The Effectiveness of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet

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The Effectiveness of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet

Baz Lurhmann's modern version of Romeo and Juliet is very effective

because it relates to a younger audience which makes it more appealing

to watch. The audience can tell it is more modern e.g. there are cars,

skyscrapers, guns, televisions and music. The characters clothes tell

the audience that this film is modern. At the start of the film it

shows a television against a black background. This immediately tells

the viewers that it is modern. It is effective to have the play in a

more modern setting because when the Shakespeare classic is portrayed

in an old setting, many will not want to watch to movie. Also as it is

modern, more people can understand and realise what Shakespeare meant

in his text as he made this play many, many years ago.

To introduce the characters in this movie, Baz Luhrmann uses credits.

This effective because it helps the audience can remember the

characters. Also, freeze frames appear when credits are shown. This is

used to help the audience take in the information. This is effective

as you know who is doing what or speaking. This is better than

previous movies as you don't spend half the movie trying to figure out

who is on the screen.

Baz Luhrmann repeats the chorus, this helps the play lots as it uses

the chorus effectively. This gets the audience into the play more. He

gets people to read it in a newscaster voice and normal voice. He also

uses newspapers front pages to tell the chorus in a story form. He

uses the news programme to tell the chorus in a broadcast voice and he

uses words against a black back drop. These words are shown in jump

cuts....

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...Baz Luhrmann also casts his characters very well. Take Tybalt for

example, his teeth look like a cats teeth. He also speaks like a cat

in the way he speaks in a sly voice. He is the perfect actor to play

Tybalt. Also he does look like a cat and he looks like the man who can

be a maniac and a person who loves their gun.

This movie, Baz Luhrmann takes in everything he can and puts his

version of Romeo and Juliet high with the good movies. He made lots of

detail which pays off like Tybalt and his teeth or the music which

manipulates the audience's feelings and emotions. Some say he has

taken away the Shakespeare from the play yet instead, I believe that

it has really added to the Shakespearian play. Baz Luhrmann kept

Shakespeare and added a nice touch to create an excellent movie which

many will want to see many a time.

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