Comparison of Two Film Versions of Romeo and Juliet Essay

In this essay you will read a comparison of two film versions of Romeo and Juliet. One film is made by Baz Luhrmann which is made in 1997, while the other film is made by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968. I will compare these two Romeo and Juliet films by looking at the director’s techniques and the characters. Baz Luhrmann’s techniques were to use many different angles. He used the high angle, the low angle and the normal angle which is on eye level. He used the high angle at the very beginning of the movie when Shakespeare’s famous sonnet was read and when Baz Luhrmann was showing an overview of the city Verona. He used the low camera angle when Tybalt and some others of the Capulet family came, ready to fight with the Montegue’s. The low camera angle was used to film the cowboy shoes of the Capulet, and then the camera went up, from the low angle, to his face to make him look more powerful. The normal camera angle was used a lot, for example when a Montegue was hiding behind the door of a car. He made the fight take place at a petrol station for a bigger spectacle because of the guns that were used. Baz Luhrmann made his film look very modern, so did he with the characters. The Montegue’s would wear an open shirt with flowers on them that you normally only were at the beach or Hawaii and one of them had pink hair.. They wore that when they were driving around in the car and when they were fighting. Baz Luhrmann made the Capulets look angry, mean, and dangerous. They would were metal cowboy shoes, ear rings, black leather pants, and a shirt without sleeves. They looked like a dangerous fighting gang during the fight with the Montegue’s. Even though the film looked modern, the characters did say the original words that Shakespeare wrote. Therefore, the old English with the old English accent was used. Franco Zeffirelli’s techniques were to use a lot of normal angles. He used that all the time in the film. He used it when people were talking to each other and when the families were fighting. He only used the high angle when he was giving an overview of the market. In this film, the location was the same all the time, the fight and the market took place in the streets, like how it is supposed to be because after the fight the Prince says â€Å"if you disturb our streets again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The characters would look more normal and natural. They did not have ear rings or weird hair. The characters would look like the people that lived at that time. They wore the colours of their family, sometimes a cape, and a little hat. This video would look much more like the original play. They also used horses to travel with. As well in this movie they would use Shakespeare’s original text and the old English accent. After this comparison, I prefer Franco Zeffirelli’s movie because it is more original and you can see better how Shakespeare meant the story too look like. Baz Luhrmann’s film was too modern and did not have anything to do with the time the story of Romeo and Juliet take place. Franco Zeffirelli’s techniques may be very simple, but that is how the story is supposed to be shown. Franco Zeffirelli’s movie is better because it looked more like the real play.