The Opening of Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

708 Words2 Pages

The Opening of Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

The opening of a film can make or break it - it is a vital factor

determining whether or not the audience will want to watch the rest of

the film. It must capture the audience's attention and imagination, be

striking and introduce main characters and plotlines in an interesting

way. The opening of Baz Luhrmann's 'William Shakespeare's Romeo +

Juliet' certainly captures the attention of the audience, and is in my

opinion incredibly effective. As there is so much material in the

prologue, I have chosen only to concentrate of this part of the

opening.

First, it is interesting that Luhrmann should choose to include

Shakespeare in the title of his film, as very little of the original

Shakespearian elements remain in Luhrmann's interpretation; Luhrmann

has made it entirely his own. However, this certainly hasn't had any

unfavourable effects on the play. In fact, in my opinion, his

interpretation is, if anything, more enjoyable than the play in it's

original form.

The movie opens immediately, with no opening credits of any kind. On

screen is an old-fashioned TV with a blank and fuzzy screen. We hear

clicks like someone pressing the buttons on a TV remote, and then a

newsreader appears onscreen reading the prologue as though it were a

news bulletin about the recent feuds between the Montagues and

Capulets. This gives us a sense of immediacy - that the events she

speaks about are happening now, and we are in Verona Beach witnessing

them. The newsreader is a black woman, showing the modern concept of

equal rights, but is also important to note a lot of the 'passive'

...

... middle of paper ...

... small clips from later in the movie:

shootings and brawls, shots of the inside of a church, people

screaming and crying, Romeo and Juliet kissing. Firstly this

juxtaposes the two themes of religion and violence, and secondly it

sums up in one scene all the major themes of the film in one scene,

while simultaneously increasing tension and suspense by using rapidly

flashing images and loud, dramatic music. This scene reaches a climax,

and then fades through into the next scene and the start of the actual

plot.

In conclusion, the opening of the film is very effective because it

sums up the plot well without being boring or overlong. In fact,

because of the many cinematic techniques Luhrmann uses, it is

eye-catching and enjoyable to watch. It also sums up all the themes of

the film in an efficient and concise means.

Open Document