Essay about Text vs Movie Romeo and Juliet

With any comparison between a play and its movie counterpart there are bound to be major differences and key similarities between

The New World Encyclopedia includes a lengthy and extensive section on Romeo & Juliet with a copious amount of information or aspects pertaining to the play. In one part, it examines the film adaptations of Romeo & Juliet and discusses the thought process when trying to adapt Shakespeare’s works cinematically. The end of the fourth act being a major focus. This material will help further my understanding and argument of the sacrifices that need to be made to have Shakespearean plays effective on the big screen; especially for modern audiences.

In this essay, I will take a gander at the play of Romeo and Juliet. I will examine how Shakespeare has utilized dialect in the play for symbolic impact. I will also see how Shakespeare has displayed love and the path in which Romeo and Juliet converse with each other, I might choose whether their affection was genuine and discuss their parents differentiating perspectives and conclusions. I will likewise remark on the play's pertinence today and perceive how Shakespeare has utilized dramatic devices and structures to improve the discussion between the youthful lovers. All throughout the play, there is a consistent theme of love and destiny, I will be dissecting this subject and show how it influences Romeo and Juliet.

was the first film of Romeo and Juliet. It was produced in 1968 and it

Romeo and Juliet is a timeless story about two ill-fated lovers. Originally written by, Shakespeare, this story has been adapted by different directors who all commonly try to add their own unique twist to it. Two of the most prevalent adaptations of Romeo and Juliet have been done by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann, who have taken this love story to the big screen. Franco Zeffirelli’s movie, which was produced in 1968, is extremely authentic and stays true to Shakespeare's vision, whereas, Baz Luhrmann’s version produced in 1996, is contemporary and appeals more to younger audiences. There are various differences and a couple of similarities between Zeffirelli’s and Luhrmann’s movie versions such as the costumes, their interpretations of

The film and the play, Romeo and Juliet is an ever grey due to tragic over tones play which draws undivided attention of Shakespeare’s writing even during this modern era. The 1996 version, Baz Lurhmann adopted the storyline to reflect the revealing trend of dispute between two feuding families. A film which shows a detailed study of the play of the immensely popular 1996 version directed by Baz Lurhmann.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been modified numerous times and has been a source of inspiration for many playwrights and directors. Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann are examples of directors that use Shakespeare’s legendary tragedy as a basis for their films.

Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic love story about two young lovers who are forced to be estranged as a result of their feuding families. The play is about their struggle to contravene fate and create a future together. As such, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would try and emulate Shakespeare’s masterpiece. This had been done before in many films. Prominent among them were, Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 “Romeo and Juliet” and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.” Both films stay true to the themes of Shakespeare’s original play. However, the modernised Luhrmann film not only maintains the essence of Shakespeare’s writings, Luhrmann makes it relevant to a teenage audience. This is

     First off, the biggest difference is the time periods of each movie. The older movie was set in Early Renaissance times. The newer movie is set in the early ninety’s. Another difference is the use of special effects. In the

The 1996 film, Romeo and Juliet, is Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of William Shakespeare’s play by the same name. This film is part of Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy where Luhrmann uses a theatre motif in each, with poetry and language being the motif used in Romeo and Juliet. This play was originally written by William Shakespeare who was an English poet, playwright, actor and a man who is considered one of the greatest contributors to English literature as he invented over 1700 now common words and wrote some of the world’s most famous plays. Romeo and Juliet was written in 1595 so Luhrmann had to give the film a contemporary twist but keeps the original themes of forbidden love and young romance to appeal to a modern audience. In the

In the play Romeo was a little different than in the movie. In the play, Romeo cried over Rosaline and in the movie he did not physically cry. He just played pool and smoked instead of crying. Also in the movie, Romeo and his friends were always hanging out on the beach while in the play they didn’t. Also in the play, Romeo seemed more mature and adultlike than in the movie. Also in the play you kind of get the picture that the Capulets and the Montagues have the same toughness and intelligence but in the movie the Capulets and their friends are more reserved and mature than the Montagues.

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.

While in Zeffirelli’s version the setting plays little to no role in the story, it is used as a tool for the characters as well as to convey emotion in in Luhrmann’s version. For example Tybalt falls on and shatters a sheet of glass while fighting Mercutio, and uses a shard of this glass to stab Mercutio under Romeo’s arm. Also while Romeo is fighting Tybalt it is raining to convey a sense of grimness in the scene. As well as the better use of setting the actors also give a better portrayal of their characters in Luhrmann’s version, for example after Tybalt kills Mercutio, Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Romeo, is crying and yelling, cursing Tybalt, while in the Zeffirelli version the actor playing Romeo seems as if the barely cares that Mercutio is dead.

Of all the treasures in the world, true love is of the most valued. They say that when you are truly in love, the universe around you simply stops, and no one else matters except you and your love. Love has the mesmerizing beauty of a stunning red rose, but it also has spiteful thorns surrounding it. But between friends and family, love can quickly go from black and white to shades of grey and can become fatal and suspenseful.

In Summary, with these three examples it is shown that the play and the movie contrast quite a bit. Most of the story line and the dialogue were very similar to the original story in the movie but some things were changed, possibly to shorten the story to be able to make