Shakespeares verona is not a fleshed out place as a reallife, physical city, but rather as a. The setting is a postmodern california city named verona beach, with guns and gang violence, rave culture and flamboyant colors. Compare and contrast romeo and juliet 1996 and 1996 bartleby. Luhrmann chooses a modern city as the setting for his film adaptation of romeo and juliet to present a chaotic urban world familiar to a 20thcentury cinema. In this sense, the italian setting reinforces the plays overarching theme that the lovers cannot escape their fate. In addition to reflecting popular beliefs about italy, romeo and juliet also emphasizes the division between two symbolic worlds that romeo and juliet inhabit within verona. Describe the setting of the story romeo and juliet. The first movie was made in 1968 and the second was a much more modern remake of the classic tale which was made in 1996. Romeo and juliet by william shakespeare is a loved classic. It also has a contemporary time setting when most productions set the play sometime in the middle ages or early. Apr 20, 20 romeo and juliet by william shakespeare is a loved classic. What is the setting of the movie romeo and juliet answers.
Romeo and juliet film 1996 the balcony scene summary and. Romeo and juliet 1968 and 1996 movie comparison essay. With leonardo dicaprio, claire danes, john leguizamo, harold perrineau. Romeo hears about her death and buys poison before visiting the family crypt. Out of the two renditions of shakespeares romeo and juliet, the 1996 version directed by baz luhrmann is better for a plethora of reasons. Believing that his lady love is dead, romeo drinks the poison. Last night i watched romeo and juliet 20 film directed by carlo carlei.
Baz luhrmanns 1996 movie set it in the fictional verona beach, california. While the 1968 classical version of shakespeares romeo and juliet should be appreciated, the. Romeo and juliet 1968 and 1996 movie comparison essay sample. The film stars douglas booth, hailee steinfeld, damian lewis, kodi smitmcphee, ed westwick, stellan skarsgard and paul giamatti. By general consensus the original and worlds greatest epic concerning love, romeo and juliet is presented here by baz luhrmann in a thoroughly modern and accessible format, whilst retaining the original plot and utilising some of the worlds bestknown text. The montagues and capulets are two feuding families, whose children meet and fall in love. Analysis of setting in the opening scenes of luhrmanns film. In the film version, we see how the two opposed families dominate verona beach from the way skyscrapers bearing the names montague and capulet overshadow the citys horizon. This article will compare and contrast between the play itself and two famous romeo and juliet movies. Sep 06, 1996 the challenges of luhrmanns romeo and juliet, which attempts to combine old language, modern attitudes and settings, south beach style and latin exotica, all while shooting on a location chosen. Fate has other plans as paris encounters romeo and is killed by the latter. Baz luhrmanns romeo and juliet 1996 is an absolute masterpiece. The next morning romeo, his cousin tybalt and his best friend mercutio are discussing the previous nights events when juliet s nurse appears and demands to speak to romeo alone. Baz luhrmanns romeo and juliet 1996 is an absolute.
Romeo and juliet film 1996 literary elements gradesaver. While the 1968 classical version of shakespeares romeo and juliet should be appreciated, the modern version portrays the. The scenery as portrayed in the 1968 film is correct, according to description provided within the text of romeo and juliet. The first of these worlds is the dangerous, masculine. Romeo and juliet decide to get married anyway, but less than an hour after they say their vows, theres a big brawl and romeo ends up killing juliets cousin, tybalt.
The media coverage of the feud makes the plays events familiar to a modern audience as they watch violent video of the chaos on the streets of verona beach and are drawn into the. Reviewing baz luhrmanns william shakespeares romeo. Essay about romeo and juliet movie and text comparison. It showed the romance between romeo and juliet very well. The two lovers elope to escape the violence between the families, but neither family is willing to forge a peace agreement for the sake of love. Romeo and juliet is a tragedy that follows the juvenile love between the capulet and montague families. Romeo and juliet film 1996 study guide contains a biography of baz luhrmann, literature essays, quiz questions. The dead dagger verona italy pistol verona beach new york in the play. Shakespeares setting of verona is more like a shorthand for exotic and crazy than a real setting. Most movies follow shakespeares play and set the action in verona, italy. Baz luhrmann helped adapt this classic shakespearean romantic tragedy for the screen, updating the setting to a postmodern city named verona beach. The timeless tale of romeo and juliet has been told again and again.
Concerned but now holding up the motorcade of guests leaving the capulet party, mercutio and the other montague boys drive away, leaving. Romeo and juliet movie versus play 612 words 123 help me. The colourful settings add youthful vigour to the film and keep the spectator spellbound from the moment romeo and juliets first glimpse each other through a glass aquarium, with muted blue lighting and the camera. It is an adaptation and modernization of william shakespeares tragedy romeo and juliet. Apr 04, 2008 in the 1996 version by baz luhrmann, the story of romeo and juliet is portrayed with a modern day twist. Mercutio desperately calls after him, thinking he is still lamenting rosaline, when in fact romeo is setting back out to find juliet. The key difference between the manner in which the film and the play deal with location is that the film is primarily an. Jan 26, 2008 the 1996 version of romeo and juliet, a short clip of them meeting for the first time in the capulets party. Costumes were updated with hawaiian print shirts and casual styled dresses. The films of franco zeffirelli versus baz luhbrmanns version of romeo and juliet 664 words 3 pages. Romeo and juliet is truly a classic play written by shakespeare. The montagues and capulets are warring mafia empires, and the film stars a 20yearold, pretitanic leonardo dicaprio and the 17yearold claire danes, as well as john leguizamo as tybalt. Shakespeares famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of verona still retaining its original dialogue.
