Baz Luhrmann's Presentation of Romeo and Juliet to a Modern Audience
In this essay, I will be comparing the way the 400 years old William
Shakespeare's film Romeo and Juliet was transformed by Baz luharmann
for the understanding of the modern audience.
Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare 400 years ago. In
the past plays were acted in the theatre. The plays were totally
different from the way they are now. The theatre had a stage where the
play was to be acted; this had an entrance and an exit. There was no
lighting and no scenery; there was also a balcony on the first floor
where some scenes were acted. Below the stage was where the audience
stood to watch the play. There were also two galleries. At the top of
the building there was a flag to show there was a play in progress.
This is a sign for the illiterate population, who couldn't read
notices.
A Prologue is a piece of useful information before a play or story is
acted. It tells us what we are supposed to expect. In Shakespeare's
time the narrator would have come out before the play started to
deliver the prologue to the audience. This is very important as there
is no form of scenery or lighting to describe the location or what is
happening. Hence, the audience have to be attentive and listen to
everything that is said in the play. This can be illustrated in this
quotation 'In fair Verona, where we lay our scene'. This is a typical
statement a narrator will say when delivering the Prologue to inform
the audience where the play is taking place.
Baz Luhrmann's film has a totally different way of presenting the
prologue. In this present day we have newscas...
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...dicates the stage of the scenes. Instead of
swords, they use guns which are a normal sight to a modern audience as
they are used to watching action films. The dressing also speaks a lot
of the characters, so does the body language, especially that of
Tybalt: his looks, his pose and the way he carries himself suggest
trouble. The violent scene shows irresponsibility and senselessness of
the feud. It is this pointless violence that destroys the lives of the
innocent lovers 'ROMEO AND JULIET' whom the play is named after and
whom we meet later in the play.
Finally, I think the opening is very effective as everyone can
understand through the clips and well delivered Prologue. The costume
and setting of the scene are also important as 'it speaks to the
Audience' even if they do not understand the Shakespearean language.
“For never was a story more woe than that of Juliet and her Romeo.” “The fearful passage of their death mark’d love” has endured in the minds of the audiences for more than a century. This essay will compare the two productions of Romeo and Juliet: William Shakespeare’s Elizabethan production and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film production. The endurance of the story of Romeo and Juliet comes from Shakespeare’s prestige and the popularity is maintained by countless versions of Romeo and Juliet including Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of the movie. Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation has shone light on Romeo and Juliet for different types of audiences by utilising the universal appeal of themes, language and context.
Comparing Zefferelli's production of Romeo and Juliet with Luhrman Production. In this essay I am going to write about the production of Romeo. In Franco Zeffirelli's production of Romeo and Juliet, the setting and language are of a traditional, realistic nature. This is complete.
there and not just for the party to be shown off. Money is shown a lot
Have you ever fallen in love with the wrong person? How about falling in love with your family’s worst enemy? This tragedy happened to Romeo and Juliet, two adolescents that were doomed to unhappiness since the moment they were born. Two powerful and respectable families that have had hatred for each other for so long that the reason for how their hatred began is forgotten. Romeo and Juliet were the ones who had to pay the consequences for their families’ feud. Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet adaptation is both faithful and unfaithful to mise-en-scène in the beginning, middle, and end of the scene.
time and still can used as a modern story line in an modern film in
However, the act is never performed until the end of the play... quite some time
music changes to show that she is sad. We then get a close up of
in the way he speaks in a sly voice. He is the perfect actor to play
He uses close ups of Romeo and Lord Capulet. The close up of Romeo is
Romeo and Juliet is a play about two lovers who have to risk their lives in order to demonstrate their love and will to stay together, regardless the feud between their families. By the end, the death of Romeo and Juliet finally bring the reconciliation to these two families. It is fate that the two most shall-not meet people fall in love and it love that eventually won against hatred. Since then, there have been many different versions of Romeo and Juliet, whether it was for film, stage, musicals. These different recontextualised adaptions change the original play by many ways, some modernise the language, environment, props as well as changing the original characteristics of some characters. Out of all the different adaptions of Romeo and Juliet, two stood out the most. One was the Romeo and Juliet (1996) and directed by Baz Luhrmann and the other one was Romeo and Juliet Broadway (2013) play version,
out of the movie. He did this to shorten the movie and also to make it
Baz Luhrman Attracting a Teenage Audience Right From the Start of Romeo and Juliet Teenagers can relate to the issues of Romeo and Juliet but the way it is performed does not appeal to the younger audience. This is because of the Elizabethan language which is hard to understand, the dress which teenagers are not familiar with and the religious element which is not a large part of society any more. To attract a teenage audience Baz Luhrman changes some of these features; he uses modern dress instead of the typical Elizabethan style, a modern soundtrack and attractive and well known actors/actresses. This makes the production more familiar to teenagers because it uses some elements from their everyday life.
Baz Lurhmann’s creation of the film Romeo and Juliet has shown that today’s audience can still understand and appreciate William Shakespeare. Typically, when a modern audience think of Shakespeare, they immediately think it will be boring, yet Lurhmann successfully rejuvenates Romeo and Juliet. In his film production he uses a number of different cinematic techniques, costumes and a formidably enjoyable soundtrack; yet changes not one word from Shakespeare’s original play, thus making it appeal to a modern audience.
How Baz Luhrmann Uses Props, Iconography, Costumes, and Settings to Create His Own Version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare’s best loved tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, has been portrayed in theatres and on film in many different ways. But none have been quite like Baz Luhrmann’s imaginative and unconventional adaptation. He has brought aspects of the plays Elizabethan origins and transfused them with a modern day background and created, what can only be described as a masterpiece. I believe that his use of Props, iconography costumes and the settings he has chosen has helped him to make this film such a great success. The settings of each scene have been specifically chosen to create a desired affect.
Baz Luhrmann's Problems While Directing Romeo and Juliet The problem that faced Baz Luhrmann when he was directing the new