Comparing Zeffirelli's Adaptation Of Romeo And Juliet

Improved Essays
The classic romantic tragedy written by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet has been adapted into the 1968 movie, Romeo and Juliet and the 1996 movie, Romeo + Juliet. In the process of creating a great stage to film adaptation, Luhrmann and Zeffirelli use a few film techniques in order to create their adaptation of the play, they use cinematography, costume, actors and music.

The two films differ in their use of cinematography. Zeffirelli uses cinematography in order to bring the audience closer to the actors emotions, while Luhrmann uses cinematography to lead the viewer's attention towards the elements that create modernization throughout the movie. For example, in the 1968 version, at the party where Romeo and Juliet were walking towards each other, Zeffirelli
…show more content…
I really liked the fact that the newer movie had a variety of people race wise. I think that Leonardo DiCaprio was a good choice for the role of Romeo because Leonardo DiCaprio is a really good actor in my opinion and also his delivery is really well done. I also thought that Claire Danes was a good choice for the role of Juliet since she didn’t seem that young like in Zeffirelli’s version since Juliet looked like she was 10 which I thought didn’t suit the play as much.

The use of music was also important in the films. In Zeffirelli’s version, he uses more calm and peaceful music and ts more background music than songs you would listen to everyday, while Luhrmann choice of music is more pop and rock which helps enhance the moods of the scene.

Overall, I prefered the 1996 movie, Romeo+Juliet directed by Luhrmann because the whole movie in general was more understandable with the modernization. In this adaptation, the play has been condensed into a modern day film using Shakespearean language, which I found more effective than the older version. I found that the use of cinematography, costume, actors and music was better used by Luhrmann then