He tenderly undresses juliet and they spend the night together. The 1968 version and the controversial 1996 version give different perspectives of shakespeares famous play. They have to hide their love from the world because they know that their parents will not allow them to be together. William shakespeares romeo and juliet is a cherished piece of literature that has been remade into movies many times throughout history. From the films production design to the costumes, the 1996 version outperformed franco zeffirellis romeo and juliet due to luhrmann taking a more entertaining and modern approach to the famous play. She forgives him, but hes banished from verona and juliets parents decide they want her to get married to paris that very week.
Analysis of setting in the opening scenes of luhrmanns. Set in a city that is made of different parts of miami, mexico city, and veracruz, the story is given a modern feel. William shakespeares romeo and juliet is a 1996 american romantic crime tragedy film directed, coproduced, and cowritten by baz luhrmann, co produced. Over the years it has been remade into movies, ballets and childrens books.
Enter romeo, mercutio, benvolio, with five or six other maskers. When juliet awakes to discover romeos corpse, she uses tybalts gun and shoots herself in the head. The 1996 version of romeo and juliet, a short clip of them meeting for the first time in the capulets party. Romeo and juliet is set in verona, italy in the 0s, though it was written in the 1500s. The two families were already in a feud when the romance began between romeo and juliet. When mercutio dressed as a woman for the party i was very surprised and disgusted. The lovers thoughts of suicide, as when romeo threatens to kill himself after killing tybalt. Act 1, scene 1 on the streets of verona, two young capulet servants, sampson and gregory, are hanging out and trashtalking the montagues. The films of franco zeffirelli versus baz luhbrmanns version of romeo and juliet two films, both alike in content, set in fair verona, where the directors laid out their scene, one created by franco zeffirelli in 1968 and the other by baz luhbrmann in 1996. When juliet awakes to discover romeo s corpse, she uses tybalts gun and shoots herself in the head. Romeo and juliet act 4 scene 3 commentary romeo and juliet a comparecontrast essay comparing the balcony scenes in the movie productions of baz luhrman and franco zeffirelli.
That is part of the reason i chose to compare the act 2, scene 2 in the films that were made by franco zeffirelli in 1968 and also the newer version of romeo and juliet made by baz luhrmann in 1996. While some praise the strange interpretation of the old tale, there are also those. Most of the action takes place in verona and a small portion in mantua. Shakespeares verona is not a fleshed out place as a reallife, physical city, but rather as a convenient. The classic story of romeo and juliet, set in a modernday city of verona beach. I found it really disturbing and gut wrenching because. Baz luhrmann romeo and juliet analysis artscolumbia. Its a strange one because the language remains unaltered, yet the setting and a lot of the plot has changed rather drastically. Romeo and juliet deals in extremes that overlap or transform into. Romeo and juliet movies and play comparison hubpages. The setting is a beach city where cars and buildings are vibrant with color. Two movies were made based on the classic love story, romeo and juliet.
The following article originally appeared in the september 6, 1996 issue of entertainment weekly. The 1996 version, on the other hand, is a different story entirely. Elizabethan and jacobean audiences had special prejudices about italy, so when a dramatist of the time set a play in italy it was a kind of shorthand that said. The film updates the setting to modern day and the swords and daggers mentioned in the original text have been changed to pistol models. The other part of the reason i chose to analyze it was because i have seen and read the play. Seeking to avoid the academic label and setting the story in a violent big city. Luhrmann chooses a modern city as the setting for his film adaptation of romeo and juliet to present a chaotic urban world familiar to a 20thcentury cinema audience. Two versions of william shakespeares romeo and juliet are asburys gnomeo and juliet 2011. The challenges of luhrmanns romeo and juliet, which attempts to combine old language, modern attitudes and settings, south beach style and latin exotica, all while shooting on a location chosen.
Shakespeares death scene in the tomb lacked a dramatic payoff for luhrmann, who has juliet regain consciousness just as romeo poisons himself, so that she can use her sweet alases while he can still hear them. Romeo and juliet 1968 and 1996 movie comparison essay example. Romeo pumps tybalt full of lead while shouting incomprehensible lines. On average, completing this movie guide will require about 3045 minutes in addition to the length of the movie. Its hyperstylised contemporary setting described by luhrmann as a hybrid. The question and answer section for romeo and juliet film 1996 is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Its not improbable that william shakespeare had someone who looked a lot like leonardo dicaprio in mind when he created romeo, a youthful hero at once innocent and reckless. Sensing that he cannot leave yet, romeo leaps out of the montague convertible. My favorite scene was the scene were mercutio is killed by tybalt. Oct 16, 2016 romeo and juliet is truly a classic play written by shakespeare. Too bad the boat movie shoved him further into the spotlight than he had ever wanted. She intimates to him that juliet has arranged for the two of them to be married in secret by romeo s priest and so romeo and juliet meet and are married at last. In this version, the capulets and the montagues are two rival gangs. While watching the latest version i thought a lot about the 1968 version which is similar to the 20 film, the 20 film is a.
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