Romeo and Juliet comparison paper
Comparing to versions of Romeo and
Juliet
The star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, are presented in two famous movie productions. The first directed by Franco Zeffirelli’s 1996. The updated Luhrmann picture best captures the essence of Shakespeare for the present day viewer. Through the use of modernisation and location, while preserving Shakespearean language, to capture the audience. Equally Zeffirelli’s more historical interpretation show cases the original medieval architecture the Shakespeare contemplated.
In the opening scene of the movie, Lurhmann’s starts with a prologue masked as a news broadcast on the television. This sets the scene of the play by illustrating the violence occurring between the two wealthy families, the Montagues and the Capulets. In Zeffirelli’s film, the prologue takes the form of a narrator, relating the story of the Montagues and Capulets over a backdrop of an Italian city. Verona then was a setting with highly religious dimensions. A neutral place where Romeo and Juliet’s worlds overlap is at Friar Lawrence’s church. In both films this seems to be the only place Juliet is allowed to go outside of her own home. In Lurhmann’s film Romeo has a strong bond with Friar Lawrence however; in the older film their bond does not appear as strong.
As well as updating Shakespeare’s play to the present decade through, Lurhmann’s film is more enjoyable because of the vibrant settings. The Zeffirelli “Romeo and Juliet” occurs in an ancient Italian city, with cobblestone streets and Roman mansions. Although the original play was meant to be performed in this setting, the modern viewer cannot relate to the environment, and therefor has a hard time understanding the plot and empathising the characters.
Zeffirelli keeps the authenticity of dress by dressing his actors in hose and doublet. This helps us to understand the theme that Shakespeare first intended. The two gangs are dressed in their gang colours ( Montagues in orange and the
Juliet
The star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, are presented in two famous movie productions. The first directed by Franco Zeffirelli’s 1996. The updated Luhrmann picture best captures the essence of Shakespeare for the present day viewer. Through the use of modernisation and location, while preserving Shakespearean language, to capture the audience. Equally Zeffirelli’s more historical interpretation show cases the original medieval architecture the Shakespeare contemplated.
In the opening scene of the movie, Lurhmann’s starts with a prologue masked as a news broadcast on the television. This sets the scene of the play by illustrating the violence occurring between the two wealthy families, the Montagues and the Capulets. In Zeffirelli’s film, the prologue takes the form of a narrator, relating the story of the Montagues and Capulets over a backdrop of an Italian city. Verona then was a setting with highly religious dimensions. A neutral place where Romeo and Juliet’s worlds overlap is at Friar Lawrence’s church. In both films this seems to be the only place Juliet is allowed to go outside of her own home. In Lurhmann’s film Romeo has a strong bond with Friar Lawrence however; in the older film their bond does not appear as strong.
As well as updating Shakespeare’s play to the present decade through, Lurhmann’s film is more enjoyable because of the vibrant settings. The Zeffirelli “Romeo and Juliet” occurs in an ancient Italian city, with cobblestone streets and Roman mansions. Although the original play was meant to be performed in this setting, the modern viewer cannot relate to the environment, and therefor has a hard time understanding the plot and empathising the characters.
Zeffirelli keeps the authenticity of dress by dressing his actors in hose and doublet. This helps us to understand the theme that Shakespeare first intended. The two gangs are dressed in their gang colours ( Montagues in orange and the