director didn’t show the men’s faces so that the audience can focus on their clothing. The next shot shows that one of these three Capulet’s kick an innocent dog and then they all start laughing even more this indicates that these men are looking for trouble, one thing to note is that after they kick the dog someone shouts villain this supports my point that these men are looking for trouble. Then finally the director shows us their faces for the first time and he shows the audience that these men are Capulet servants, this is showing the audience that even the servants are involved in the fight/feud. The reason for which the director might have shown their faces this late might have been so that we can judge them and their actions before actually looking at them. Some members of the audience may think that these three men are part of the actual Capulet family. He shows the audience that this fight/feud is affecting the public/the citizens through their servants as well. The location of section 2 does match the original play as much as possible.
In Baz Luhrmans version section 2 starts off with a caption of “in fair Verona” in white text with a contrasting black background. In the background the music starts getting really loud and even louder. These shots are very fast paced and therefore they also grab the attention of the audience. The prologue is now repeated for the third time. We then see a shot of the enormous statue of Jesus Christ which looks like really big it also has the Montague and Capulet buildings on each side of the statue. Then there is a zoom out shot with the city skyline which shows that the statue of Jesus Christ building is relatively smaller than the Montague and Capulet buildings. This again repeats the image of the feud of the two families being bigger than religion. There are then split second shot for the next 8 seconds or so. These shots have images like the wheels of a speeding car, a police helicopter, statue of Christ, police car and all these images are repeated with the prologue repeated again in the background. There is then sombre music in the background to end the split second shot sequence. The next shot is of a newspaper with photos of the family members on the left and right side of the page with the statue of Christ in the middle. The pictures of the Capulet’s and the Montague’s basically symbolise the city skyline building with the statue of Christ in the middle of them. This again repeats the image of the fight being bigger than religion. As they show this newspaper front page there is the phrase thwo household being said in the voice over background. There is then split second shots again for the next 12-14 seconds where the visual and sound matches. Then shot 6 is repeated again. As the words two households both alike in dignity are shown as a news headlines and then the same is repeated for the rest of the shots (a phrase is said and it is shown as a headline at the same time). All this repeating and dramatic effects have been put in by the director to really dig in the prologue and the pint that the director is saying. It is really dramatic as it is like you are there with the police helicopters flying and all the police lights and the loud dramatic music. There are also shots of riot which shows that the fight is affecting the innocent citizens. Section 2 ends with a shot of a gunman on a tall building looking across the city. As we see the gunman the phrase unclean is being said in the background by the voice over. This is basically shown to the audience to show them that the Montague’s and Capulet’s are killing people making society unclean. The location of shot 2 doesn’t match the one of the original play because shot 2 is set in like something similar to downtown L.A with all the tall skyscrapers and helicopters which is not showing the era that the play is based and written in. The genre and mood in section 2 shows you very successfully what the film will be about, watching section 2 is nearly like watching a trailer/teaser with a summary of the story. There are not any real characters because the shots are very fast paced and there is not any speech except for the voiceover, you do get to see captain prince and the elder family members. There is very fast and quick dramatic music in the background. It really connects to the mood well because the visual and the video are at the same speed and pace.
Section 3
Section 3 of Franco Zeffirelli's version starts with a medium shot of the Capulet's and a medium shot of the Montague’s. Around the Capulet’s there are red and yellow coloured fruit and vegetables and around the Montague's there are blue and purple coloured fruit and vegetables. The colours of the fruit and vegetables symbolise the colours of the Montague's and the Capulet's clothes. Then there is a CU shot of the Montague priest talking to stall holder in a very friendly manner compared to the Capulet's way of treating the market place. The next shot is when the camera cut backs to the Capulet's and there is CU of them talking about backing each other as if they were about to fight. The location is still the market place and it matches the original play. The genre and mood tells us that this movie is a lot about the concept of Montague's vs. Capulet's and their fighting everywhere because that’s what we see in the first scenes of the movie. The mood did quickly change from normal market chaos to a kind of tense mood when they are about to confront each other. The characters are C1 and C2 whom are both Capulet servants and they both hate Montague's and they are not very friendly to the market people. Whereas the Montague priest is very friendly to the stall man and sounds very kind and peaceful unlike the Capulet's who are the complete opposite. There is not any music in the background. There is speech as the Capulet's talk to each other and the Montague priest also has a conversation with the stallman.
Section 3 of Baz Luhrmans version starts with a CU shot of the Montague parents looking out of their car, this is the first time the two characters have been introduced. As their faces appear, the background voiceover says the phrase “from forth to fatal loins” which means basically from the centre of these two families meaning the key/main members of these two families. There is then a shot of the Capulet parents. The director shows this because it tells us that the parents whom are old are also the ones who are the centre of this hatred, they control it, and they are the leaders of both sides. When there is a CU shot of the Capulet parents there is also the voiceover saying the phrase “of these two foes”. Again this is citing the fact these two families are enemies, they are foes and they hate each other. The last shot is of the two captions “A PAIR OF STAR CROSS’D LOVERS then TAKE THEIR LIVES”. The mood then quickly changes from all action to a more calm ending kind of mood. The voice over then says the phrases shown on the screen (in the video), he says it very slowly and calmly as well which is contrasting to the way he has been saying the other captions. It also helps emphasizing the point that these “two star cross’d lovers take their lives”. A good use of repetition. The location doesn’t match the location of the original play because it is set in downtown L.A and they also show cars which weren’t present in the fifteenth century.
