Baz Luhrmann's Interpretation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' was first performed on stage at the
Globe Theatre, South London, in 1597. More recently the modern film
interpretations, by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968, and Baz Luhrmann in
1997, have been viewed by thousands. 'Romeo and Juliet' is truly one
of the greatest tales of all time, for it can still entertain an
audience of all ages and stun them into silence, with its clever
script and gripping plot.
Admittedly the romantic tragedy of 'two star crossed lovers' has been
used to such an extent in a variety of stories such as West Side
Story, that it is now considered a cliché. Yet despite this, the story
of 'Romeo and Juliet' is still incredibly popular and easily grips a
modern audiences. Set in the 13th century, Shakespeare's 'Romeo and
Juliet' is a story of two lovers, who, because of the hatred between
their families, which goes back generations, can never be together.
Their 'only love sprung from their only hate' leads to the tragic
deaths of the two teenagers, and, ironically, the reconciliation of
their families, the Montagues, and the Capulets.
When Shakespeare wrote this play, it was to be performed on an 'Apron
stage', and by the nature of such an Elizabethan stage, this caused
several problems . Not only were the curtains unable to be closed at
the end of a scene or act, but since it was essentially an open-air
stage, it could not be hidden in darkness. This meant that anything
such as time or setting had to be conveyed to the audience through the
words in script.
There was also the problem that at the time it was against the ...
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...nd fish
tank contrast greatly with the baron, dry land of Mantua and the heat
of the city. The liquids represent freedom that seems real yet is
contained by solid boundries, and the feelings and emotions that are
running high in all the turmoil. Dryness, the opposite of this, gives
the feeling of being restricted and starved of an important substance.
Luhrmann does not appear to have fashioned this film with the elitist
Shakespeare 'Purist' in mind. Instead by using lively modern imagery,
mixed with a rock sound track, Lurmann has made 'Romeo and Juliet'
come alive again, except this time with an appeal to a much wider
audience than would have been expected. I believe that Luhrmann has
achieved what he set out to do, which is re-create the classic story
in the way he thinks that Shakespeare might, was he alive today.
there and not just for the party to be shown off. Money is shown a lot
Have you ever fallen in love with the wrong person? How about falling in love with your family’s worst enemy? This tragedy happened to Romeo and Juliet, two adolescents that were doomed to unhappiness since the moment they were born. Two powerful and respectable families that have had hatred for each other for so long that the reason for how their hatred began is forgotten. Romeo and Juliet were the ones who had to pay the consequences for their families’ feud. Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet adaptation is both faithful and unfaithful to mise-en-scène in the beginning, middle, and end of the scene.
time and still can used as a modern story line in an modern film in
Romeo and Juliet is a timeless, classic love story written by the incomparable William Shakespeare. Many of Shakespeare’s works are considered literary classics, but none are more loved than Romeo and Juliet. This play masterfully tells the love story of two teenagers in Elizabethan England. The title characters Romeo and Juliet are members of two feuding families, Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. There are different stylistic ways of portraying Romeo and Juliet, and the two most popular film versions portray two very different styles of this one play. Zeferelli's Romeo and Juliet was made in the 1970s, and is the film version most commonly shown in high school classrooms. The newest film version of this play is Baz Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet. This version sets the classic story in a modern day setting. Both versions, while different stylistically, hold true to the basic story line of the play.
music changes to show that she is sad. We then get a close up of
in the way he speaks in a sly voice. He is the perfect actor to play
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tragic play about two star crossed lovers written by Shakespeare in 1595. The play is a timeless teenage tradgedy. “The play champions the 16th Century belief that true love always strikes at first sight,” (Lamb 1993: Introduction) and even in modern times an audience still want to believe in such a thing as love at first sight. Act II Scene II the balcony scene displays that romantic notion perfectly.
The environment surrounding the star-crossed lovers in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet can influence audiences who may interpret the scenes in different ways. The audience can be greatly affected in their interpretation of the story by the mise-en-scene, costuming, and the hidden symbolic meaning. This great piece of literature was edited in two unique and intriguing forms, one Zeferelli directed which was filmed in 1968, and the modern version produced in 1996. The different scenes throughout the length of the party were the most influential to me in that I saw how different these movies were directed, and the different meaning I experienced from watching these movies. Focusing on the environment of the scenes and the costuming helped me in my interpretation, because I found hidden symbolism from these two qualities.
He uses close ups of Romeo and Lord Capulet. The close up of Romeo is
Romeo and Juliet presents an ongoing feud between the Montague and Capulet families whose children meet and fall in love. Markedly, the meeting scene depicting love at first sight continues to be praised by today’s critics. Romeo and Juliet then receive the label of star-crossed lovers whose tragic demise is written in the stars. In fact, Shakespeare 's work is well received and its numerous adaptations have made it one of his most enduring and notorious stories. The cinematic world brings to the screens a disastrous approach by Baz Luhrmann to do the play justice. A glance at Baz Luhrmann’s productions allows audiences to assume he delivers movies which are unlike those of any other filmmaker today, or perhaps ever. Therefore, blending a delicate
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic love story about two young lovers who are forced to be estranged as a result of their feuding families. The play is about their struggle to contravene fate and create a future together. As such, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would try and emulate Shakespeare’s masterpiece. This had been done before in many films. Prominent among them were, Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 “Romeo and Juliet” and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.” Both films stay true to the themes of Shakespeare’s original play. However, the modernised Luhrmann film not only maintains the essence of Shakespeare’s writings, Luhrmann makes it relevant to a teenage audience. This is done through the renewal of props and costumes, the reconstruction of the prologue and the upgrading of the setting, whilst preserving the original Shakespearean language. Out of the two, it is Luhrmann who targets Romeo & Juliet to a younger audience to a much larger extent than Zeffirelli.
Romeo and Juliet is a play about two lovers who have to risk their lives in order to demonstrate their love and will to stay together, regardless the feud between their families. By the end, the death of Romeo and Juliet finally bring the reconciliation to these two families. It is fate that the two most shall-not meet people fall in love and it love that eventually won against hatred. Since then, there have been many different versions of Romeo and Juliet, whether it was for film, stage, musicals. These different recontextualised adaptions change the original play by many ways, some modernise the language, environment, props as well as changing the original characteristics of some characters. Out of all the different adaptions of Romeo and Juliet, two stood out the most. One was the Romeo and Juliet (1996) and directed by Baz Luhrmann and the other one was Romeo and Juliet Broadway (2013) play version,
out of the movie. He did this to shorten the movie and also to make it
Baz Lurhmann’s creation of the film Romeo and Juliet has shown that today’s audience can still understand and appreciate William Shakespeare. Typically, when a modern audience think of Shakespeare, they immediately think it will be boring, yet Lurhmann successfully rejuvenates Romeo and Juliet. In his film production he uses a number of different cinematic techniques, costumes and a formidably enjoyable soundtrack; yet changes not one word from Shakespeare’s original play, thus making it appeal to a modern audience.
How Baz Luhrmann Uses Props, Iconography, Costumes, and Settings to Create His Own Version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare’s best loved tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, has been portrayed in theatres and on film in many different ways. But none have been quite like Baz Luhrmann’s imaginative and unconventional adaptation. He has brought aspects of the plays Elizabethan origins and transfused them with a modern day background and created, what can only be described as a masterpiece. I believe that his use of Props, iconography costumes and the settings he has chosen has helped him to make this film such a great success. The settings of each scene have been specifically chosen to create a desired affect.