Two Film Versions of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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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.

Zeferelli’s is the older and more classical version of Romeo and Juliet. Zeferelli uses the setting of Verona, and the costumes that were appropriate to Elizabethan England. He does take liberties with the dialogue, in that he shortens many of the monologues made by the characters. This is the version that is most commonly shown in high school classrooms, because while some of the sexual puns are included they are in no way stressed. Another thing that is not brought out in Zeferelli's version is the common assessment of Mercutio's sexual preference. It is commonly believed that Mercutio was interested in Romeo in sexual way, and that he possessed very homosexual qualities. Zeferelli simply portrays Mercutio as Romeos friend. One thing that set Zeferelli’s film apart from other films of its time was the fact that...

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...ended. While Zeferelli’s version held true to the way the play has been written, only to take liberties with some of the dialogue, Luhrmann set the play in modern times. With his updated version Luhrmann was able to bring Romeo and Juliet to an entirely new, and younger audience. He directed the film so that today’s teenagers could relate to it. While the language may have confused some of today’s teenagers the majority understood the story. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a timeless, and romantic story that everyone at some point can relate to. This is not a fairytale it doesn’t have a happy ending, but it is a love story. Romeo and Juliet is a play that can be updated time and time again without ever loosing its original luster, and brilliance. I can only hope that when my children are teenagers another inspired director will bring this love story to life again.

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