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 ...
... middle of paper ...
...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.
out of the movie. He did this to shorten the movie and also to make it
However, the largest thing changed was the fate. In the end, when Romeo was about to die, Juliet wakes up but doesn’t have time to stop Romeo from taking the poison; whereas the King production, Romeo dies before Juliet wakes up. The purpose of Juliet to wake up before Romeo dies is to engage the audience and leave the audience with a sense of pity for the two lovers. In this scene, Romeo, crying, says “The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss…” From the quote, fate was highlighted due to the reason that Romeo says that he will seal the doors of breath, meaning that he will kill himself; yet, after he has said this, Juliet’s hand moves, but Romeo did not see. What engages the audience more is the dramatic irony, when the audience knows that Juliet is alive but Romeo doesn’t. This is the major method that the Luhrmann production recontextualises the
there and not just for the party to be shown off. Money is shown a lot
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
In conclusion, Lurhmann uses a lot of modern filming techniques to make Romeo and Juliet appeal to a contemporary audience. By relating certain aspects to situations in modern society, it makes the audience understand the ideas behind the original play and he simplifies the complicated old English of Shakespeare by adding exciting and dynamic visuals. Lurhmann tried to create a modern version of Romeo and Juliet and he was completely successful in his aims. Lurhmann defied all odds by making his film appeal to a modern audience and not only is this film very clever, it is a must see for any film lovers.
Zeffirelli’s ultimate goal for his version of Romeo and Juliet was to capture Shakespeare’s original intentions for the play while targeting the teenage audience of his generation. Luhrmann’s intentions were different however; he changed the way an audience looks at Shakespeare’s masterpiece by modernising the props, costumes, and sets. Obviously, to match film time quotas Zefirelli and Luhrmann has both cut many lines out of the play.
Romeo and Juliet's kissing scenes in the elevator, the alterations of the famous balcony scene in ACT II, scene ii, and Juliet pointing her gun at Friar Lawrence after threatening to commit suicide if she does not get what she wants are minor discrepancies that occur in Baz Luhrmann's production which are not as serious inconsistencies. The discrepancies that take place in Luhrmann's portrayal of the Shakespearean classic are quite different to the play format, primarily because of the modern influence, but all of these discrepancies build up to what is the now the famous "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet."
Baz Luhrmann's Success of Making Romeo & Juliet Accessible to a Modern Audience. In this essay I am going to write about how successfully Baz Luhrmann made his film Romeo and Juliet accessible to a modern audience. Baz Luhrmann uses Shakespeare's authentic text, combining it with a modern setting. This combination attracts the off spring of the modern.
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.
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.
Interpretation of the Balcony Scene by Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. “Romeo and Juliet” is a famous love story written by William Shakespeare. The. Two interpretations were made of this text into a film by the two directors, Baz Luhrmann (1996) and Franco Zeffirelli (1968). The films use different types of media to portray the characters and the overall context of Shakespeare’s play.
Baz Luhrmann's Interpretation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet "Two households, both alike in dignity,
in the way he speaks in a sly voice. He is the perfect actor to play
He uses close ups of Romeo and Lord Capulet. The close up of Romeo is
Romeo and Juliet is a play about two adolescents—Romeo and Juliet from two hostile families fall in love with each other. This prohibited love ultimately turns into a romantic tragedy, in which they commit suicide for each other. Both Franco Zeffirelli’s (1968) and Baz Lurhmann’s (1996) versions retained the dialogues written by William Shakespeare in their movies. However, these two movies are directed in their own unique ways, which have several distinctive differences.