Comparison of Two Film Versions of Romeo and Juliet

737 Words2 Pages

Comparison of Two Film Versions of Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was made into a film by two

different directors. Baz Luhrmann’s to Franco Zeffirelli’s

interpretation of Romeo and Juliet were very distinct and they both

appeal to different age group audiences. Franco Zeffirelli’s version

was the first film of Romeo and Juliet. It was produced in 1968 and it

was quiet typical, exactly what the audience would have expected the

film of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to be. Unlike Baz Luhrmann’s version, which

was very modern and appealed to a younger audience.

Baz Luhrmann’s and Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet are perfect

examples of the very different perspectives you can have of the

stunning play.

The masked ball scene is one of the most challenging scenes to

recreate. Because Shakespeare doesn’t tell us what the characters

wear, what the Capulet mansion looks like and what the face

expressions are like when the lovers first set eyes on each other, it

offers great flexibility. Which is why the masked ball scene is very

different in each film that was produced.

In both films the costumes the actors wore reflected the

characteristics of their roles. In Franco Zeffirelli’s, Juliet wore a

red dress which symbolises love and in Baz Luhrmann’s version Juliet

wore a white angel costume which shows purity and innocence. Romeo

wore a blue/navy costume with a tiger mask in Franco’s version, which

was quite different to what Romeo wore in Baz Luhrmann’s. He was

dressed as a knight which associates with romance and symbolises

protection.

Not only did the costumes reflect the personalities of the character...

... middle of paper ...

...he same as the play.

The purpose of Franco’s film was probably to create what Shakespeare

would have created if he was alive. This is clear because of how

predictable and traditional Franco Zeffirelli’s movie is. Baz

Luhrmann’s purpose might have been to attract the younger audience to

Shakespeare as the fans of Shakespeare tend to be older.

Both movies were excellently produced but I personally prefer Franco

Zeffirelli’s version of Romeo and Juliet because it’s exactly what I

think Shakespeare would have wanted the film of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to

be like. Luhrmann’s version was very well made and much more effort

put into it, but the original was still more appealing to a wider

audience, because younger people can relate to it and older people can

enjoy it because it isn’t like the modern action packed kind of film.

Open Document