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is known to be one of the most relevant tragic love stories, even as it is read over 400 years after it was first published. Because of this relevancy, in 1996 the play was adapted into a film directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film transformed Shakespeare’s original into a more modern context, attempting to keep that relevancy in an era with a different society and contrasting morals. Through this translation of text to film, Luhrmann has changed certain aspects to adjust the audience’s perspectives on the story and on certain characters and has therefore lost some of the original meaning of the text. A significant change created was how the audience was positioned to view Romeo.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    English Assignment 1 Romeo and Juliet Olwethu Masiza 16013255 Question 2 : Filmic devices This essay will discuss the different filmic devices in Romeo and Juliet, namely extreme close-up; low angle shot; tilt; zoom and flashback, and why Baz Luhrmann has chosen to use each one of these filmic devices. Luhrmann has chosen to use all these different camera shots so that he creates a meaningful scene full of mixed emotions. Extreme close up is when the camera zooms in very closely to a particular subject, for example, the nose, eye or mouth fills most of the frame.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The “Romeo and Juliet” 1996 film co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, is the adaptation from the William Shakespeare’s Play “Romeo and Juliet” of late 1590’s. The screenplay is written by Craig Pearce in early 1990’s. The success of adaptation depends on how the director visualize through his ideas. Baz Luhrmann has cut the dialogue by almost one-third but its essence has been kept intact (Gyde, July 1997).…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Baz Luhrmann’s film Romeo and Juliet is an appropriation of Romeo and Juliet. Both share similar ideas yet also reflect their different time and audiences. In light of this statement, choose at least one key scene in the story and compare and contrast the two scenes. Baz Luhrmann’s “William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet” is a modern compliment to an old vision. In order to appreciate Baz Luhrmann’s appropriation of “Romeo and Juliet” we must first address the differing audiences to whom Shakespeare & Luhrmann were pitching their productions.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Baz Lurhmann’s film Romeo + Juliet takes Shakespeare’s classic tragedy and drastically modernizes the tale. Although there have been numerous reenactments, on and off the stage, Lurhmann creates one of the most drastic versions seen. With this drastic take the fidelity of the film takes into account. Although the look of the film is not exactly what Shakespeare imagined the themes and characters are mostly true to the play. For instance, Act 3 Scene 1 (the death scene for Mercutio and Tybalt) has all the correct lines, but some actions are different.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Two feuding families; two young lovers; one story of forbidden love. Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story which encompasses an essence that defines the story no matter the context. Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet embraces the physical violence, rivalry, death of lovers and reconciliation, thus constructing a movie with the same emotional response intended by the original play. Zeffirelli’s interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet greatly reflects the major changes during the era. The 1960’s was a time of civil unrest, youth rebellion of moral and civil rights and a period in history where authority was questioned.…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film Romeo + Juliet is an effective interpretation of William Shakespeare's original drama. The film is an effective interpretation because the film was entertaining, viewers would be able to believe it was a real film from now about Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, and the film was moving. The film was entertaining because the film had parts that were humorous, intriguing, and sorrowful. One of the humorous parts of the film was when Mercutio was at the Capulet’s party and started dancing in the dress he had on.…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He brings the story to a setting that is familiar to the audience. This allows the modern audience to relate more to the story and also makes it stand out from all the other countless adaptations. This brings change to tradition and is an exciting change but while Baz Luhrmann’s version creates a new point of interest, it does not stay true to the original script by Shakespeare. Conversely, Franco Zeffirelli’s version does as the setting is exactly like how it was described in Shakespeare’s script.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare that has been adapted over many years into many different forms. Baz Luhrmann (Director of the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet) wrote and directed a modernised version of Romeo and Juliet with prominent themes throughout. Both versions represented context that the other did not and this will be the focus of the essay. Baz Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet is set in the make believe world of Verona Beach. A violent place were the kinsmen of Montague and Capulet fight in the streets with guns.…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In conclusion, Baz Luhrmann has modernised Shakespeare's famous play 'Romeo and Juliet' to make it relative and understandable to a modern audience. He has done this by changing selected setting's, whilst also changing the costumes of the characters and modifying the interpretation of the characters from the original play. Although Baz Luhrmann's modernisation of Romeo and Juliet was successful in making a more relative and modern version of the play, scenes such as the Queen Mab scene and the character have been murdered in the process by Baz…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The opening scenes are fast paced and full of action, appealing, to a modern audience because it’s easier to understand and grasp the concept, and they are used to lots of noise and violence in the other modern films of the generation. The Zeffirelli adaption of the film was very true and faithful towards Shakespeare. The audience would have enjoyed romance between the young lovers and the traditional setting and mood of the movie Romeo and Juliet. This version relies on the setting, particularly the heat, and the make the scenes more vibrant for the fights between the…

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This scene seemed to focus on the crowd of people attending the party and less on Romeo and Juliet. This scene seemed to take away the great feelings Juliet felt when she first saw Romeo, because she quickly glanced at him a few times. Juliet also looked like a protected female when dancing with the other people. This is in difference to what Juliet was really supposed to represent. This scene seemed slightly more filthy than the modern version because they were still with closeness people and didn't have a great deal of privacy behind the curtain.…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Shakespear’s and Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, there are many similarities, but there are also many different substantial differences that can change the impression the viewer may get if they only watch the movie without reading the play. To begin, there are many similarities between Zeffirelli 's and Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet. One similarity is that Romeo is very moody; in the beginning of the movie, Romeo can be seen frequently slumped over and talking in a very downcast manner. Similarly, in the play, Romeo is found by Benvolio laying moping around saying, “Should without eyes see pathways to his will!” (I.i.162).…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Shakespeare was an English actor, poet, and playwright who wrote many tragedies and comedies. One of his most famous pieces is Romeo and Juliet . Romeo and Juliet is a very famous tragedy that has impacted our society by leaving behind many legacies. It has left legacies in film, music, literature and art. Also, it has impacted our society and culture.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Luhrmann has emphasised the relationship between Romeo and Juliet to the audience as the main relationship whilst secondary characters relationships prove to form tension of…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays